Seat belts - veteran car

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
Do any of you EF'ers know whether it's compulsory for veteran class cars to have seat belts fitted?

I'm in the process of buying an old Ford Mustang, but all of the lap belts are missing, front and back. I had thought they were part of the original spec, but the current owner is assuring me this isn't an issue given the veteran classification of the vehicle here in CH???

I'll have a definitive answer the next time the vehicle goes for MfK, but would prefer to know and prepare if needed now...

Thanks in advance...

2
I too have always wondered about this...

3
They may have been a factory option when your car was produced, but belts may have also been mandatory for that year here in Switzerland.

Hard mounting points started to become the norm in the early '60s, but laws took a while to make wearing mandatory. Trivia question: Where were safety belts first made mandatory?

Aside from the legalities, just fit belts - you're mad to go out on the road without them.

EDIT: Just did a bit of googling, apparently belts were not mandatory here in Switzerland until May 1972.

4
I've a friend who owns some vintage cars, 1926 and onwards. None have seat belts and all have Swiss number plates.

5
Friend of mine had a 356, also no belts.

Rule is, if they didn't come stock, you don't need them.

However, you can add them (and do the appropriate MFK for modifications), but if you do, you cannot remove them, and that may have a negative effect on the value.

Tom

6
Czechoslovakia (1966, at least wearing them).

The US made equipping cars with them in 1968, and some states started making wearing them mandatory in 1984, but they are still not mandatory in all states.

Tom

7
When it comes to a car of 1920s vintage, you're talking a venerable gem with teak panels and brasswork that probably doesn't see much annual mileage, that the owner always handles with the greastest care, doesn't take on the motorway, etc, and thus you see a real reduction in the risk of a serious accident.

But a muscle car like a Ford Mustang whose performance is still on par or better than most modern cars, should really have seat belts in my opinion.

8
Another question for you motoring types. This Mustang has this silver bar running across the top of the engine bay - have any of you seen anything like this before? It's clearly not original, and presumably is some kind of stabiliser bar which I haven't come across in refurbished Mustangs before...

9
lol

10

Albeit they would only be lap belts in the front for sure as nothing in the convertible to fasten shoulder belts to! I promise not to drive like a loon if this machine joins our family.......loon time is for my motorbikes!

11
http://opentrackerracing.com/product...ome-1964-1970/

Tom

12
It's to stiffen the front clip. Fairly common. They started to appear as aftermarket mods in the late '70s iirc.

You may end up having to remove it if you want the Veteran MFK, but not if you can prove it was a period modification.

If it's a manual then you'd best start exercising your left leg, I remember the clutch on them was hard work.

13
Teeth pulling time:

Which year/version?

Tom

14
its it a swiss car? already imported, swiss registered.

Or are you importing it?

as for on a par with a modern car LOL LOL LOL they had around 200bhp back then, so yep REALLY powerful, even our workhorse is more powerful.

15
65 (Guessing).

16
Classic cars which are registered as such are legal in the way they were legal back then. You do not need to retrofit them with modern safety features. But: If that Mustang came with belts can you not just throw them out... but restore the original state.

With a car as common as a Mustang would I expect the authorities to know quite well what they looked like when new...

17
You'd be surprised. With many of the '60s cars the inspector is very often younger than the car. They have tables for many things, but they are rarely familiar with every detail of an individual car - unless they own one themselves.

18
Unles it has a 427 OHC side-oiler.

Tom

19
Thanks again for input.

Is a mid '66 authentic GT - except for that bar across the engine bay, there have been no modern modifications made to the original spec (that I've been able to see anyway!) Already on CH registration plates. A very different proposition to my motorbikes, and my old Landrover Disco2! I've already resigned myself to garaging her over the winter months. Final inspection tonight with her up on a lift so I can have a good poke around underneath.....

She's got a monster turning circle (but so does my old Disco), the brakes are crap, the steering is a little wafty, and the clutch is indeed a workout; but she sure does sound great and I cannot help but grin every time I've taken her for a drive...

20
So, like most of my bikes (Ducatis).

Tom