Seat Belts ?

[TStiles]

Belts are a MUST.

[V12Bill]

I had a body shop for over 20 years and could tell by looking at a wreck whether or not occupants used seat belts. Knee dents in lower dashboard. Star breaks in windshield and sheard off inside rearview mirrors. Bent steering wheels. The next day the owner would come to the shop to view their car and I knew who they were by the stiches in their forehead, arms in slings, limping badly or on crutches. These were the lucky ones who were not thrown clear and had a car run over them. I have caught myself buckling up just to move a car a few feet. It pays to get into the habit.

[V8 Bob]

[QUOTE=Old Henry;428324]My wife was just uncomfortable enough without seat belts that I took the longest one out of the back of my van and connected each end of it with the biggest screw-on chain links to the biggest forged I-bolts I could get connected through the floor with huge fender washers and lock nuts underneath. I know - it's not going to keep my chest from being impaled on the steering column etc. etc. But it will keep us inside of the car if it rolls or the doors open and keep my wife from launching though the windshield. And, I can disconnect it for car shows. No one seems to see the eye bolt hidden behind the door post.


Old Henry,
I applaud you for driving your Ford as much as you do, and in all kinds of weather to boot! However, your seat belt installation is not good at all. What will happen, when and if they are ever needed, is a single occupant will be forced/moved to the center of the belt, and two passengers using the same belt will be slammed together. You really need to have a separate belt for each person so that it can be adjusted for minimum movement.
The belts should also be solidly bolted to the floor, not through any links.
Install the belts correctly, and they'll help prevent injury instead of causing it.

[V8 Bob]

Originally Posted by 36tbird

My '36 roadster that I'm building with a Duval windshield and banjo wheel will have 3" racing type shoulder belts because of those stories. People may laugh when they see the mighty flathead in it and not think that those belts are warranted, but whose car is it?

As Kube stated, how are the shoulder belts going to be installed, because unless you have a roll bar or reinforced high back seats, they can cause severe back injury (spinal compression) upon impact if not installed correctly.

[Shu47]

Excellent discussion. I agree that you should put the seat belt on and if you don't have them figure out a way to install them. Cheap insurance overall when you consider it might be your life or even more important a loved one riding with you.

[PeterC]

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Here are mine in my 35 3 Window - dash is just being completed - hence no steering wheel on yet.

[George49Ford]

Wouldn't go around the block without them.

[49r]

Ran my 49 F1 for 24 years without seat belts - no problem, but only because I never stopped in a hurry. Never insured it either - I was lucky because my brain wasn't located in my head then. When my boys were born I installed seatbelts to hold them in their car seats. Simple fit and doesn't look out of place. In 95 my aunty died in a 65 Ford Cortina which only had a shoulder belt. She was flung out the door when the car rolled - seatbelt still done up and the car had only minor roof damage. She would be alive today with a combination lap and shoulder belt. There are some aspects of the 'old times' we don't need to revisit.

[46ford]

Don't kid yourself into thinking seat belts in an old car will save your life. I cringe every time I hear it. They're not designed to be crashworthy and every crash is different. New cars have air bags and belts working together to prevent injuries but higher speeds and more aggressive driving will still keep the undertaker busy.

Drive defensively - most crashes could be prevented. I've avoided quite a few by just looking both ways before taking off from a green light. If you go off the road or roll that old car you are probably going to be badly hurt even if you are belted.

If you feel uncomfortable without them, put them in. Understand that not all of us feel the need. Don't call me stupid for not having them unless you can match my driving safety record - and not many can.

[bugsiegel]

delete

[russcc]

Always seat belts. In 1960, I put aircraft seat belts in my '53 Ford Crestliner. Recently put them in the '31 roadster also. I work in the safety field, they make a difference. Don't really care what the law says, just think about where that BS is coming from.

[rick r]

Have lap belts in both my 32 roadster and my 51 Meteor coupe. Will be installing lap belts in the 27 T that I am currently building

[Jerry Parr WI]

Originally Posted by 1949FORD

My dad and i were going to do it, but law here in Minnesota states, that if you have "Collector Plates", you may have your car stock, without seat bests or airbags.

Good idea to check state requirements. Wisc code 347.48 Safety belts says

(2) Type and manner of installing. All such safety belts must be of a type and must be installed in a manner approved by the department. The department shall establish specifications and requirements for approved types of safety belts and attachments thereto. The department will accept, as approved, all seat belt installations and the belt and anchor meeting the society of automotive engineers' specifications.

Have not seen any that claim to comply.

[Kube]

I've seen "safety conscience" folks install belts through the sheet metal floor pan with a bolt and a couple of washers.
Lord forbid, but if they get in a hard hit, not only are they going through the dash and windshields, those belts with the sheared bolts are going through the back of their heads just like bullets.
I think this discussion can be summarized quite easily.
* Yes, belts can help but ONLY if installed correctly.
* If you want belts in your car, hey, it is your car.
Remember all, these old Fords are not nearly as safe as a modern day car. There is little you can do to make them that safe and maintaining even a tad of originality.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by V8 Bob

Old Henry,
. . . your seat belt installation is not good at all. What will happen, when and if they are ever needed, is a single occupant will be forced/moved to the center of the belt, . . .

That sounds good to me. I want to be anywhere in the front seat other than behind that steering wheel. That was the number one cause of death of drivers of these old cars - being impaled by the steering wheel and steering column that were being pushed toward the driver by a front end impact while the driver was slamming into it by the momentum of his body. That's why all modern cars have collapsible steering columns. I keep rehearsing in my mind my protocol for any front end collision if I have time - throw myself to the right of the steering wheel. My full width seat belt will accommodate that better than a single one that would prevent that. IMHO

[KansasV8]

Originally Posted by rick r

Will be installing lap belts in the 27 T that I am currently building

That's funny. What are you going to bolt them to, the tin seat riser with a washer on the bolt? Yep, if you roll the T over on her side the seat belts will save you, don't know about the tin body tho.

[Marv]

When it is your time to go, you will be going, seatbelts or no seatbelts. A neighbor girl wrecked her Toyoto a few years ago on a icy road and went down over the bank. When they found her she was dead from a broken neck from the shoulder belt. You could drive the car home. I seen a program on tv about seatbelts, where 4 kids were riding in a small Ford car. They were running about 35 mph and talking etc. like kids will do and they ran into the back of a car stopped at a stopsign. The driver and passenger in the front were not hurt at all with the lap and shoulder belts The 2 passengers in the rear without the shoulder belts were both paralized. They say it tore their spinal cord into. I will be putting seatbelts with shoulder harness in my 39 when it is done, but they are no guarantee. It does not make much difference how good a driver you are or how safe, it is the guy that hits you. Marv

[Kube]

I keep rehearsing in my mind my protocol for any front end collision if I have time - throw myself to the right of the steering wheel. My full width seat belt will accommodate that better than a single one that would prevent that. IMHO[/QUOTE]

Rest assured, you will have NO time to react.
A typical head on collision (whether in to an oncoming car or a tree) at 55MPH is OVER in 8/10 of one second.

[V8 Bob]

Originally Posted by Old Henry

That sounds good to me. I want to be anywhere in the front seat other than behind that steering wheel. That was the number one cause of death of drivers of these old cars - being impaled by the steering wheel and steering column that were being pushed toward the driver by a front end impact while the driver was slamming into it by the momentum of his body. That's why all modern cars have collapsible steering columns. I keep rehearsing in my mind my protocol for any front end collision if I have time - throw myself to the right of the steering wheel. My full width seat belt will accommodate that better than a single one that would prevent that. IMHO

Since logic doesn't prevail here, I'll just call your belt installation the worst I've ever seen. Any passenger brave enough to get in that car and get belted in will likely be injured because of the belts, and not be protected by them. If you value the safety and health of your passengers, you'll remove your present belts, links, eye bolts NOW and properly install separate belts, anchored correctly.
If the steering wheel is your big concern, install a 3 point system with a shoulder belt connected to the "B" pillar, like Juliano's and others offer.

[Old Henry]

There is no seat belt that will save the life of the driver in a severe front end collision in these old cars because the collision pushes the steering collumn into his chest even with a 4 point seat belt. All I hope for my front seat belt is to keep me and anyone else in the front seat from being ejected from the car as that is the second most frequent death in collisions - being ejected and killed by the car smashing you.

Sorry V8 Bob got so frustrated with me but that's how I see it.

As per usual, reasonable minds do differ on some things.