The 71 that we should not have sold.

[wayne R]

Thought i would show couple of photos of the 1971 ,my wife and i purchased,
from New Mexico back in 2004,and shipped to New Zealand, where we lived at the time.
Was vin ending ----20287,all was stock except the po fitted a Nardi wheel in  the same colour
as paint,we put up with  that,never changed it, was stick shift ,with air that worked,and a very nice car.
Had 71000miles,.I noticed that the car never had seat belts ,from photos sent,and my wife asked
the owner by phone,does the car have seat belts,he said seat belts---no never been fitted from new.
Sure enough when it arrived you could tell they were never fitted,where the mounts were through the carpet,
trouble finding the holes,  seems hard to believe that alot of states in US were very late in seat belt laws.

[neelyrc]

Nice car Wayne.  Hindsight is great! 

Were the bundts original 14 inch?

[Mike Hughes]

Nice '65 Riviera in the side by side shot.  Was that yours or the PO's?

[wayne R]

Ralph, yes came with those on, i never liked the beige  upholstery,
colour  much,sorry forgot correct name.
Yes Mike a fabulous car i owned for about  15 years,and was
a real rocket,did about 40,000 miles in US with that car, include route 66.
Wayne.

[MikeSimon]

My German spec '71 does not have seat belts. I would have thought that every late 280 imported into the US had seat belts, regardless of the State it was shipped to. Are you sure it was originally a US car?

[wayne R]

My German spec '71 does not have seat belts. I would have thought that every late 280 imported into the US had seat belts, regardless of the State it was shipped to. Are you sure it was originally a US car?

Hi Mike, am working right now,---will try and find  papers in 6 hours
and get back to you,most went to new owner., regards Wayne.

[wayne R]

My German spec '71 does not have seat belts. I would have thought that every late 280 imported into the US had seat belts, regardless of the State it was shipped to. Are you sure it was originally a US car?
Mike found a copy of the title, but i suppose that wont help,the 71 had 2 previous
both from New Mexico,and we thought it was a US car not German,also when i
fitted the new belts i fitted retractable,and in New Zealand has to be checked for safety by engineer
certificate because of the upper mount hole used to mount,i   remember that, well,
I have just resently done the same with my 65 here in Australia, but Australia dont require inspection.
I dont have any other photos of inside car,regards Wayne.
Photo of 65 retractable belts.

[MikeSimon]

Wayne, I would be very interested to receive some detail about how to fit the retractable belts in the car, especially how you managed to get the "roll" behind the seats.
When I looked into this, it seemed you would lose a significant amount of seat travel back??

[wayne R]

Wayne, I would be very interested to receive some detail about how to fit the retractable belts in the car, especially how you managed to get the "roll" behind the seats.
When I looked into this, it seemed you would lose a significant amount of seat travel back??
[
Hi Mike  will answer in a few hours./quote]

[wayne R]

Mike, yes you are correct,with the new belts i fitted ,takes up 2.3/4 at the rear,
I am 5ft 10inches so with the seat where i use it, there is still a 2inch gap before the seat belt roll.
I will show  with a few photos, how to fit, not because i consider  to be an expert, but the reason is,over the years
all the classics ive shipped back to NZ , Ausy, ,With there crazy laws, seat belts have to be changed to be able to ,pass
the safety law  to drive on there roads.
Even my lovely 73 450SL, convertible had to change them, and you know how strong and safe they are.
In US theres plenty of choices, colours to buy,but safety you have to think about , always use factory mount holes wear possible,
use correct bolts, brackets,and backing plates , spring washers, a must, i changed my 230SL because old crappy, worn , original
still fitted.----will show second page.

[wayne R]

The most critical mount is the top hole , for the top attachment, because in behind this is
where the convertble top spring arm bracket pops down, so there is clearance between the bolt head
and arm, but when finished the retractable belts are far superior, dont flop around hitting doors,seats,etc,
and so easy to  fit  and looks nice.
On the 230SL original mounts had 3 holes, but you only have to use the main  large hole to fit the new.
Just fill with a flexable black sealer the holes not used,  for years have used a body and chrome black filler,
ex GM non harding used on Cadilacs, Buicks,etc.

[wayne R]

Will finish to say that, this would not work for any body over 6 ft-2 inches.
Plus this car has  rear kinder seat, so did not want  the belt rolls up anywhere
to interfere with seating or feet.
If any body wants more info ,dont hesitate to ask.

[mbzse]

I would suggest, you rotate the triangular seat belt mount (inflexion point) high up on the B-pillar 180 degrees.
You then gain some 100mm, i.e. a higher point of attachment for the belt over the shoulder.
Important safety geometry.
See pic attached

[wayne R]

Thanks Hans, yes  i realize that ,but with the rear kinder seat ,
take alook at my photo where the seat back sits against,---see photo,
also i like my main bottom roll  low out of the way ,for when entering rear seat,
But my main point here is ,members  that dont have them, go fit them ,they are so much safer,
and far more comfortable to use, .
Over the years when i see pagodas for sale , very few have retractable belts fitted.
Regards.