Shoulder strap option on 1967 Cadillacs

[Luke]

I live in Northern California and I recently purchased a 1967 Cadillac deVille Convertible. It is very well optioned. It even has the headrests. On the build sheet I received from GM I see one option listed that my car does not have: "Shoulder straps". Am I to assume that this somehow adds a shoulder belt to the lap only setup on the car? Was another anchor point added at the factory/dealer to make this work? Is there a plastic guide as part of the seat to route the belt towards the rear interior pass panel?
Does anyone have this option?
Have folks retrofitted their rides to include a shoulder belt?

Thanks in advance

Luke

[David #19063]

Hello Luke,

Yes, all 1967 GMs were available with opional front and rear shoulder straps.  Even the rear seats and third seats of station wagons had optional shoulder straps.

The best thing for you to do is purchase a Fisher Body Service Manual for 1967.  (Plus the 1967 Cadillac Chassis Manual and 1967 Body by Fisher Body Parts Illustrations.)  These will be the best money you ever spend.

I have one for 1968 and the mounting will be the same.  In the 68 Manual it is Fig. 15-88 Front Seat Shoulder Straps - Convertible Style and Fig. 15-89 Rear Seat Shoulder Straps - All Convertibles.  Your car is already equipped with an existing achor bolt for the front seats.  

Only Specified 1/2 inch 13 UNC-2A Bolts should be used.

The mounting place on the large GM convertibles is on the convertible top hinge support.  The rear mounting place is the wheelhouse brace in the trunk.

The diagrams are excellent in the Fisher Body Manual.

Here is the 1967 Body by Fisher Service Manual - Buy it Now $10:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1967-Body-by-Fisher-Service-Manual-like-new-condition_W0QQitemZ330037236578QQihZ014QQcategoryZ6760QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem TARGET=_blank>http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1967-Body-by-Fisher-Service-Manual-like-new-condition_W0QQitemZ33003723657

Here is the 1967 Body by Fisher Body Parts Illustrations:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1967-Body-By-Fisher-Body-Parts-Illustrations-Manual_W0QQitemZ160038489237QQihZ006QQcategoryZ6762QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem TARGET=_blank>http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1967-Body-By-Fisher-Body-Parts-Illustrations-Manual_W0QQitemZ160038489237Q

Good luck!

David

[Luke]

Super cool, thank you David.
I actually have the Fisher manual at home, but I did not think to look there for what I thought was an esoteric dealer installed option. I hope to do this retrofit without having to alter interior panels (if it attaches to the convert hinge, then no), and hopefully the strap itself is available, as well, or can be rigged up with proper hardware.

[David #19063]

Luke,

Let us know what you think after you look at the diagrams.  

David

[Luke]

I just looked at the diagrams and it looks like this belt would work:
http://www.cmwauto.com/MainMenu/InteriorMenu/Seatbelts/seatbelts.htm TARGET=_blank>http://www.cmwauto.com/MainMenu/InteriorMenu/Seatbelts/seatbelts.htm
I will probably go with the chrome, 72 inch model (hopefully long enough for the reach from the top hinge support):
SB8900
I even bought their mounting kit. I will verify that the bolt is the same spec as in the manual.
It might be impossible to find originals, including the metal buckle holder specified in the manual (to tuck the shoulder belt out of the way).
Thanks again for the help....
RTFM being the lesson here.....I just did not think the manual was this extensive...I came from foreign cars and the factory documentation on a 1963 Ferrari is zilch. I rely on sites like tomyang.net and a network of local specialists. Things are shockingly accessible on the old Cadillacs!

[David #19063]

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

David

[Bob Dziewit]

An amusing related story I vividly remember was when my father went to order his first new Cadillac in late 1968 he was somewhat dismayed at all the seat and shoulder belts hanging in all directions on the new 69 model on the showroom floor and when he asked the salesman about it, he replied "all that is federally-mandated standard equipment on the 69s and theres nothing we can do about it."  He then said in a quiet voice, "But we supply a razor blade with each car."

[Cadillac1967inthenorth]

Hey, this is a old thread.
Im planning to install shoulder strapis in my 1967 deville.
A have a few questions. The color on the seat belts looks gold-brownish and Im not shore if that color is available here. My interior is Covert but belts look more gold.

Where do I find the mounting hardware for the front seat top anchor? It would also be nice to have the holders for the shoulder straps that mounts beside.

[David Greenburg]

An old thread, but very interesting info. Does this mean that it's relatively simple to retrofit front shoulder belts in '67 and later convertibles? Unlike closed cars, they were not required even as late as '76 from what I can tell.

[jdemerson]

Yes, all 1967 GMs were available with optional front and rear shoulder straps.  Even the rear seats and third seats of station wagons had optional shoulder straps.
....

David

This may be true, although it's news to me. If true, I suspect that is was a dealer-installed option for rear seats and third seats.

The 1967 Cadillac Data Book has MANY references (even a couple of photos) for two outboard shoulder belts in the front seat. It mentions the anchors that were there and it describes how to use the belts. The Data Book lists the shoulder belts as factory options as well as dealer-installed options. For the two front-seat positions, shoulder belts were a factory option for EVERY Cadillac model (according to the Data Book). There is no mention in the Data Book of shoulder belts for any position except front seat outward positions. And there's no mention of anchor points other than for the front seat positions.

FWIW I've never seen a '57 Chevy with rear shoulder belts that came on the car when new. Of course anything is possible! For example, the '57 Chevrolet Accessories brochure shows GM undercoating as one of the dealer options. (There is documentation that Cadillac Division advised use of this undercoating in the mid-50s at least. This has implications for judging according to the "new car as delivered" standard...)

John Emerson