My experience installing

Shoulder Seat Belts

into a

1967 Ford Mustang Coupe

The Federal Government began requiring seat belts in all autos sold in the US with the 1967 model year. My 1967 Mustang coupe came with lap belts for all four passengers. Shoulder belts were an option for the ’67 Mustang, however they were not the self recoiling type and, from what I could tell, they were actually a pain to use. The shoulder strap was a separate belt that buckled into the lap belt system. A sort of "Y-belt" was used to connect the lap belt and shoulder belt to the retaining belt which came from the center or hump area of the car. The good news about the shoulder belt option is that all ’67 coupes had a provision for the upper shoulder strap mount – it just wasn’t used unless the shoulder belt option was chosen.

For safety reasons, I decided to install shoulder belts. I wasn’t sure how to do it, but I thought there would be some way to install shoulder belts if I just looked long and hard enough for options. I began searching several local boneyards. I looked at every seat belt set up I could find. The problem with 99% of what I saw was that the retracting mechanism is enclosed behind a plastic housing that usually extended from the headliner to the carpet. This would not work for a ’67 Mustang. What I needed was a self-enclosed retracting unit that could be mounted to the stock Mustang lower location and look stock.

I looked for over a year for this set up. This was kind of a side project as my time was mostly spent on other aspects of the restoration. One day, after pulling parts for another vehicle I own, I spent a few minutes looking for the ever elusive seat belt set up. I stopped to look at a Hyundai Excel hatchback 4 door (I think it was a 4 door anyway) and realized my search could possible be over (I believe any 2 or 4 door 1989 or 1990 Excel will work). The Hyundai Excel uses retracting mechanisms that are self enclosed and appeared to be exactly what I was looking for. I took all four retractors home with me for $15. What a deal, eh? As an added bonus the belt color was EXACTLY the same as my original belt color – Parchment. Too cool.

The Hyundai set up turned out to be just what I was looking for. Everything fit just great. I only needed to take advantage of the already present upper mounting hole by installing a nut somehow for the shoulder strap bolt. You need to know that at this time my headliner was not yet installed, so welding a nut in place was an option I considered. I really didn’t want to do that though. I came across the solution after searching through a collection of nuts, bolts and other fastener hardware I had collected from the cars I had looked at for the elusive seat belt set up. I had collected some J-nuts from a Chrysler minivan that turned out to work perfectly. They were taken from the rear most seat belts of an early 90’s model mini van. They just slid right into place as if Ford meant them to! (You can see pictures of J-Nuts in the graphics pages, linked below). A note of caution here - I used the "factory" fasteners I had taken off of cars during my search. I suggest you do the same. Don't take a chance with a sub-standard fastener here. Also, no big deal, but the Hyundai stock set up uses a chrome steel "loop" which is mounted at shoulder height in the Excel to allow the belt to move freely. I had to carefully cut this off the belt as it isn't needed for the Mustang set up. The belt won't move as freely as in the Excel, but there's no other way to do this in the Mustang.

After configuring the front belts, I concentrated on how to set up the rear belts. It was clear the rear belt retractors would need to be placed in the trunk. Interestingly, the rear belt retractors are also in the "trunk" or hatchback area of the Hyundai. I ended up copying the mounting concept from the Hyundai which works very well in the ’67 Mustang. I cut a perfectly sized hole in the package tray for the plastic clip that allows the belt to enter the trunk area. I then drilled a hole in the inner wheel well and mounted the retractors. I used a 3"x3" steel plate on the inside of the wheel well to ensure the retractors pulled against a large surface area in case they ever needed to perform the job they were meant for. I don’t want those retractors pulling through the sheet metal!

The final set up looks great! Check it out. Drop me a line if you decide to do this mod. I’d like to hear from you!

Brian at brian@472ci-67mustang.com

Click here for thumbnail page (56K or lower connection)

Click here for full size graphics page (> 56k connection)

Please report any errors, mistakes or inaccurate information to my attention for correction. Thanks!

A message from the firm Dewey, Cheatum, and How

NOTICE: I assume no liability whatsoever for any loss you may incur by installing a similar set up in your vehicle. I am not a safety engineer and don't play one on the web (or TV). Perform any modification to your vehicles original safety restraint system AT YOUR OWN RISK. Obtain the advise of an appropriate professional before making any modification to your vehicle.