My '64 F500 did not come with seat belts. It was a farm truck with a grain box and likes to go about 50 MPH. Since I am on the highways with it(minus the grain box), it would be nice to have a pair of lap belts, at least. The problem is the floor of the cab is not accessable from underneath. The truck has a double floor with about four inches of dead space. I removed the fuel tank from behind the seat and replaced that with a frame mounted 50 gallon tank. The floor the tank sat on is fairly thick sheet metal and through bolts rerinforced with backing plates would work toanchor seat belts but, again, that space is not accessable by an adult sized hand. I thought about drilling holes on that floor plate (where the OEM gas tank was lcoated) and welding nuts over the holes but, as Chesty Puller said so well, "There has to be a harder way."

Has anyone delt with this issue? The rubber plugs that cover the bolt holesfor seat belts on the floor in front of where the fuel tank used to live, the ones referred to in other posts, are not present in this truck.

I did read the thread "Need Advice on 3-point seat belt" and the great write up by Charlie McCraney.However, his truck did not seem to have the double floor issue or I am missed something.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated as I am stumped like a chump.

 

Have you considered rivnuts? They slip in from one side and when you tighten them up they crush like a rivet to create the hold. I am not sure the specific strength they have but they can be installed with only one side accessible.

 

Not familiar with them but I will check them out. It looks like I need to pull the bench seat out and see what I have to work with. The anchors need to be substantial. A 20,000 pound mass moving at 55 MPH and coming to an abrupt stop is bound to create substantial force stressing the anchors and the occupants. I guess this means competition lap belts and a shoulder harness.

 

I am reminded of a very fractured quote that I just made up that goes as follows:

"Seatbelts, disk brakes, dual master cylinders, air bags and 'safety features' in general, is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible that a large, very heavy moving object, such as a 1960's American-made steel truck, could ever need the any of the above to protect it or it's occupants, from a collision with a smaller, inconsequential and mostly plastic object such as a foreign produced car or minivan; which is, of course, absurd."

 

Your cab all ready has seat belt mounting points installed in it at the factory.

Pull the seat forward and look at the floor you will see four rubber plugs in the floor just before the rise to the gas tank shelf.

All 61 to 66 cabs have them.

Garbz

 

Garbz, on mine at least, not sure about the bigger trucks, it has the holes yes, but it's a bolt on top with a nut and washer on the bottom side, not anything to actually get the bolt attached to as is what seems to be Flame Out's problem

 

KUDOS Greg, I was looking for the LIKE button.





John

 

First year for factory installed (lap) seat belts in trucks, Bronco's and Econolines: 1967.

Prior years, seat belts were optional. Ditto for backup lamps, left hand outside mirror, heater and defroster.

 

Running my truck down the freeway last night the thought passed through my small mind that I, too, might like some lap belts.
Just to keep my fat butt from bouncing around the cab you understand. :smile:

 

The thing is that the inconsequential mostly plastic object still has some mass. So when they stop in front of you and you're not paying attention, it will bring your 1960's American made steel truck to a stop quick. This is where the seat belt comes into play and if your brakes were up to the challenge, it may have been avoided completely. Another thing to consider is that all things on or near the road are not inconsequential, and while they may still have a lot of plastic, are much larger and heavier than the 1960's American made steel truck. So being able to stop and not having your face modified by the steering wheel are great things.
You can argue this all you want. When I first got my truck, the brakes weren't great. I'm sure it was mostly neglect. Anyhow, long story short, I hit one of these inconsequential mostly plastic vehicles. It was low speed neither one of us came out too bad but my truck had by far the most damage. We're talking scratches for them and scratches and bent stuff for me. There's a lot of collision technology in that plastic. So it's better brakes and seat belts for me. I don't need liberals to tell me that. It's just common sense.

 

My comment was mostly a joke.

However, there is a more hidden message my humor, in that there are people out there that think that older vehicles are so unsafe and dangerous, that they should be removed from the road and crushed.

Every year, there are more Federal restrictions and safety requirements that new vehicles must meet. As this legislation continues to be enacted our trucks are viewed as being more and more unsafe and less and less roadworthy, which was the point of my 'fractured' quote's twist on this view.

 

Nothing doing here, but why couldent you just weld two sides of the mounting bracket?

2-2" welds on each side should be able to safely stop a 250lb man at 55mph to 0mph.

Yes the metal may deform or even tear but its sole purpose is to stop you from going flying. If you dont trust the 14ga steel you are welding to install a piece of 1/4" by 3" strap steel the entire length and lightly stich it with a 1-3pitch that will hold a few tons of force easily. Then simply weld the belt brackets to that.

Seatbelts, dual circuit brakes, and discs are all great inovations. I say use them if you can. Better stopping and the safety that the belts offer is great and inteligent. Saying that a 50s or 60s car or truck is not as safe is ludicris however.

My grandfather was a ND highway patrolman for 42 years. I have seen black and whites from the 50s and 60s when theese accidents took place. The front end is smashed up and the rest of the car is fine. If they simply would have had seatbelts on these people would walk away. If not they are dead.

He showed me one of a full size buick that smoked a roller. The welds for the rollers bearings cracked! the front of the car was smashed in about half way. The driver went through the windshield but the interior was not compressed at all.

Belive what you want. Some of this saves lives, some of it is just liberal hogwash that is driving up the cost of cars. Same with smog laws.