Damned if you do and..............

I'd have to agree with you on this seatbelt situation. Like you said, the best you can do is be aware of your surroundings at all times and install things like turn signals.
 
I haven't installed seat belts in mine. I figure if you get hit by a fast moving modern car or big truck and you are in a model A , you stand a mighty slim chance of survival . I feel that driving on the main roads at speeds less than 50 mph, that the risk of being rear ended and killed is pretty high.
 
I installed belts in my 29 tudor 50 years ago and have always used them. The all steel tudor body has a steel crossmember under the seat and the seatbelts are anchored to that with a wide steel washer on the bolt. I reasoned that would be sufficient for most crashes.
 
There have been many posts and stories about collisions involving "A"s.....I installed seat belts in mine anyway since I have a Phaeton. Can't be 100% safe but if I can prevent getting thrown from the car then at least I'm trying to be safe. I also never drive at night or even dusk nor drive any major highway or thru way during high traffic hours. Yes it limits my freedom but it helps keep me alive!
 
I keep hearing the body will separate from the from frame. But in all of the pics I have seen of Model A's in accidents I don't see that happening. I see a stout car take a beating but come out ok compared to today's cars which get chucked after an accident.

Mike
 
Put it this way.... When I got pulled over for no seat belt the cop asked me why I was not wearing it. I was driving my 94 Chevy s10 2wd with 800# of wheel weights in the back for traction. I looked at hi. And said " If I were to roll this thing I sure the h*ll wouldn't want to be tied Into it". Needless to say I didn't get a ticket:D
 
1930artdeco said:
I keep hearing the body will separate from the from frame. But in all of the pics I have seen of Model A's in accidents I don't see that happening. I see a stout car take a beating but come out ok compared to today's cars which get chucked after an accident.

Mike
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Hey Mike,
I agree ! In all the years of listening/reading replies to the seatbelt 'reasons for not installing', I believe that that reason is the single most given for not installing. As you state, NEVER have I seen any picture or heard any first hand account of such happening ,i.e.-body leaving frame !

To each his own, eh. To those who say that ...you can not securely fasten seat belts to these old cars, I say, show me a picture where ANY reasonabley placed/fastened Model A seat belt failed to hold ...none ?

I say 50% of something beats heck out of 100% of nothing ! Give me half chance, or better, of staying in the vehicle any day, as opposed to what awaits you when you leave the Model A involuntarily, IMO.
 
Dick Webber said:
I installed belts in my 29 tudor 50 years ago and have always used them. The all steel tudor body has a steel crossmember under the seat and the seatbelts are anchored to that with a wide steel washer on the bolt. I reasoned that would be sufficient for most crashes.
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I did the same thing, with an added steel reinforcing angle iron that runs the width of the car, for both front and back seats. I figure if I get hard enough that I and the belts part company with the car, I will be hit hard enough to not survive anyway.
 
In the 60's I added seat belts to my Corvair Spyder. The aftermarket belt kits came with a grade 8 bolt and a 3" fender washer to go under the floor pan. The car was totalled when some guy hit me in the rear and sent it into a telephone pole. The seat belt held fine and I had sore ribs from the belt pulling on my body.
 
Reading the replies to this thread, I titled it correctly. I guess it will always be upon the owner/drivers discretion one way or the other...........and hopefully, never their conscience.
 
I agree with Tom. the steel floor pan with the big washers should be sufficient to at least keep you in the car, your chance of survival is not good if you get thrown out. On my roadster the belts are mounted to a 1/4" plate that runs full length under the floor pan and not connected to the frame, at least I'll stay inside.
 
I agree with Tom too. Although I have not installed them yet, I will be putting seat belts into my cars. And I will be reinforcing the anchor points with a 3" dia round washer/plate. Why round? the points of the corners of a square plate provide a piercing point that can begin the tear that ends with the belt ripping loose. I will tack weld these in place.
Terry
 
How many speak from experience? Had I been wearing a seat belt so many years ago I would be in much better condition today. I left the vehicle and believe me it's not fun. I would bet that nearly everyone that has been involved in a crash will say you should wear a seat belt.
 
bobv said:
I would bet that nearly everyone that has been involved in a crash will say you should wear a seat belt.
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The question was not whether seatbelts should be used but should seatbelts be used in an A. Today's safety regulations have been updated through time to meet driving habits, speed increases and faster cars, hence, crash bags that surround everybody, re-enforced bodies, On Star, etc etc. And still, with all those precautions, people are still killed and they are not thrown from the impact.

I'm not trying to be any Devil's Advocate here.....It's not, what's good for the goose is good for the gander but rather....damned if you do and damned if you don't.
It's like muskets vs M-16, of course the musket will lose but back when muskets were the shoulder arm in service, it was also used by those shooting back at you.
I guess it comes done to personal choice, personal convictions. I think the question is, would I buckle up if I got in an A that had seat belts or would someone getting into mine get back out because there was no seatbelt? :confused:
 
Buckle up. Check out some video of what can happen in a roll over, while seated next to a burly passenger. Or if you will, imagine the difference between being tied to a seat during the aforementioned total destruction. Opposed to having the laws of nature determine what parts of the car or world contact your body. By the way, in 1951 a miracle, and a crate of eggs saved my life in a Model A. Without the crate of eggs, my head would have been crushed.

I've had no time for my avatar in the last 15 years (over the road tractor trailer means home to rest a couple times during the month). The rear is ready for a rebuild and we began to think twice about the glass. When it rolls again it will have safety glass and.... thanks to these threads seat belts will be anchored secure and safe regardless of authenticity. Henry would approve.;)

To quote Mr. hardtimes, "50% of something beats heck out of 100% of nothing".
 
I'll see if I can find the links when I have a little more time, but if you a little google searching on model A accidents, I managed to find two incidents in which the occupants were seatbelted in-and everyone in the A survived. I found several where the occupants were not buckled in, and the result was at least one fatality. In every photo, the structural integrity of the car was fine. Body stayed bolted. Cabin not terribly deformed. This indicates death by either ejection or hitting something inside the car-dash, steering wheel, another occupant.
 
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