what was the last year for just lap belts?

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moparfan68

moparfan68

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just curious does anyone know what was the last year for just lap belts were ????
 
well my 73 had those stupid shoulder belt that can be not used lol so before then...
 
67,69 had the unusable shoulder belt
 
I think I have this right, Jan 1st, 1967 was when the government required mounting points for shoulder belts, and Jan 1968 was when shoulder belts became mandatory. So that means a '68 model may or may not have shoulder belts depending on when it was built.
 
My '70 Valiant just had lap belts. It seemed to have the original headliner, and with no tears or holes where the mechanism may have been.
 
jwh70valiant said:
My '70 Valiant just had lap belts. It seemed to have the original headliner, and with no tears or holes where the mechanism may have been.
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Could your Valiant have originally been a commercial vehicle? Shoulder belts weren't mandatory equipment on those cars, from what I read.
 
Optional till 68 and mandatory for the 73 model year and in 74 and on 3 point one piece belts for cars only.
Trucks dont have the same regulations
 
goldfish65 said:
Could your Valiant have originally been a commercial vehicle? Shoulder belts weren't mandatory equipment on those cars, from what I read.
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It possibly could have been. It was as bare-bones as they come. According to the build sheet, it appeared the AM radio and automatic transmission were the only "upgrades", if thats what it would be called, it came with.
 
My Mom's 1967 Coronet did not have optional shoulder belt. My 1968 Dodge Dart had the optional shoulder belt with the same buckle as the lap belt. Now my 1972 Dodge Dart has the optional shoulder belt that hooks on a post on the lap belt. I use the shoulder belt when on the Highway, but it makes it impossible to reach the vent door with it on.
 
my 68 signet has lap belts only...the holes for the shoulder belts it there but the threaded nutsert is not...my 69 gt has shoulder belts...
 
my 72 barracuda has the Rolled up shoulder belts 73 challenger has the modern style my 68 fury was a lap belt only deal
 
The '68 Fury III hardtop I bought new had shoulder belts that stored above the side window. Another '68 Fury III hardtop that I bought used had only lap belts.
 
1972
- My Valiant - built in July 72 has lap belts.
- My Duster - built August 72 has shoulder belts.
 
goldfish65 said:
Could your Valiant have originally been a commercial vehicle? Shoulder belts weren't mandatory equipment on those cars, from what I read.
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Not correct. There was no exemption from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 209 (seat belt assemblies) for "commercial vehicles" -- it sounds like you might have read somebody's misunderstanding of the reason why school, transit, and tour buses aren't required to have seat belts for the passengers.

FMVSS 209 was the first US national vehicle safety standard to take effect, on 1 March 1967. Under FMVSS 209, shoulder belts at each front outboard seating position became mandatory in new passenger vehicles built on or after 1 January 1968. That's "passenger vehicle" as defined in the standard -- some trucks and vans weren't considered passenger vehicles for the purpose of the standard, but no, it is definitely not the case that a passenger car would be exempt from the requirement simply because it was a fleet car, a taxi, or bought for some other commercial purpose.

Shoulder belts were optional equipment in Chrysler Corp vehicles, including A-bodies, as early as 1966. They were standard equipment in Chrysler Corp vehicles made and sold in some other countries even earlier than that. For example, Swiss-built and Australian-built Valiants got nicer, better seat belts considerably earlier than US/Canada cars. In the US/Canada A-bodies, the front shoulder belts were completely separate from the lap belts (with their own buckles -- a total of five buckles making a mess all over the front seat!) through 1971. In 1972 the lap and shoulder belt end fittings were redesigned so they could be clipped together and one single tongue was then fastened into one single buckle. In 1974 was released the "Uni-Belt", Chrysler's name for the now-familiar single belt/single-buckle retractable 3-point belt.
 
slantsixdan said:
Not correct. There was no exemption from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 209 (seat belt assemblies) for "commercial vehicles" -- it sounds like you might have read somebody's misunderstanding of the reason why school, transit, and tour buses aren't required to have seat belts for the passengers.

FMVSS 209 was the first US national vehicle safety standard to take effect, on 1 March 1967. Under FMVSS 209, shoulder belts at each front outboard seating position became mandatory in new passenger vehicles built on or after 1 January 1968. That's "passenger vehicle" as defined in the standard -- some trucks and vans weren't considered passenger vehicles for the purpose of the standard, but no, it is definitely not the case that a passenger car would be exempt from the requirement simply because it was a fleet car, a taxi, or bought for some other commercial purpose.

Shoulder belts were optional equipment in Chrysler Corp vehicles, including A-bodies, as early as 1966. They were standard equipment in Chrysler Corp vehicles made and sold in some other countries even earlier than that. For example, Swiss-built and Australian-built Valiants got nicer, better seat belts considerably earlier than US/Canada cars. In the US/Canada A-bodies, the front shoulder belts were completely separate from the lap belts (with their own buckles -- a total of five buckles making a mess all over the front seat!) through 1971. In 1972 the lap and shoulder belt end fittings were redesigned so they could be clipped together and one single tongue was then fastened into one single buckle. In 1974 was released the "Uni-Belt", Chrysler's name for the now-familiar single belt/single-buckle retractable 3-point belt.
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1968FormulaS340 said:
It's about time you got here, Dan.
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Anyone know about the correct seat belts for the 68 Barracuda convertible? Mine was MIA so I don't know what is supposed to be there and where any shoulder belts would have been attached.
 
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