1957 Seat Belts

[lancemb]

Does anybody have a picture or reference of what the original correct 1957 seat belts look like?

[dei]

Hey Lance,

I'm guessing you mean what aftermarket seat belts would look like as they were not offered originally right?

My Limited has seat belts in it that were there when I bought the car back in the 80's.

I could take a few pictures of those if you like.

[lancemb]

7 hours ago, dei said:

Hey Lance,

I'm guessing you mean what aftermarket seat belts would look like as they were not offered originally right?

My Limited has seat belts in it that were there when I bought the car back in the 80's.

I could take a few pictures of those if you like.

Hi Doug, no I am referring to the rare factory accessory seatbelts!

[dei]

Wow! I'll bet they are rare...

I just found out I'm not too old to learn something yet. 

I knew they became optional in the mid 60's before they became mandatory but hadn't realised they were available in the late 50's.

 

Will be interested to see any that are so equipped also.

Thanks for the lesson Lance.

[lancemb]

1 hour ago, dei said:

Wow! I'll bet they are rare...

I just found out I'm not too old to learn something yet. 

I knew they became optional in the mid 60's before they became mandatory but hadn't realised they were available in the late 50's.

 

Will be interested to see any that are so equipped also.

Thanks for the lesson Lance.

They are shown in the accessories guide, but can't really tell what they're supposed to look like.  My coupe has them and trying to confirm whether or not they are original accessory.  If they are, I will have them restored.  Otherwise I'll just buy new ones, which look very similar.  I imagine 58 ones are the same.

[Roadmaster75]

Lance

 

I was very pleased with the color and buckle selection I made at Julianos

for my 58 Roadmaster.  It had the leather and  cloth silver interior.

 

They nailed the silver belt webbing and matched to a period correct chrome 

“airliner” style buckle.  They are not the cheapest but I felt they had the greatest range

of options for my car.   Looked factory.

 

No longer own the car or  i’d send pics.

 

Mike

 

[Bloo]

This won't be definitive, every 50s GM I have seen with "factory" (dealer installed?) seat belts looked like the same ones. The buckle looks like the one in this picture. Only the buckle, I don"t recognize anything else here. The seat belt webbing had a much coarser weave, more like burlap, but silky smooth.

 

[Caballero2]

I have one somewhere in my stuff.  I will look for it.  But, when we restored the '57 Caballero, I found the factory installed option in a salvage yard.  The Buckle was exactly the same as those used by the airlines of the time in DC-3s.  It was the old slip through type that appears very similar to the one below.  I found a full set in an aircraft parts and salvage operation near Denver. The BCA judges have never questioned them.

11 hours ago, Bloo said:

This won't be definitive, every 50s GM I have seen with "factory" (dealer installed?) seat belts looked like the same ones. The buckle looks like the one in this picture. Only the buckle, I don"t recognize anything else here. The seat belt webbing had a much coarser weave, more like burlap, but silky smooth.

 

 

[TG57Roadmaster]

This is how they appear in the '57 Facts Book.

 

TG

[dei]

Went into my '58 Limited and took these pictures.

You be the judge if they are of any help or not.

I bought this car in 1980 which had been off the road with transmission troubles for some time.

These seat belts were in it and as you can see, have not done anything to the car.

They look like the ones Bloo posted.

 

 

[dei]

cont'd...

[dei]

cont'd...

 

Edited May 13, 2018 by dei (see edit history)

[Bloo]

9 minutes ago, dei said:

Went into my '58 Limited and took these pictures.

You be the judge if they are of any help or not.

I bought this car in 1980 which had been off the road with transmission troubles for some time.

These seat belts were in it and as you can see, have not done anything to the car.

They look like the ones Bloo posted.

 

 

 

Yep, that's the buckle. The other half (tongue?) looks right as well. I stand corrected on the webbing. That webbing looks like the kind still used, and will be much easier to find.

[dei]

I can tell you than sitting in the car all these years they are still supple and smooth.

Those wrinkles will come out once I leave them on the seat. They were on the floor under the seats for the longest time...

 

So, would these be the later aftermarket ones?

The buckle / latch looks different from the '57 accessory book picture.

[Bloo]

1 hour ago, dei said:

So, would these be the later aftermarket ones?

The buckle / latch looks different from the '57 accessory book picture.

 

I don't know. I think you have the right ones.

[lancemb]

4 hours ago, dei said:

 

The buckle / latch looks different from the '57 accessory book picture.

A lot of things do.  That's why I don't use these illustrations as reliable sources of what's "correct".  It's a rendering, not a photograph, and is often done pre-production, so actual sourcing can vary.  I think these look like the ones that came in my car, but I'll have to dig them out and see.

[TG57Roadmaster]

"This is how they appear in the '57 Facts Book."

 

4 hours ago, lancemb said:

A lot of things do.  That's why I don't use these illustrations as reliable sources of what's "correct".  It's a rendering, not a photograph, and is often done pre-production, so actual sourcing can vary.  I think these look like the ones that came in my car, but I'll have to dig them out and see.

 

 I only mentioned what the belts looked like in the Facts Book, not that they were "correct."

[lancemb]

9 hours ago, TG57Roadmaster said:

"This is how they appear in the '57 Facts Book."

 

 I only mentioned what the belts looked like in the Facts Book, not that they were "correct."

My response was not to your comment, it was to dei's, "The buckle / latch looks different from the '57 accessory book picture"

 

I wanted to point out that this doesn't necessarily mean his are not original.

[Roadmaster75]

For what its worth.........

 

Dei’s pic shows exacrly the same weave and buckle style I got from Julianos.

Good automotive archeology going on here!

 

 

[lancemb]

I will dig mine out.  I am guessing they are original.  At the least they are from the 1960's or older as that's the last time the car was on the road.  I'm pretty sure they have the thicker weave as described earlier.

[Caballero2]

I have not located my originals at this time.  I do remember that the webbing for the original was almost twice as thick as the modern and with a course weave. Also, the end that threaded through the buckle had a thin stainless steel cap crimped over the end cut.  I transferred those to the belts in the Caballero.  (Which had the thin webbing but a good color)

Dan

Edited May 11, 2018 by Caballero2 (see edit history)

[KongaMan]

2 hours ago, lancemb said:

My response was not to your comment, it was to dei's, "The buckle / latch looks different from the '57 accessory book picture"

 

I wanted to point out that this doesn't necessarily mean his are not original.

 

FWIW (which may not be much), I've got a set of belts with buckles that look like those in the book.  While I cannot confidently assert their provenance, I do know that a) they go back well over 50 years, b) Dad had a 57 Buick, and c) it had seatbelts in it from the jump.

[Caballero2]

Pretty nice seating for a DC-3, don't you think?

 

[dei]

With that last picture it got me to thinking if the Limited "parts car" had seat belts (or what would be left of seat belts) so went out and dug inside. 

 

The hardware appears to be similar but the material is different from my other car.

 

[dei]

Just to be clear, 

This now parts car my Dad bought in 1969 and he did not put those seat belts in.

My other Limited I purchased in 1980 and again did not put those seat belts in. 

 

Can't imagine that much difference between 1957's and 1958's if this helps any Lance.

[Glassesguy]

To my eyes, those belts on your Limited, look like a correct factory accessory. At the very least they look period correct. Hope they can be cleaned up.

[Buicksrule]

The 57 color trim book photos above show the correct belts for 57 and 58 through the early sixties.   This question came up some time ago and documentation was found showing Buick used the same belts through 61, or 62 or 63, cannot remember which year was the final year.  The buckles shown in the color trim book could have come with a smooth chrome finish or a pebble chrome finish.     I suspect that Buick purchased a run of those belts in the late fifties and continued to supply them to dealers until the supply ran out/front seat belts became mandatory in 65.      In my junk yarding days, I looked pretty hard for belts matching those color trim books and only found them in Buicks.

 

A conversation with Terry Dunham years ago about seat belts, he mentioned that when he or a friend got a 66 Caprice company car, no one had seen a seat belt release using a button before.

 

I had a relative order a new 62 Falcon Squire wagon with the friction style seat belts--the DC 3 style mentioned above.  Whether those were Ford factory accessories or dealer  who done it's, I have no way of checking.  I do recall those belts being in some other Fords of that era when I was growing up.

 

The Pebble finish webbing belts that a couple of people have posted looks again like aftermarket or possibly Ford/Mercury belts.  I have a couple of those belts that came out of the rear seat of  a car ( Buick ) from an original owner who said they had moved those belts over from the Mercury they traded in when they bought the new Buick.  In earlier junk yarding days, I've seen those belts in many makes of cars from the late fifties/early sixties.

 

Those smooth buckles with the smooth webbing look a lot more like Chevy/Pontiac belts from around 62-63.

 

Starting about 64, GM and Buick became very consistent about seat belt styles-color matched buckles for the mid sized cars and the fancy chrome ones for the big cars but even at that, I've seen cheaper belts in big cars and fancy belts in A bodies so.

 

Definitely check the BCA Judging handbook ( or whatever club you intend to have judge the car, if any ). If I remember correctly, safety belts done in a workmanlike manner that appear to be period correct should receive NO deduction for authenticity.  Based on that, any chrome buckle belt, installed in a manner appropriate for the car/era should be fine.

 

Somewhere I have a photo of the correct belts in a 58 Buick.

 

Hope this helps,

 

 

[lancemb]

13 hours ago, dei said:

Just to be clear, 

This now parts car my Dad bought in 1969 and he did not put those seat belts in.

My other Limited I purchased in 1980 and again did not put those seat belts in. 

 

Can't imagine that much difference between 1957's and 1958's if this helps any Lance.

Now THOSE look like period correct belt weavings to me.  Thanks for the additional data point!

[KongaMan]

5 hours ago, Buicksrule said:

The 57 color trim book photos above show the correct belts for 57 and 58 through the early sixties.   This question came up some time ago and documentation was found showing Buick used the same belts through 61, or 62 or 63, cannot remember which year was the final year.  The buckles shown in the color trim book could have come with a smooth chrome finish or a pebble chrome finish.

 

This is consistent with the belts that I have (smooth center triangle, pebbled elsewhere).  Dad traded in his 57 (which had belts) for a 63 (which had these belts).  At some point not long after he got the 63, the belts were swapped out for a Sears(?) set which added shoulder harnesses.  The question is whether the belts I have were new in 63 or whether they were transferred from the 57.  Either is possible.

[NTX5467]

6 hours ago, Buicksrule said:

 

I had a relative order a new 62 Falcon Squire wagon with the friction style seat belts--the DC 3 style mentioned above.  Whether those were Ford factory accessories or dealer  who done it's, I have no way of checking.  I do recall those belts being in some other Fords of that era when I was growing up.

 

The Pebble finish webbing belts that a couple of people have posted looks again like aftermarket or possibly Ford/Mercury belts.  I have a couple of those belts that came out of the rear seat of  a car ( Buick ) from an original owner who said they had moved those belts over from the Mercury they traded in when they bought the new Buick.  In earlier junk yarding days, I've seen those belts in many makes of cars from the late fifties/early sixties.

 

 

Starting in '55 or '56, Ford was big on their "LIfe Guard" equipoment.  Padded dash covers, deep-dish steering wheels, door latches, seat belts, and such).  They could be ordered as factory options.  They probably had them as dealer-installed factory accessories, too.  There were probably "factory look" seat belts from the aftermarket, too.  Whether in the coarser-weave fabric or the later tighter weaves.

 

In some of the earlier literature, it was recommended to remove the belts every few years, wash them, and reinstall.  To remove any dirt that might have gotten into the fabric that might abrade and weaken the fabric and make it "out of specs" as to safety functions.  Might be why the later "tight weave" belting was used in later vehicles?

 

In that era, there were many aircraft-themes or space-themes in automotive design and equipment.  Chrome-plated seat belt buckles played into those themes, back then.

 

NTX5467