I don't know what's out there for Dodge sites, and I'm not too knowledge about A bodies in general. But just a quick seatbelt question: when did 3 point belts become the norm for Darts/Dusters/Valants/etc? Having grown up in the seatbelt era, I don't think I could buy a car w/o a decent seatbelt.

I remember having the "optional" set in my mom's 1968 Valiant (the shoulder belt was clipped to an attachement near the headiner). About the early 70's they had a less bulky setup that was similar to the early setup. About late 73 (or about 1974) that started with the true 3 point setup (but had some badly designed retractors in the 1974 models, with a couple of revisions). The "better" set is the 1975-1976 A-body 3 point seat belts for the front (still lap belts in the middle and back seat).

-D.Idiot

So, '75-on would be what I'd probably be interested in then. Thanks. I haven't made up my mind yet if I want to get a slant yet, sorta looking for a toy that is simply different than what others play with.

My 73 Swinger still had the clip-on style shoulder strap, it would clip on to the retractable lap belt. I then got some retractable factory 3-pt belts from a 74 Scamp, So I would say 74 was the first year for a true 3-pt retractable system.

I didn't like the belt system I got from the Scamp. I ended up getting some aftermarket 3-pt retractable belts, fabbed a small bracket for the lower portion of the system, and just used the factory anchor points to mount the whole thing. I am very happy with the results.

One small problem is the new belts I got are a little overly sensitive to motion, so you have to pull out the belt slowly to get it buckled, but I feel confident it will keep me from smashing my face on the steering wheel or ejecting me from the car in an accident.

My 68 has the clip-on 3rd point belt. What I do not like about these are that, without any retractors, they tend to fall down and hang there when not in use.

Russ

What is out there for aftermarket belts? I don't really trust 30 year old webbing anymore. They make us change our harnesses in the drag car every two years, they have to break down over time dont they?

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Chris'
Autobody
Restoration
Service

Probably should--UV exposure, etc. I do know they are meant to stretch, so they should be replaced in the event of an accident--something like up to 10%, to help slow you down.

Lap belt anchorages became standard for 1962

Lap belts became standard and (separate) shoulder belts optional for 1966

Separate shoulder belts (and head restraints, for that matter) became standard on 1/1/68 in the middle of the 1968 model year.

Combined lap/shoulder belts were introduced for '74 and improved for '75

Aftermarket belts? Various options exist. See threads here, here, here, here, and here.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I odered set C from this place
http://www.andoauto.com/retrofit.htm

A couple of things.

I liked the 8 1/2" offset as opposed to the 6 1/2" offset I saw with other sites. The belt doesn't come as high around the neck.

The 18" buckle portion was too long. The belt went around my stomach instead of my hips. I had a place cut them to about 10 1/2" long. Be careful here. Most shoe repair or sewing places won't touch seat belts. There is a place here in town that makes climbing/safety harnesses, and they did the alteration for me for me for $10.

I liked the extra bracket they give you here so I could use just one anchor point at the bottom.

I had 10 gauge steel brackets made for the bottom anchor point so I could use the bottom factory point with this system.

There may be other options that you won't have to make any modifications, but this is what I bought and had to adapt.

I have a 73 Swinger, so I already had the top anchor point.

These people are a dream to work with....highly recommended

http://wescoperformance.stores.yahoo.net/seatbelts.html

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

There Should Be Some Clips On The Headliner Just Above The Side Window To Stow The Shoulder Strap Nicely...

RDJ, I would be very interested to know anything about those bottom brackets you could tell me. I have a set of belts from a '75 Dart to put in my '69 and that rear bottom point is going to be the only issue. Do you have any pictures?

They are just basically "U" shaped brackets made out of 10 gauge steel. I bolted the bracket to the bottom anchor point with the factory bolt, and bolted the retractor and another straight bracket to the other side with a 1/2" grade 8 bolt.

I can take a couple of pictures for you of what my seat belt set up looks like if you want and try to post them here (If I am unsuccessful, I will just email them to you). I think the factory seat belts were a different configuration than the aftermarket ones I used though.

It's the retractor mounting that I'm wondering about. On the '75 there's a hole in the wall panel where the big box goes in and some kind of mount that it bolts onto up in there. On a '69 there's no provision for that. I guess I'll just wait to see your pictures. Thanks for your reply.

I actually had a set of 74 belts (from a Scamp) that I had gotten, same as the 75 as far as I know. My 73 had no "box" in the back panel either. Rather than try to cut into that area and try to weld an anchor point, I thought it would be simpler for me to buy the aftermarkets and use the anchor points I have. So I still have the 74 belts if anybody wants them. I will take some pictures of my setup today or tomorrow, and post or send them.