Has anyone instaleed seat belts in an early 60's pickup? Not too sure where the mounting bolts should go. I'll be driving mine quite a bit this summer and want to be legal. Would appreciate any advice on this subject!
Good move. As for being "legal" these vehicles didn't come with belts until law required them in 67. So they are exempt. You can mount aftermarket belts directly to the floor even with seat's pivot point for the seat back. To mount them you need to consider a system that will not pull through the floor upon impact. Washers, even wide ones will pull right through the floor's sheet metal. Check out Juialiano's and their mounting brackets that will not pull through the floor. DV
Dennis, Just curious, If aftermarket seatbelts are installed in a pre 1967 vehicle and you are caught not wearing a seatbelt, Do you think you would have a case you could win in court? If belts aren't required, then how can you be required to wear them? For the record, I always wear my seatbelt. But I'm thinking about a friens that is too large to wear his.
Hay Bud. I'm not a lawyer. I don't even play one on TV. I think that a law enforcement official will cite someone if they feel that the party in question has violated the law. Would you win a judgement if you disputed the citation ? Hay, your guess is as good as mine ! DV
Hi- Hate to horn in, but I was a state officer in Montana for 12 years, and the guidance in Montana Code and case law was that even if a vehicle had been originally delivered without seat belts, if it had subsequently been equipped with them, their use was required. Failure to use them opened the operator to issuance of a citation. Now unlike what you may have heard, issuance of a "ticket" is ALWAYS at the discretion of the officer, so if you are good at throwing yourself on their mercy, you might come away unscathed...might. If there is a provable physical disability/condition which prevents use of a seatbelt, then medical certification of that condition will generally trump the law and I have met few judges indeed who will presume to override a medical opinion. Good luck.
