Frank Falconeri Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 Does anybody have any good advice on putting seatbelts in a 1957 Buick special 2 door hardtop, at least just the lap belts, I don't want to ruin too much of the originality of the car And I don't want to experiment with drilling holes in the Floore, if someone out there has done this, I could use some advice. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 14 minutes ago, Frank Falconeri said: Does anybody have any good advice on putting seatbelts in a 1957 Buick special 2 door hardtop, at least just the lap belts, I don't want to ruin too much of the originality of the car And I don't want to experiment with drilling holes in the Floore, if someone out there has done this, I could use some advice. Thanks Search seat belts on the site. There is a lot of discussion on pros & cons. Here is one thread. Just do not pay attention to the guy that talks about air bags. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 Buick probably had seat belts as an option in 1957, most cars had. There should be markings or dimples in the floor boards stampings showing where mounting holes are to be drilled. There should be a large reinforcing washer or possibly a steel plate about 6" square that goes under the floor. Where you can buy suitable seat belts, I do not know, but any originals you find will be weakened by age and the straps need to be replaced. I don't know anyone who does this because of the liability. Good luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Falconeri Posted December 15, 2022 Author Share Posted December 15, 2022 Thank you for your input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 (edited) There is not much you can do but drill the floor. I did so in my 60. Biggest thing is making sure the nap of the carpet does not get caught up in your drill bit! The belts are fed through the area were the back support and seat meet. There are a wide variety of colors offered for lap belts. Plus the buckles are chrome. My 60 is Buick Lucerne Green. The interior is green. The green lap belts I installed look like they belong. Darn near perfect match to the color scheme of the interior. I purchased mine from here: https://www.seatbeltsplus.com/product/1806-Dk-Green.html Edited December 15, 2022 by avgwarhawk (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 The easy way to drill thru nylon carpet is to melt a hole with a soldering gun. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 I just made a small X cut in the carpet. Held back the carpet tabs. Drilled. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 On 12/14/2022 at 5:24 PM, Rusty_OToole said: Buick probably had seat belts as an option in 1957, most cars had. There should be markings or dimples in the floor boards stampings showing where mounting holes are to be drilled. There should be a large reinforcing washer or possibly a steel plate about 6" square that goes under the floor. Where you can buy suitable seat belts, I do not know, but any originals you find will be weakened by age and the straps need to be replaced. I don't know anyone who does this because of the liability. Good luck. It's extremely important that the area where you mount the belt be reinforced. A large fender washer won't do. My father died in 1968 when the incorrectly installed seat belts in his car ripped through the sheet metal of the floor. In a collision, the force on the belt can be a thousand pounds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 10 minutes ago, Leif in Calif said: It's extremely important that the area where you mount the belt be reinforced. A large fender washer won't do. My father died in 1968 when the incorrectly installed seat belts in his car ripped through the sheet metal of the floor. In a collision, the force on the belt can be a thousand pounds. Quite so. That is why I said a large reinforcing washer or 6" steel plate. Round or square, it must be 6" or so and 3/16 thick. If you don't have the original bolts use grade 8. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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