68 Upper Shoulder Belt Mount?

[horseballz]

Hi All,
Am I correct in the assumption that a 68 Coupe has factory installed upper mounts/threaded holes for shoulder belts? If they are there, would anyone who either has their headliner out or installed shoulder belts be willing to take a couple of pics and/or measurements so that I can find mine without destroying my nice headliner? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanx In Advance,
Gene

 

[Bitter]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the 3 point belts came out in the 1968 models but only on 68's that were actually built in 1968. My 68 coupe was built in late 67. The headliner is out and there is no threaded mounting point. Do you know when yours was built? On early models, the reflectors on the rear quarters were indented.

 

[JonK]

I think the hole (opening) was there in '67 but they didn't weld a nut in until late '67/early '68? it varies by plant I'm sure. I can take a better pic tomorrow but here's one of a '68

I can put a ruler next to it so you can guess placement better, I have since removed the belt so you'll be able to see the threads. I think that you may be able to pull the windlace loose, peel the headliner loose as it gets flapped over and the windlace clips it in place. You may be able to pull enough loose to get your hand in there to figure out if you have a nut welded in and where you need to make the hole to attach the upper belt. You have some fudge room for making the hole as the cover for the belt and the bracket are larger than the hole.

I have an early '67 Coupe and hope that I have the nut but haven't pulled the headliner loose yet, this '68 is a spare shell.
Jon

 

[JonK]

Forgot the ruler so let me know if you need measurements from any point:

Jon

 

[horseballz]

Thanks Jon,
It should be pretty easy to go from those nice pics. I'll let you know if I can't find 'em.
Thanks Again,
Gene

 

[Bitter]

Your pictures made me check again, JonK. I only checked the drivers side yesterday and mine has a hole but no threads. On the passengers side, there are threads but they aren't welded in inserts like yours. It looks to be a U-nut, similar to those used to secure the front fenders, that slips in through the opening behind the hole. There may be hope for us afterall.

 

[JonK]

I don't know if I'd trust a U-nut or J-nut to mount the seatbelts. I'd trust something more like a heavy (grade 8?) nut welded to a plate first, like this one:

It may need to be trimmed down to fit through that larger hole on the rear side and worked into the space where the nut would show through the hole.
Jon

 

[Bitter]

I agree with you but there is no access from the rear to weld it unless you drill some holes from the front and fill them with a MIG.

 

[JonK]

I think I've seen it done that way, they clamped it or screwed in place temp., drilled through both and then welded the holes, guess you could weld around the hole/nut too? I don't weld so I'll leave that to my welding guy when I get to that stage on my '67.
Jon

 

[hungrymonkey]

Read a write up for putting shoulder belts in a 61-66 ford pick up.

Basically the guy used a coat hanger to fish the backing plate behind the sheet metal, then installed a bolt to keep it from falling between the inner and outer sheet metal layers. Then welded it in place.