Seat Belts ?

[jhtdon]

My 2 Cents. As an 18 year old I begged and begged my Father to get seat belts in the new 56 2 door Ford he was buying. He sad the $35 was too much. In 1959 he was killed in the car when a drunk ran a red light and hit the driver's side 2 inches behind the door ejecting Dad head first into the curb. Belt? A sore abdomen maybe? I Have properly installed belts in all my cars and trucks including my 56 Sunliner. I know of many instances of friends and others who died because they were ejected. The accident that took Dad was police reported as 25 miles per hour.

 

[V8 Bob]

Old Henry,
Anybody that understands and uses seat belts would never get into your car and use your belts.

There is one thing you could do, and that's install proper belts in the rear seat, so your wife and friend(s) would at least be protected, while you would have the whole front seat to move around in and away from the steering wheel,......just before the crash.

Sincerely hope you never have crash in your neat old Ford.

 

[Old Henry]

Old Henry,
Anybody that understands and uses seat belts would never get into your car and use your belts.

There is one thing you could do, and that's install proper belts in the rear seat, so your wife and friend(s) would at least be protected, . .

I guess I've never met anyone that understands seat belts like you do. I've never had any guy that went for a ride with me in the front seat have any interest in putting on a seat belt and I have never insisted that they do other than my old 88 year old dad. Women passengers always ride in the back seat where I do have two aircraft style seat belts as explained in post # 7. They always put them on as well as any kids that ride back there although I load Old Henry up with half a dozen grand kids sometimes to go down to the the corner ice cream store for an "outing" and, of course, only two get seat belts. They don't seem to care. (That should get old V8 Bob going.)

 

[Kube]

This issue is both interesting and simultaneously almost a non-issue for many of our cars.
Have any of you really paid attention to how the seats are bolted in? Do you really believe in a frontal crash the seat is not going to be yanked out of it's mountings? If so, think again.
In 1939, the wagon seat is bolted directly to the sheet metal floor pan, the '39 convertible is a tad better having a reinforcement piece of sheet metal in that area. So, not one but two pieces of sheet metal that the seat is bolted to and subsequently ripped from.
Belts in these old Fords are mostly for "piece of mind" as the cars themselves simply were not engineered for (much) safety.
A tiny lesson in physics... "a body in motion tends to stay in motion".
In our Fords, that equates to YOU and everything else behind the point of impact keeps moving forward until it has something (a tree perhaps) that will stop it.
Arms and legs are dislocated at their joints, that "cool" "beanie baby" your wife put atop the package tray just became a large bullet traveling toward the back of your head at the speed of the crash...sure, it's soft but at 55MPH, it'll break your neck...

I first hand witnessed a fellow put his teeth through the steel dash on a '53 Chevy. Looked like a perfect copy of his teeth. That's physics my friends...

 

[Teich]

When I got my 48 sedan on the road, one trip with out belts,Really uncomfortable feeling, so in they went shoulder belts in the front, that top mount was something else to install but is there now,rear is easy. Now the car feels a lot safer. Have always used belts in every thing I drive or operate, they may not protect you from everything but there is no such thing as a "text book" accident. Who know's you may have a wreck but can still drive a different old FORD. Laurie

 

[46ford]

This issue is both interesting and simultaneously almost a non-issue for many of our cars.
Have any of you really paid attention to how the seats are bolted in? Do you really believe in a frontal crash the seat is not going to be yanked out of it's mountings? If so, think again.
In 1939, the wagon seat is bolted directly to the sheet metal floor pan, the '39 convertible is a tad better having a reinforcement piece of sheet metal in that area. So, not one but two pieces of sheet metal that the seat is bolted to and subsequently ripped from.
Belts in these old Fords are mostly for "piece of mind" as the cars themselves simply were not engineered for (much) safety.

Exactly my point. Even counting on a newer car to save your life is foolhardy. I know because I respond to wrecks. Out here it's two lanes and a few Amish buggies, so my old car with me at the wheel is safe enough. So is my Harley. If it wasn't I'd take up golf or stay home.

You decide your level of comfort. Let's keep the laws out of our hobby.

 

[Raffyjoy1102]

Hi to all, am a newbie to the forum. Just got a fully restored 1938 ford 1/2 ton pickup, will upload pics as soon as i get the hang of uploading pics
Anyway re: seatbelts anybody out there installed them on a 38 pickup? Am planning to install lap belts.
Also any advice on converting the mechanical brakes to hydraulic?

 

[3twinridges]

Hi to all, am a newbie to the forum. Just got a fully restored 1938 ford 1/2 ton pickup, will upload pics as soon as i get the hang of uploading pics
Anyway re: seatbelts anybody out there installed them on a 38 pickup? Am planning to install lap belts.
Also any advice on converting the mechanical brakes to hydraulic?

I agree with almost all the points on here which is why I have lap belts. I know with any frontal impact I am probably a goner but in any accident where I can stay in the cab I stand a chance if the speed is low and impact angle is not fatal. I too worry about the door coming open and my passenger falling out. I think about a crash regularly and drive very defensively as probably most on here do.

The belts in our 50 F1 farm truck are repro but look ok. They are anchored well into the cab support. For our 52 F1 build that will mostly be for show, I went a little fancier and bought original 50’s Rotunda belts with the ford script and proper Rotunda hardware.

JB

 

[mhsprecher]

I installed belts and harness in my 39 Fordor and my 45 truck from Juliano's. Not much room in the truck cab, so no retractors. I used Juliano's anchors, too. I don't want to be in a wreck in any of my cars (two v8s and two Model As), but they all have seat belts, just to keep me in the car.

 

[PeterC]

I installed WWII restored Bomber belts in both 35 and 39 Coupes - mounted with aircraft hardware and reinforcement plates. They keep me square in my seat and should be helpful in a moderate speed accident ... that said ... at high speed - all bets are off.

 

[JSeery]

On the seatbelt issue, there is a lot more going on than the belt in an older vehicle. Among them are a solid metal dash and a non-collapsing steering column! All that said, I use seat belts as they are some help in minor mishaps, might help in a roll-over.

A trip through some older salvage yards can give you nightmares! It is not uncommon to see an engine and transmission in the interior with the engine right in the middle of the drivers seat. The way the frames mount the engines/transmission, in a frontend collision the frame guides the whole engine/transmission assembly up and back with very little to restrain it. Not good at all.

On the brakes, I would recommend later Bendix style brakes. There are several sources for Bendix brake kits.

 

[cas3]

one of the things i like most about playing with old cars is that i dont have to mess with seat belts. no buzzer, no thing rubbing on my neck, i love it. but... i do not drive on many freeways, and usually share the road with walkers, and folks on horseback. pay attention is the best thing you can do. i drive model Ts too, and not much except luck will save you in that crash

 

[fordor41]

I used three point "westcott style" in my truck since my wife rides with me occasional. I will be adding them to the 36 also.

On the three point, the lap portion is bolted with the large supplied washers to the floor. Very solid. The lap portion is bolted to part of the door to back window support. Probably not the most solid anchoring as that would more then likely bend some if I was hit really hard. But I figured something is better then nothing and may help over just a 2 point.

Ditto on my '41 Fordor. removed the upholstery from the post between the doors and added a steel plate to attach the 3 point belts. On a fordor there wasn't room between the seat and the doors for the retracters, so I mounted the retracters under the front seat. I used Juliano's 3 point belts. Used them for 15 yrs with no problems.

 

[slowforty]

Remember to bolt the seat belts to the FLOOR NOT THE FRAME OF THE CAR.
Interesting results if the body detaches from the Frame in an accident.

 

[A bones]

An interesting occurence of not using belts, with two parties, in a rollover. The weight of party #1 falling, and slamming on top of party #2 makes for devastating injury.

By the way, the thinking of 'the way I drive, there won't be any rollover' is just conjecture. Ask anyone who did not clear an intersection,when by rights they should have.

 

[38bill]

As the door latches are not great I put Julianos retractable 3 point belts in my '38 pickup primarily to keep me inside the cabin case of a accident.

I found that I had to make extensions to the floor mounts to get everything were I wanted it. Just make sure the belts are lined up to fit you comfortably before you mount them. Seems to me I welded a plate in to mount the upper door frame bracket but I'm pretty sure it could be bolted in too. Here are a couple of photos.