Hi there, I just decided that shoulder harness seat belts are on my must have list for my future wagon. When did shoulder harnesses become standard ? Also can older wagons be retrofitted with them and actually be safe? Am guessing it would be very expensive. This forum is really good for figuring out want one wants! Thx
My son had a 1976 El Camino which did not have factory shoulder belts. He's always used the seat belts. Our local police stopped him several times, gave him tickets a few times, until he proved it was not factory. I believe it was 1975 for many passenger cars when shoulder belts were installed. He's even gotten hassled for wearing black pants with black seat belts. Cops get bored here because we have no donut shop! None of my old cars have shoulder belts and I don't plan on adding them. We lived this long with no belts and the addition of lap belts is enough. This was for our kids and so we would be used to using them in newer vehicles. Now it is just normal in everything we drive.
I think by 67 or 68 manufacturers began installing the mounting points for shoulder harnesses. I know my mom's 68 T-bird had shoulder belts that used their own separate buckles from the lap belts. I have welded in mounting points on my 66 Fairlane right where the B-pillar meets the roof line. Seemed like the best location from a structural standpoint, but then again, the car will probably fold up like a beer car in an accident anyway.
Rear shoulder harnesses were optional in my 69 Pontiac Acadian, so the mounts were built into the car. All my cars newer than that had them optional or as standard equipment. Because of that they are easy to install, and they can be had for about $120 each, I believe.
Data point, my 63 Volvo had three point belts. My recollection is that domestics began seeing the shoulder belts (two piece) in the early 70s. mike
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt Sash[edit source | editbeta] A "sash" or shoulder harness is a strap that goes diagonally over the vehicle occupant's outboard shoulder and is buckled inboard of his or her lap. The shoulder harness may attach to the lap belt tongue, or it may have a tongue and buckle completely separate from those of the lap belt. Shoulder harnesses of this separate or semi-separate type were installed in conjunction with lap belts in the outboard front seating positions of many vehicles in the North American market starting at the inception of the shoulder belt requirement of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 on 1 January 1968. However, if the shoulder strap is used without the lap belt, the vehicle occupant is likely to "submarine", or slide forward in the seat and out from under the belt, in a frontal collision. In the mid-1970s, 3-point belt systems such as Chrysler's "Uni-Belt" began to supplant the separate lap and shoulder belts in American-made cars, though such 3-point belts had already been supplied in European vehicles such as Volvos, Mercedes, and Saabs for some years.
Shoulder harness On my 68 Country Sedan The shoulder harness is a separate unit. It has its own claps ( female part ) So when in use , you have 2 of them on your lap . First time I've seen this ???
I have to question the accuracy of this article, because my 1969 Cadillac Ambulance doesn't have them, and there is no provision for them. If they were required, then they would have been installed in the vehicle at the time of manufacture.
My 69 Acadian had separate shoulder straps with their own buckles. Rear shoulder straps were an option, and the mounts for them were built into the car. Our 72 Dodge Dart had front shoulder straps that clipped into the tongue of the lap belt. On one show I worked, we had a 74 Delta 88 convertible and it had the slot in the lap belt tongue for a shoulder strap, but no shoulder strap at all, and no provision for one.
The standard is for passenger cars, an ambulance would be a commercial vehicle. I bet the mounting points are under the headliner unless they tore them out when they did the conversion.
Yes, they were required in 68 on passenger cars, but most cars had provisions for optional shoulder restraints earlier than that. As far as retro-fitting; YES, it can be done. I added 3-point front and rear belts to my 68 GTO. The rear retractors required the installation of a heavy, stainless steel bracket under the rear package tray that transfers belt loads to the structural steel beneath/behind the rear seat. I did it myself. Got the belts here: http://www.morrisclassicconcepts.com/index.html They are one of several companies that provide "bolt-in" restraints for older cars.
