[Scarebird]

One of the drawbacks in my eyes of the 69-72 "A"s is they do not offer a good solution for retractable shoulder belts. As I was rebuilding my 71 I mulled this over and eventually came up with this idea.

First was how and where to mount the retractor. It must control the shoulder section, not the lap belt initially. Note how modern cars do it - you adjust the lap section by a slider. I purchased a set for the front and rear from Wesco Performance. They offer many types and colors, even with licensed GM buckles.

Now where to put them... I noted that the top hinge bracket had a 1/2" hole thru it - a perfect spot for the inertial reel retractor! I wonder if GM was thinking of using this as an anchor for belts?



As you can see it fits quite nicely! I had some grommet bezels made out of nylon by 3D printing (a first for me). The came out nice. They mounted just under the upper shield. Production pieces will be a bit taller - more room for error as cutting the hole in the top "wall" is the hardest part.



A pair of prototype seat guides were cut out of steel. Production units will be 3D printed.



Floor anchor was fabbed from some scrap steel. Production pieces would be laser cut and formed, with a nice 3D printed cover to pretty it up.



Testing commenced this afternoon - a few things were learned and sorted out.

[foxgapLeMans]

Very nice!!!!!!

[tjs72lemans]

Great work!!

[will slow gto]

Nice work! Can you post a few more pics with driver when the car is finished?

[Jimbobeast]

I want to install the shoulder restraint belts in my 1970 convertible. As you describe, the Fisher Body manual states there is a 1/2" hole in the hinge support. I can't find the hole. We're takling about the convertible top bracket, right? And from there where did the belt go so that it would not interfere with top movement?

[Scarebird]

Mine has a hole right where I needed it - perhaps only the later years had it?

Drilling one should not be difficult - it cleared the top arm fine.

[Jimbobeast]

OK, I found the hole, now to see if I can get to it without disassembling the rear seat area

[Scarebird]

I doubt this.