Seat belts

[belvedere666]

In California it is mandatory to drive with seat belts unless the car was built without them. My p20 actually has lap belts in the front but none in the back.

anyone have recommendations on shoulder belts that will fit/work in a p20 car for the front and back?

I'm pretty close to being ready to have to floors re-done and I can leave bolt holes or whatever is required for mounting. 

i would be more comfortable luggging the wife and kids around if they had shoulder belts.

The wife says she won't ride in it unless it gets some paint.... so I guess I have some time. 

[James_Douglas]

In California front seat belts became the law in 1964.  Front and Rear in 1968 because the feds required it.

If the car has belts installed in it, you must wear them.  If you don't have them, or take them out, of a pre-1964 car you don't need to have them.

The child seat and belt laws are a gray area.  All the child seat and child belt laws in CA are predicated, and under, the general seat belt laws here in California.  Nobody has been able to get a directive from the State Attorney General's office to clarify the issue.  Since all pre-1964 cars are not required to have belts, does that mean that kids don't need to be in a seat or belted?  The safety of the issue is not in question, just the legality. I have asked and they refuse to answer. They only give legal responses to legislators and government agencies.

If the State said all kids must me in a child seat, or belted, then no kid would every legally be able to ride in a classic car not so equipped.  Even during a parade or a special event.

James.

[belvedere666]

It's not so much the legality I'm concerned with. I vaguely remember the seat belt law being enforced in the mid 80s. ( I remember riding in the back of a pick up truck on the freeway with no seats or belts and it wasn't illegal.) Since then, I've always worn a seat belt. I WANT to put shoulder belts in my car. I would feel safer if the kids were belted in. If I don't have belts, the kids will not ride in the car.

[40plyrod]

I put 3 point retractable belts in the front of my 40 sedan but couldn't make them work in the rear. I ended up using 3 point non-retractable for the rear seats, I would have used just plain lap belts back there but the missus insisted on 3 points for the kids. I got everything from www.seatbeltplanet.com they were good to deal with, reasonably priced and shipped fast. I also checked into http://www.seatbeltsplus.com/ but they didn't offer shipping to Canada. I think I posted about my install on my build thread but can't seem to find the page.

[DrDoctor]

   I installed 3-point seat belts in the back of a mid-50’s Pontiac (I know . . . a GM product, and not a Chrysler one) placing the retractor at the bottom of the seat-back, at the back of the seat-bottom, running the belt behind the seat-back. Putting the seat-back back into position was then a two-man job, what with dealing with the seat-back and the belts at the same time (the seat-bottom went in as normal). But, once in place, it worked fine. The only short-coming with this setup was that the belt didn’t retract completely by itself – you had to feed the last few inches down between the seat-back and the rear bulkhead, but it wasn’t difficult, only inconvenient. However, it did provide the requisite protection for the kids in the back seat. Now, where the owner of the car got the belts – I can’t answer, as he brought them to me to install, and I did.

   Thx.

[JerseyHarold]

Forum member Blueskies  (his name is Pete) did a complete restoration of a 1950 Plymouth 4 door sedan a number of years ago and installed seat/shoulder belts.  He always had lots of pictures to support the descriptions.   You may want to look him up on the forum and see if he can offer any ideas.

 

Harold

[JerseyHarold]

UPDATE:  Here's the link to the seatbelt install:   http://www.oldwillysforum.com/Plymouth/08-uai/uai.html

[belvedere666]

37 minutes ago, JerseyHarold said:

UPDATE:  Here's the link to the seatbelt install:   http://www.oldwillysforum.com/Plymouth/08-uai/uai.html

Thanks! I bookmarked that link.

[dpollo]

I used the belts from a Nissan pickup in the front of myP20 sedan.   The over the shoulder pivot is anchored by a hole already in the B pillar and the roller device fastens to the body mount bolt with just enough room for seat adjustment.  The center anchors and center belt fasten to the  driveshaft tunnel.    I chose these belts because the seating positions are similar with regards to the distance from the floor and the B pillar.

[st63]

On 12/19/2016 at 8:47 PM, 40plyrod said:

I put 3 point retractable belts in the front of my 40 sedan but couldn't make them work in the rear. I ended up using 3 point non-retractable for the rear seats, I would have used just plain lap belts back there but the missus insisted on 3 points for the kids. I got everything from www.seatbeltplanet.com they were good to deal with, reasonably priced and shipped fast. I also checked into http://www.seatbeltsplus.com/ but they didn't offer shipping to Canada. I think I posted about my install on my build thread but can't seem to find the page.

I used the seatbeltsplus product on my '50 P-20 sedan (no shipping issues since I live in California) and am happy with the product.  Easy bolt in, just like the link posted above. Couldn't have been much easier.