<VV> Seat belt/shoulder

[J R Read_HML]

Kent...
You are absolutely right... it was a pain in the A (AKA pita) to use the
factory provided seat belts in the mid '60's.

Most of us (including me) stuffed them between the seat cushions the first
day we drove a new car.  ... never to be seen again.  This probably accounts
for many of them still being in pristine condition.

I'd put a GRIN here - but I'm serious.

Later, JR


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kent Sullivan" <kentsu at corvairkid.com>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 12:04 AM
Subject: Re: <VV> Seat belt/shoulder harness site


> Mike, almost but not quite. The anchors were installed starting the first
> week of February 1966. Interestingly, the belts themselves (RPO A85)
> didn't
> become available until the following month. Perhaps the factory wanted
> some
> buffer time... The easiest way to find out if a '66 has the anchors is to
> look for a small circular hole pinched through the Fisher Body tag in the
> engine compartment. Kind of an odd way to do it but this was documented in
> Chevy service collateral.
>
> I am very interested in knowing though if the Retrobelt setup makes use of
> the factory mounts if they are present. If someone contacts them and finds
> out, please post what you learn. Regardless, the issue with retractors in
> a
> coupe is that they have to mount somewhere near the floor and they are
> fairly large, which means easy to trip over when getting in and out of the
> back seat. Not to mention having to crawl under/through the shoulder belt.
> Certainly doable but the rear seat access geometry of the Corvair was not
> designed with shoulder harnesses and retractors in mind. That's a major
> reason why the belt-in-seat conversion (like I did with Chrysler Sebring
> convertible seats or others, such as Oldsmobile Aurora) is attractive.
> Unless, of course, you don't have people in the back seat often.
>
> --Kent