Does anyone know if these were offered on 69's and if so where they go.

Thanks,
Mike
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4552800821&category=39405&sspagename=WDVW

I just disassembled most of my 69 and I did not have any of those anywhere on the car. Not sure if it was offered or not though.

They were available in '68 on my 442, so I assume they would have been available on all divisions.

I don't know the terms for the parts; there's basically 2 side panels on each side of the car; one that is the same as a hardtop, and one that juts out into the car to go around the folded top hardware. The seatbelts come out from between the two of those, and bolt to the body behind all of it.

Those clips look just like ones I have seen in Elcamino's.

I installed 3-point seatbelts for the two front seats. I welded the seatbelt upper mounting point (a dome with a nut welded on it) under the upper rear side cover. It is pretty easy. There is lots of room and I wanted to raise that shoulder mounting point as high as possible. The seatbelt retractor is bolted inside the lower rear cover so it is hidden. I made a slit on the top of the cover for the belt to go through to the shoulder mounting point. The other end of the belt was mounted just forward of the lower rear side cover so that it does not block the rear seat passageway.

The setup is very clean and it works well. I hope I never get to really test it but I am glad I have it... I used the Securon 500/30 Black seatbelts for $73.50 each from SNG Barratt USA. They are new and fit perfectly.

I also installed 3-point seatbelts for the two rear passengers and a lap belt for the rear center passenger. For this, the 3-point seatbelt retractors were installed inside that wedge-like empty space behind the rear seat. All the other mounting locations are stock. They also work well but you have to get a little creative because when the top is down it pushes down on the seatbelt and does not let it retract. It needs a channel for the belt to go through so that it does not touch the top. Again, it looks & works excellent.

Theo.

I welded a seatbelt upper mounting point (a dome with a nut welded on it) on my car. It is pretty easy. There is lots of room under the upper rear side cover and I wanted to raise that shoulder mounting point as high as possible. The seatbelt retractor is bolted inside the lower rear cover so it is hidden. I made a slit on the top of the cover for the belt to go through to the shoulder mounting point. The other end of the belt was mounted just forward of the lower rear side cover so that it does not block the rear seat passageway.

The setup is very clean and it works well. I used the Securon 500/30 Black seatbelts for $73.50 each from SNG Barratt USA. They are new and fit perfectly.

Theo.
Pictures?? sounds cool.

I just took some pictures. How do I post them?
I can also email them, if you want.

Theo.

Shoulder belts were a legit but rare option on Chevelle convertibles even on the '67s. To wit: see the attached scan out of my NOS 1967 Fisher Body Manual. I paid too much for it back in the mid-80s. The scan is crooked because I don't want to mess up the binding (it's virgin!). Note attachment points and hardware.

If I'm not mistaken, in 1969-only you could even get rear shoulder belts.

I also have the Fisher Body manual and I prefer my method if installing front 3-point seatbelts. The ones in the manual are not retractable, they block rear access and they are ugly the way they are routed... There is lots of room under the rear seat side covers to intall front seat 3-point seatbelts. Of course, this is for owners who do not care about keeping their car stock.

I bought my non-number matching car with the idea that I'll convert it to a confortable and reasonably safe everyday car. So far, I love it. I am almost done with it.

Theo.

I would really like to see those pictures --sounds like you designed a great setup

I just took some pictures. How do I post them?
I can also email them, if you want.

Theo.
I would like to see the pictures. E-Mail is gmagno@maxxom.com
Thanks in advance.

I just took some pictures. How do I post them?
I can also email them, if you want.

Theo.
You can go here http://imageshack.us/index.php Browse. Host. copy & paste
You can email me to mayo321@earthlink.net

Here are some pictures. I hope they help.

Picture or front seatbelt:
http://img236.echo.cx/my.php?image=10004915hu.jpg

Another picture of the front seatbelt:
http://img236.echo.cx/my.php?image=10004925zi.jpg


Picture of the rear seatbelt:
http://img236.echo.cx/my.php?image=10004906yf.jpg


I used grade 8 hardware for the installation. For the rear window handles I used the smaller front triangular window handles, which were used on '68 and earlier years. This way the handles do not hit the front seatbelt shoulder attachment.

I am still trying to find a clean way to cover the shoulder seatbelt attachment bolt. The easiest way would be to paint it black but I am sure there are black plastic covers somewhere...

Theo.

I like it. I put a belt like that in my 70 truck. Got it out of a mercedes.

I've tried several sets of used seatbelts. The SAAB & AUDI ones fit OK but were not perfect. Then I found the SECURON ones (www.securon.com), which are new aftermarket, and they fit perfectly. The price is great too.

Theo.

Hey Theo, that's a nice interior! Pretty cool shoulder belt setup too.
Is the top mount high enough to clear the shoulder of a six footer?
Thanks,
Rich

I am 5.11" and it is OK, not perfect... The mounting point is lower than my shoulders. The only way to make it higher is to have a 4-6" pillar-like stucture, like some new convertibles have. I am satisfied that my setup will give me enough protection, especially when compared to stock lap belts.

Another solution is to use a seat with a built-in seatbelt, if you can find one that looks OK. Most look like they belong in a truck. The new BMW ones might be acceptable. You will have to do some serious reinforcement to the floor mounting points though.

Also, keep in mind that older cars were not designed to absorb the impact, by collapsing, like new cars. So, it depends how much you want to analyze the problem... For much better safety, a new car is the way to go. I like my '68 for everyday.

Theo.

Very nice pictures, the install looks great.

Theo - Which size did you get for the fron and rear. I want to put shoulder harnesses front and rear too....

I also used shoulder belts for the two outside rear passengers and lap belt for the rear center. I used some older Audi belts. That's before I found the Securon belts. Now I would definatelly use new Securon belts. I mounted the buckles toward the center of the car.

For the two outside rears, I would use the 500/W or 264 model. Both have webbing instead of a metal cable for the buckle. You want that to clear the seat bottom. Also, the 500/W has adjustable length webbing up to 47cm, according to the website. The 264 webbing is 32cm long but it has an adjustable rectractor angle. This means that you can install the retractor at almost any angle, which can make installation easier. For the lap belt, I would use the 210 model. Here is the information from the Securon site: http://www.securon.com/seatbelts_layouts.htm

For the rear shoulder belts, there are few problems that I encountered. First, you have to cut & remove the shoulder mounting point of the belt. Second, you have to make sure that the belt retracts easily with the top down because the top cloth rests on the top of the rear seat. Third, you have to mount the retractor in a way so that it retracts & does not hit the top when it is down. To solve the top down problem, I mounted the retractors on the inside of the dead space behind the rear seat back. I also have the rear speakers in there. I routed the belts over the top of the rear seat back inside a channel that I made to keep the top from rubbing against the belts. It will be obvious what you have to do if you look at your rear seat with the top down & up. You do have to do some metal trimming but it is doable and fairly simple. The buckles mount at the stock mounting points behind the rear seat bottom. You will need two people to tighten these bolts, one to hold from the top and one to tighen from under the car.

This setup works really well and it looks like factory.

Theo.

Theo -
Thank you. If you get a chance, could you take a picture of the sleeve and seat mod? I'm guessing its most visible from the trunk side with the top up?
I plan on honoring your design with an exact replica.

Sorry for the delay... My car has been in the shop for a while because I am updating my sb400 with new heads & cam, among other things...

Here are some pictures. This setup does not allow the convertible top, when it is down, to touch the belts so that they do not freely retract.

http://img164.imageshack.us/my.php?image=10005092ce.jpg

http://img164.imageshack.us/my.php?image=10005108fm.jpg

http://img164.imageshack.us/my.php?image=10005117hb.jpg

http://img164.imageshack.us/my.php?image=10005127ws.jpg

Theo.

Theo - Very clean job! Excellent work!

Theo, the links are not working for me. Would you e-mail me the pics? MedicTed@gmail.com Thanks.

Guys,

Let me know if you have any more questions. Personally, I am very happy with the setup.

Theo.