Seat belts in historical vehicles...

superior was kind of funny that way. you could get shoulder harnesses in 72 but you had to ask and pay for them. superior would add them to the back of ambulances and combo to if requested. both the 72 CBs have them. as does the 73 S&S. in front but the S&S and the Seville don't have seat belts even in the rear. the 72 ambulance does. they fasten clear up on the top just behind the door opening. then they clipped to the belt buckle threw a hole and slot. there are the two piece system. that gm had in the 70s. pretty much junk. one more example of just doing what meets the mandate and :thumbsdown: the consumer.
 
Seat Belts

My '66 Superior does not have any seat belts, and I have no plans to install any. I rarely wear seat belts - I don't like them and have survived unscathed several wrecks without them. I don't think that the gov't has any business forcing me to be "safe" as long as hang-gliding is legal...
That being said, when my '65 Ford F250 is complete I will probably have some installed in that vehicle since I am going to use the leather seats out of a Lincoln Mark 8 - along with the engine, transmission, and IRS...
 
Matthew Taylor said:
My '66 Superior does not have any seat belts, and I have no plans to install any. I rarely wear seat belts - I don't like them and have survived unscathed several wrecks without them. I don't think that the gov't has any business forcing me to be "safe"
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Well stated, I feel the same way, and have also excaped wrecks without one. I feel its my right if I want to go through the windshield or not.
The only reason I started wearing one is the tickets got expensive.
I remember fighting a seat belt ticket with my '66 Superior because it didnt have them. I had to prove to the judge It was possible it did not have them and it was an option. I brought in my Cadillac book that states front seat belt delete option is a $17 credit. I actually got out of paying that one.
 
Canadian seat belts

In Canada, it was not mandatory to have seat belts in cars until 1977. All Canadian provinces have seat belt laws at this time. Our B.C. seat belt laws exempt seat belt wearing if the vehicle was not originally equipped from the factory. Retro-fitting is not required. Having said that, if the vehicle is older than 1977 and was originally equipped with seat belts, they must be worn. My 1968 Pontiac Superior ambulance has lap belts for driver and passenger in the front, and a lap belt for the forward-facing rear jump seat in the patient compartment. My 1975 Criterion has lap belts for driver and passenger up front with detachable shoulder belts. Both jump seats in the patient compartment have lap belts. The squad bench has two belts that would be better for securing a patient lying down than a person sitting.
 
original equipment

My '65 F250 failed the Missouri "Safety Inspection" for, (among many other things!) not having any seat belts. When I informed the shop that they were not factory installed in 1965, it was the first they had heard of it.
 
If you check the jump seat belt attachment, you will see that they are only bolted to the rear floor, which is usually only plywood. The squad bench belts were probably intended to hold the patient, not an attendant. That is what the jump seats are for...
 
That may be the theory, Paul, but I can tell you that in my over 30 years of EMS service, I did way more patient care from the squad bench than I ever did from the jump seats. Mind you, your point is certainly applicable to the old days of "scoop and run" ambulance service, when the most that might be done was to apply oxygen.

These days, starting an I.V., administering medications, monitoring blood pressure or cardiac rhythm, performing C.P.R. or defibrillating can't be done from the head of the patient. That's why ambulances with squad benches were so well received by E.M.S. providers when we got past the point of "load 'n' go". Access to the patient from many angles was a major benefit. In fact, I suspect that your Pinner may have been one of the ones that planted the seed for this valuable addition.
 
I was stating what the manufacturer intended the belts to be used for. As for the scoop and go part, we never practiced that in NJ where I was on 2 different squads.. In fact, I can't remember ever working in an ambulance that didn't have a squad bench. What most people don't realize is that New Jersey was one of the very first states to have volunteer ambulance squads that were not associated with a fire service. The New Jersey State First Aid Council was organized in the 1930's going from memory. Who knows, that is where the original idea might have come from. I know that the New Jersey shore squads were using truck based ambulances on the beaches long before they became popular for ambulance bodies.
 
yes they only look like seat belts on the squad bench there pt restaurants. they wrap around the seat and tie off at the same point. or at least they are supposed to.
Jim wanted me to put the lap belts in his 66 I did find that superior did have the anchors in place to put them in. had a deuce of a time finding the correct seat belts with the big buckles for the 66. they were all color coordinated in those years and we could find any color but black. I had to dig out the seam sealer they filled the holes with as they caulked the floor seams but they were there.
 
I gave Jim a pair of period correct belts for his car, but I guess that he didn't use them. Had he asked, I probably could have found the correct 1966 Cadillac belts on eBay with enough time to look.
 
I did get the full set in black. the 66 had the big buckle and it won't go threw the vinyl cover. they had to have threaded it threw when the hooked it to the spool. I was short one drivers side outer but finely found it. it's getting to be a long time back, for the plastic pieces to be still good in the junk yard.
 
Paul Steinberg said:
I was stating what the manufacturer intended the belts to be used for. As for the scoop and go part, we never practiced that in NJ where I was on 2 different squads.. In fact, I can't remember ever working in an ambulance that didn't have a squad bench. What most people don't realize is that New Jersey was one of the very first states to have volunteer ambulance squads that were not associated with a fire service. The New Jersey State First Aid Council was organized in the 1930's going from memory. Who knows, that is where the original idea might have come from. I know that the New Jersey shore squads were using truck based ambulances on the beaches long before they became popular for ambulance bodies.
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When i was growing up in Rockland County New York between 1956 and 1974 I remember our local volunteer ambulance corps were NOT part of the local volunteer fire dept either. I recall several times in the 1960's the Nanuet Community Volunteer Ambulance responding to my house to take my mom to the hospital and the fateful day in 1965 when she died at home. Then in 1974 my dad fell off the roof of the house and was taken to the hospital. I'm thinking I remember a 63-64 Cadillac and a 69-70 Cadillac. By 74 they did have a van ambulance but i remember the Cadillac being at the house.
 
Paul Steinberg said:
...What most people don't realize is that New Jersey was one of the very first states to have volunteer ambulance squads that were not associated with a fire service. The New Jersey State First Aid Council was organized in the 1930's going from memory. Who knows, that is where the original idea might have come from...
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The Roanoke Life Saving & First Aid Crew in Roanoke, VA is generally credited as being the first independent, volunteer rescue squad in the country, starting in 1928. Julian Stanley Wise started the squad, and the foundation that operated the "To the Rescue" museum in Roanoke bears his name (though the museum itself is gone).

That said, the idea really took off in NJ, where there were more rescue/first aid squads than probably anywhere. Early advanced first aid training can also be credited to NJ.
 
early rescue squads

We are restoring the first piece of motorized equipment owned by the Philipsburg, NJ Rescue Squad, a 1937 Boyertown bodied GMC. Over the years they had a '41 LaSalle ambulance as well as a '53 Buick, '56, '58 and '59 and '64 Cadillacs. The GMC is the only vintage piece still in their fleet. Unfortunately it does not qualify for PCS recognition.
 
Jeff Hammers said:
We are restoring the first piece of motorized equipment owned by the Philipsburg, NJ Rescue Squad, a 1937 Boyertown bodied GMC. Over the years they had a '41 LaSalle ambulance as well as a '53 Buick, '56, '58 and '59 and '64 Cadillacs. The GMC is the only vintage piece still in their fleet. Unfortunately it does not qualify for PCS recognition.
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Hey Jeff post some pics of the GMC. Although not really a procar there are alot of us that still love ambulances, procar or not.
 
Brendan, it's a rescue squad truck, not an ambulance. Nonetheless, here's a "before" photo of it at Jeff's shop.
 

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Sorry No help with seat belt but:

Paul Steinberg said:
If you check the jump seat belt attachment, you will see that they are only bolted to the rear floor, which is usually only plywood. The squad bench belts were probably intended to hold the patient, not an attendant. That is what the jump seats are for...
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I cant help with seat belt ?? But, I can tell you I have shown the Pinner to some of my freinds and the reaction I get is WOW!! Had a great party at work today and off to celebrate my grandsons 12th Bday. Thanks. :):);)
 
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