Seatbelt?

[flareking41]

i have have recently gotten a 1972 ford f100 long bed. within a week i was pulled over for a seat belt violation. i had on my lap belt so i just got a warning. what i need to know is what came in the truck straight out of the factory? if it did come with the lap belt instead of the shoulder strap any ideas on how i can prove that? Any help you can give me would be very much appreciated

[TNIceWolf]

The answer to that is determined solely by state and local laws added onto the federal regulations. It is going to vary greatly according to where you are and what specific laws you must abide by. Just because Ford only built the truck a certain way doesnt mean that a state or local government cant add onto the regulation it was built under. I run just the lap belts here in TN and have never run into a problem. But that doesnt mean I wouldnt elsewhere. And considering it was just a warning......I would be kind of glad it was just that......and start researching local laws.

[flareking41]

well im in georgia so i imagine it wouldnt be that different. besides that i need to know what comes standard in the truck. that is the law

[Kurt Combs]

My 72 F250 has rubber plugs over the holes for the shoulder strap, came from the factory that way. You should probably try a google search and see if you can find some documentation on what was original. I would be surprised if a F100 didn't have the shoulder straps, Ford had a reason for putting those bolt holes in the B pillar and they would have put them in the F100 first considering it was for non-commercial use.

[Kurt Combs]

Here is a link to the documentation you are looking for. Seems the shoulder strap cost $34 in 1972.

http://www.fordification.com/library/ma ... temId=3200

Good luck with the local cops.

[TNIceWolf]

Which leads to the local yokels having a perfectly legitimate right to demand that it be equipped so. Unless of course the owner has absolutely bulletproof documentation proving it wasnt. Meaning a build sheet that specifies that. I have lived in Georgia a good chunk of my life. And I do know that just taking on the local law enforcement just aint smart if you dont have the records to back it up in court when it comes to vehicles. Like I said before....a local or state government CAN demand the upgrade if they choose to and the vehicle was equipped for it.

[Wilma-Colorado]

I think absolutely bulletproof documentation would be lack of a mounting point on the cab B pillar above and to your left rear. If there's a rubber plug in a threaded hole, your truck could have been equipped. I just bought my '70 F 100 in Albuquerque last week, it has no hole or plug. On the trip home I taped a two inch strip of black cloth to the pillar and draped it over my left shoulder for the 400 mile trip to Canon City, CO. It worked. I intend to install three point (shoulder belt) seat belts from Car Quest. About $30 each.

[hdpusher]

Not seeing a seatbelt over your shoulder is probably the reason you were pulled over. Then he saw the lap belt and gave you a warning? What did he say about the law? Was the lap belt sufficient or did he tell you to upgrade to a lap shoulder combination?

If a lap belt is ok in your state and you don’t decide to upgrade to the lap shoulder combo Id say you’ll prob be getting pulled over a few more times.

I live in Pa and the seat belt is a secondary violation. Meaning you cannot be stopped just for a seat belt there has to be another violation or a check point.

I would find a cop who is a gear head or does inspections and ask him or her. Being into vehicles they probally could point you in the right direction.

[TLXregnar07]

You can get a complete set of 3 point seatbelts fro setbelt pros, for I think it's around 125 or so. Takes about an hour to install, if the truck already has threaded upper mounts, like mine did.

[mrsnicks]

Fought this battle TONS. I have a 1969, no shoulder belts installed from the factory. I don't get a ticket or a warning, but some cops take the initial pull as a way to try to find anything out of place. Just recently NC changed the law where vehicles older than 25 years don't need yearly saftey inspections. I've been pulled quite a bit for that. You'd think the people that enforce the law would actually know the current laws....

Patrick

[omegaman]

I doubt very much you can be made to update to shoulder belts. That truck doesnt meet current crash test ratings or emissions, how about stopping distance. Tell that cop he has no business writing a warning for a law your not in violation of. The list goes on and on better put reflectors on the side of that bed and the fenders too.

[BobbyFord]

It only depends on what was standard equipment for that particular vehicle year. I do not have seat belts in my '63, which is exempt from seat belt laws because the truck did not come from the factory with seatbelts.

[djlassen5]

Boy, please. Someone out there, Help! I've got a clean '67 F-250 Camper Special Ranger with a lap belt and harness incompatibility. My newly-found harness set will not fit my factory lap buckle. Yah, I know. How in the world . . . ?
Anyway, that's the problem, and I have the harness set installed! It seems that my harness matches a '78-'79 Ford truck. The key on the harness is smaller than the factory buckle. Is this smaller size a standard and if so, what dates--oh, please? How can I track this and where can I pick up a set of lap belts/buckles ? Sincerely, DL

'67 F-250 Camper Special Ranger
'64 F-125 4X4 Six (Phone Company line truck)

[ScottT80]

I think I'd print out the info and have it with me just in case you were to get pulled over again. Anybody with any age on them knows that trucks didn't have shoulder belts back then.