I was getting in my trailblazer heading off to work one day, i put the seat belt on never really noticing the belt retracts in the seat. which got me thinking about my 69 chevelle's shoulder belt and how it clips to the head liner. I am thinking that is going to be a real pain in the a** to use and put away, so either i won't use it or i was thinking of installing retractable shoulder harness's in my seats before i recover them. The problem is the new belts are tied to the electronics for activation with the air bag. What i need is a belt system that works on the old rachet system. Anyone have any ideas? Has anyone every done this on a stock seat? Thanks

I don't think that the stock seats are strong enough to support a shoulder harness in an accident. They do make 3 point harnesses that will fit these cars though.

LK

I want to put 3 point set-up in my 72. Any suggested sources. Really would be sweet if someone made the roof/headliner attachment that could replace the stock one as my headliner is perfect.

I put a more modern 3 point setup in my '68 El Camino last summer. Setup might work in a Chevelle...

I got a generic retract belt setup from Wesco Performance and mounted the retractor on the bottom of the B pillar. I mounted the belt guide to the original shoulder belt mounting point in the B pillar. And lastly I mounted the belt end to a new mounting point about 6" behind the original outside seat belt mount. I moved this last mount to get a better seat belt angle, the original was almost vertical and was not going to do much.

For the new mounts I used the mounting nut plates that Wesco sells and pop riveted them into place behind the panels/floorboards (the rivets only hold the nut plate in place while the seat belt bolts are out). The great thing about these nut plates is that, at least on the El Camino, they fit through the wiring access hole in the B pillar.

I like the buckle setup on these belts because it is the type where you can cinch up the lab belt and it locks into place. The two downsides are that you have to pull the belt out of the retractors slowly or they lock, and the fixed length inside belts are too long with the seat all the way back. They may be just right with the seat all the way forward though. The compromise of a moveable seat and fixed seat belt mounting point.

Check this thread out and look for my post on my '68 with Andover's belts...

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88850