theandies

When did Chevy change the lap belt to retract? My Friends 75 (petty44) lap belts retract and he has the shoulder harness that clips to the lap belt like on my 71. It’s been a while since I have seen his car and didn't pay any attention to them the last time I saw his car. I would like to do the late model Camaro swap but I am hesitant because I don't want to waste money on belts I cannot use. Is there a special pocket that the lap belt retractor sits in? Or better yet, are there any owners who have performed the Camaro swap on an early shark?

ricketyray

My 73 has retracting shoulder and lap belts.

zwede

The lapbelt retractors were added starting with '72. The Camaro belt conversion works great on early sharks. I have them on my '71. '71 is one of the easiest to convert, BTW. Simple bolt-on.

Duke94

Zwede is correct, the Camaro switch takes 10 minutes and work great. Bought mine on eBay for 25 bucks. If you do a search, you'll find the thread with install pictures.

Robert N

John, just IMed you some info that should help.

pra4sun

I am also interested in this information. I did a Search on all Forums for Camaro Seat Belt, looking for the installation, and it did not come up as a match.

Will this work on a '70?

stpman

Here is the link that walks you through the instal complete with words and pictures.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=566021

Steve :steering:

theandies

zwede - Do the lapbelt retractors fit ok next to the seat on our 71's?

Thanks everyone for the replies. I am going to do this mod.

Edit - This mod requires only the rear seatbelts out of a Camaro or Firebird right?



[Modified by theandies, 10:06 AM 6/17/2003]

nada

Is there anyway to get the shoulder portion of the belt through the seat-back opening?

zwede

The retractor goes behind the seat, where your shoulder belt retractor is now. There is only one retractor.

Yes, only the rear belts are used.

theandies

AHHHHH I see now, thanks zwede

pra4sun

:iagree:

Another thanks for the info.

This is a worthwhile upgrade, and will be the first non-stock one I am doing.

theandies

Now we just have to figure out how to get the sholder harness through the seat.

pra4sun

I'm thinking the same thing. I would like to use the cut out in the seat-back, but I hav no idea how hard that will be to do.