Bolt/plate in floorpan under seat?

[69427]

Please pardon the stupid question, but I'm having some brainfade with what I'm seeing under the car (the '69). There's a riveted plate almost directly under each seat with a healthy bolt going through it. What are they for? The seatbelts anchor outboard of the seats IIRC. What am I misreading here?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[mrvette]

Please pardon the stupid question, but I'm having some brainfade with what I'm seeing under the car (the '69). There's a riveted plate almost directly under each seat with a healthy bolt going through it. What are they for? The seatbelts anchor outboard of the seats IIRC. What am I misreading here?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike, the seatbelt mechanism is under the seat, and so to the inboard side of the seat, the stiff side next to the console is bolted almost horizontally to through the tranny tunnel....the belt leaves the retractor and comes up through a loop that looks like a door handle bolted to the outer well of the floor, and then there is a plastic stop keeping the belt in easy reach....

the under seat retracter bolt is vertical through the floorboard....:clobbered:

 

[69427]

Please pardon the stupid question, but I'm having some brainfade with what I'm seeing under the car (the '69). There's a riveted plate almost directly under each seat with a healthy bolt going through it. What are they for? The seatbelts anchor outboard of the seats IIRC. What am I misreading here?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike, the seatbelt mechanism is under the seat, and so to the inboard side of the seat, the stiff side next to the console is bolted almost horizontally to through the tranny tunnel....the belt leaves the retractor and comes up through a loop that looks like a door handle bolted to the outer well of the floor, and then there is a plastic stop keeping the belt in easy reach....

the under seat retracter bolt is vertical through the floorboard....:clobbered:

I'm not following you, Gene. I don't have (or at least I'm not aware of) a belt retractor. The inner (stiff) belts are as you described, but the outer (door side) belts just lay outside the seat, and are adjusted by changing the loop length.

 

[SmokinBBC]

If it is a piece that goes the width of the floor pan, then the seat track screws go through them.

 

[BBShark]

If you are asking about the plate that is between the two rear seat track plates, that is the anchor bolt for the outer lap belt. That belt is then threaded through a plate that bolts to the side of the seat well.

 

[mrvette]

If you are asking about the plate that is between the two rear seat track plates, that is the anchor bolt for the outer lap belt. That belt is then threaded through a plate that bolts to the side of the seat well.

I have a '72 that had retractors with it when I got it, I assumed they were stock and may well be, I can't say about a '69, I would have thought they the same....that plate you speak of is more like a kitchen cab door handle/pull than a plate on my car....it basically keeps the belt from sliding back under the seat...I would THINK the same anchor bolt holding my retractor would hold the tag end of the belt Mike describes, which I always thought of as like a airliner uses...:crylol:

 

[69427]

Thanks guys. It's been decades since I had the carpet out, and I didn't recall that the belt snaked down that far.

I appreciate the help! :thumbs:

 

[73c34me]

O.K. now i am confused. I have the carpet out of my 73 and pulled the seat belts out long ago. But, I don't recall them attaching to this plate. I was looking at this a week ago. and it looked like the plate was there to stiffen the floor only. I am installing a 6 point harness & it looked like the submarine belt could be fastened to this.

 

[68/70Vette]

That big bolt is for the seat belts, an in particular the retractor mechanism. I sent my seat belts into Snake Oyl for rebuilding. As expected when they sent the estimate it was a jaw dropper (I think around $800). But in the listing of rebuild items and costs, they listed cost for rebuilding the retractors. Ahah! I didn't have retractors, and so I called them up and asked about the retractor charges. They said surprise, you do have retractors. I didn't know that. They apparently had rusted up or somthing. I bought the car in 1972 or 1973 and the retractors had never worked! They work now however! Beautiful job.

I got a particularly big bill because I also ordered duplicate factory shoulder belts. Only 35 68 Vette convertibles were sold with shoulder belts. I also wanted head rests (to keep my head from being snapped off by a rear ender). I had to get seat backs from a 69 for the headrest capability. Al Knoch produced my head rests. He apparently has the factory tooling to mold new ones. Also, I bought the little U channel clips that hold the shoulder belts on the seat backs. I paid almost $200 on ebay for them. Al said he could have sold them to me cheaper. He has a lot of seat stuff in stock that he doesn't show in his catalog.

 

[BBShark]

That big bolt is for the seat belts, an in particular the retractor mechanism. I sent my seat belts into Snake Oyl for rebuilding. As expected when they sent the estimate it was a jaw dropper (I think around $800). But in the listing of rebuild items and costs, they listed cost for rebuilding the retractors. Ahah! I didn't have retractors, and so I called them up and asked about the retractor charges. They said surprise, you do have retractors. I didn't know that. They apparently had rusted up or somthing. I bought the car in 1972 or 1973 and the retractors had never worked! They work now however! Beautiful job.

I got a particularly big bill because I also ordered duplicate factory shoulder belts. Only 35 68 Vette convertibles were sold with shoulder belts. I also wanted head rests (to keep my head from being snapped off by a rear ender). I had to get seat backs from a 69 for the headrest capability. Al Knoch produced my head rests. He apparently has the factory tooling to mold new ones. Also, I bought the little U channel clips that hold the shoulder belts on the seat backs. I paid almost $200 on ebay for them. Al said he could have sold them to me cheaper. He has a lot of seat stuff in stock that he doesn't show in his catalog.

Do you have a picture that shows how (and where) the shoulder belt clip mounts to the seat? I don't know that I have ever seen a convertible with a shoulder belt. That's something I would like to have.

 

[Twin_Turbo]

I have 2 of those u channel clips somewhere...200 bucks huh??

 

[68/70Vette]

Do you have a picture that shows how (and where) the shoulder belt clip mounts to the seat? I don't know that I have ever seen a convertible with a shoulder belt. That's something I would like to have.

Dang. I really need to learn how to post photos. Actually the 69 seat backs would clearly show the shoulder belt clips attach. (The 70 seat back was elevated in height and had the shoulder belts protruding through the seat back. The 70 seat back is not relevant to our discussion. It's a completely seat back)

For shoulder belts in a 68 or 69, you need a 69 seat back for the shoulder belt clips. Also, if you want a head rest, you must have a 69 seat back. Many of the 69 seat backs didn't not have the shoulder belt clips installed. Nevertheless, the metal frame of the seat back had the nut plates installed in the 69 seat backs. So, you really need a 69 seat back. (unless you're stuck with a 68 and skilled at some welding, etc). With a 69 seat back, you can easily screw in the seat back shoulder belt clips.

I bought a set of 69 seat frames on ebay. They were encapsulated in hard sand. Don't know how this can happen. I chipped the sand away and cleaned them up. I took the seat backs and then had them media blasted and then powder painted. I paid about $185 for the 69 shoulder clips on the seat back. Al Knoch said he would have sold them for a lot less.