Front shoulder belts became mandatory for hardtop cars sold in the US that were build Jan 1 1968 and after.
What Chrysler appears to have done, at least with the 1968 Barracuda, was to have a shoulder belt option for early 68 cars built prior to January 1.
That means the shoulder harness bracket is present on all cars , but it was only when someone ordered the optional front shoulder harness that there was a nut welded to the
bracket to allow the harness to bolt up.
My 1968 Barracuda has a birth date of October 17 1967, and was built with out the optional shoulder harness. However I came across a posting at FABO, where another 68 Barracuda owner came up with a fairly good process to install a backstop to bolt a shoulder harness assembly to.
That is at the link below.
https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/th ... da.375692/
I followed what was done previously but made some improvements in the process. From a gauge that simulated the install hardpoint I was able to develop an EZ process to locate and hold the backstop during installation. The gauge also was used as a template to mark on the car bracket the amount to open up the OE mount hole and to locate the set screw hole. I have posted photos below, but the detail is at the link.
This was a good find for me as I was able to get functional shoulder belt mounts without a tear up on the original and in fairly good shape headliner.
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File comment: gauge used for prototyping the process and marking the location to drill the set screw hole in the car bracket file-15.jpeg [ 148.54 KiB | Viewed 5793 times ] |
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File comment: parts,, the puck is 1/4 inch thick, about .750 wide and 1.5 inches long file-17.jpeg [ 165.84 KiB | Viewed 5793 times ] |
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File comment: the backing puck with the string attached and the set screw started file-16.jpeg [ 45.89 KiB | Viewed 5793 times ] |
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File comment: shoulder harness bolt install complete file1-6.jpeg [ 103.51 KiB | Viewed 5793 times ] |