seatbelts [Archive] - Chevelle Tech

: seatbelts


fritzy2times
Oct 15th, 99, 4:07 AM
are there any aftermarket retractable seat belts available for 1972 chevelle s.s. with shoulder belts.

Doc Willis
Oct 15th, 99, 12:24 PM
Good question. I've been looking for about a year and have come up empty-handed. I've even called a number of Chevy dealerships but they won't sell or install them for liability reasons (thank you, trial lawyers of America!). I've had to go to the junkyard where I found an old Nova with decent-looking belts - but the seat belt and shoulder straps are separate. That's apparently the way they came in the 60's and early 70's! Oh, and only the seat belt was retractable, the shoulder strap fits on a clip just above the door. This is in my 1970 - don't know about '72.

[This message has been edited by Doc Willis (edited 10-15-99).]

DAVID IN GA
Oct 15th, 99, 5:49 PM
A suggestion... I have a 78' Trans Am in addition to my 70' ss. I too have wondered about this as my shoulder belts are missing.
From what I can tell, my T/A belts would do the job. It basically is a one piece unit that has a retractor on the roof and the other end of the belt bolts to the floor on the outside of the seat. When extended, the latch pulls the belt over the <body> in 2 pieces and buckles right up.
Firebirds of this vintage are a dime a dozen in salvage yards. As long as the overhead retractor could be bolted to the roof, I think it just has 1 bolt, it should work.

rick
Oct 15th, 99, 7:29 PM
JC Whitney sells belt/shoulder harness combos. They don't look original, but do work and are about $90-100.
rick