first car you owned with seat belts

barnaclebill

First car I owned with seat belts was in 1971 it was a 1963 Sunbeam Rapier, it had a 4 speed gearbox with electric overdrive on 3rd and 4th so a six speed. It was a coupe, the back windows tilted back and with no door piller it looked like a hardtop
The seat belts had a strange lock, it did not 'click' into place, it had a kind of clip that hooked together, I started using it as soon as I got the car, thinking back it was not so much safety but it felt sporty to wear it.
I have always used seat belts in every car I owned that had them fitted

[Deleted User]

MK2 Escort 2door with an engine, wheels and windows (all the mod cons) 1978

BeenThroughItAll

My first car, 1967 Triumph Herald 1200.

reeac

My first was a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 (with the Thunderbird Special 5.2 litre V8). That was in California back in 1962. The car didn't have belts when we got it ....we had them fitted. We had them fitted to our 1956 MG Magnette ZB in early 1965 after we we returned to the UK. Our 1964 Rover 2000 which we bought in 1970 had them fitted as standard.

chrisw

I never used to wear a seatbelt (pre-compulsory) until a Capri overtook me on a bend, lost the back end, hit the kerb and flew up in the air to bounce off a bus shelter. The driver went clean through the windscreen and was lay on the flattened shelter covered in blood.

He got carted off in an ambulance, I've no idea what happened to him. Always worn a seatbelt since.

jimmy_cricket

I was told off by the driving test examiner as I took my test a couple of months befor the new seat belt legislation and didn't wear my belt. I hated them. Mk 1 escort and they were not the automatic tensioned ones we have now. As much use as a chocolate fire guard

AdrianC

<rolls eyes> Another "when ah were a lad..." thread.

Front seatbelts must be fitted in every single UK-registered car that's now under 51 years old, and have been required for nearly 50 years. The requirement for them to be worn at all times now dates back 33 years...

Rear seatbelts must be fitted in every single UK-registered car that's now under 30 years old, and they've been required wearing for 25 years.

agrinnall

All of my cars have had seat belts, from the Escort I bought in 1982 onwards, and I've always worn them, even when they were non-inertia reel and not a great deal of use.

reeac

My 1958 MGA is exempt. When I was restoring it I looked into seat belts but it entailed welding brackets to the chassis in the cockpit which sounded difficult. I always drive it very carefully anyway although I did once take it up to 85 mph on the A303 in Wiltshire.

AdrianC

reeac wrote: »

My 1958 MGA is exempt.

Yep, 1965 was when the requirement for mounts came in, and 1968 saw fitment backdated to 1965.

When I was restoring it I looked into seat belts but it entailed welding brackets to the chassis in the cockpit which sounded difficult.

Straightforward as part of any kind of meaningful restoration.
http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/interior/int120.htm

reeac

AdrianC wrote: »

Yep, 1965 was when the requirement for mounts came in, and 1968 saw fitment backdated to 1965.



Straightforward as part of any kind of meaningful restoration.
http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/interior/int120.htm

I guess that it was meaningful in the sense that I started with a dismantled array of bits and pieces and ended up with a car which I still drive 33 years later.