73 vs 74 shoulder belt drop

I have a 73 that has the odd 3 piece shoulder belt. Does anyone know if the forward 74 mount location is there behind the headliner ? I would like to put the scott drake retractable belts in and don't want to tear out original headliner looking for other mounting point. A measurement from those two locations would allow me to probe with an awl and see if it's drilled.

 

No, there is no forward hole/nut location on our 73 (at least on my Comet) like on the 74 and up........
David

If I recall, the "flattened" area where the 74 would mount is there, but not drilled out and would obviously not have the nut/insert in place. Will be back working on the Comet once the weather warms up, so will check again.

 

This is my 75 you can see the upper shoulder belt bolt anchor located hope it help you

 

My original headliner is good or I would. drill and put backing plate there. I can use the other location for now.

 

One of the things I like about my '73 is that is has no shoulder belts...

 

It was a bit of work for me to graft those '74 belts into my '71. I had to cut up the sill and floor. The upper mount had to be welded into the roof support directly above. Otherwise, the locking feature will not operate correctly. I had them rebuilt. I'm glad I did it for the added safety.

Micah

 

BTW, ... that picture of my car has the 1972 shoulder attachment point, but the drop hanging from it came from a 1990s Church Van (F-250?). Those drops don't look out of place and they do position the belt in an OK place. The original separate shoulder belt arrangement was awful. I'm tall, and the belt strapped up over the door entrance meant I got cracked in the head with the buckle end everytime I got in and out of the car. It got trashed in short order.

I definitely like the idea of the three point belt. A baby step toward safety.

 

I scavenged a set of drops from a 76 maverick. They are 50 years old, and idk how to route new belt thru.. Seatbelt planet sells 3 point with drop option built in.

 

I had to disassemble the aftermarket spring-loaded retractor. Remove belt. Thread belt through drop. Manually wind the retractor full stop. Reattach belt.

Repeat for the passenger side.

It was as tedious as it sounds. Have a lot of time and patience set aside before attempting.

 

'Sounds like a lot more trouble than it's worth...

 

I guess, if you don't care about your nose or teeth

 

Still have both...

 

Or getting pulled over by the cops.

 

There's no law that says your pre-1974 car must have a shoulder belt. I've never been pulled over for that...