C3 Retractable Seat Belts

[Jim B.]

Re: C3 Retractable Seat Belts

I am an original owner of a 1968 convertible which I still have and it never had seatbelt retractors. The seat belt buckle was stored in a slot cut into the emergency brake housing. The other side of the belt was attached under the seat and was exposed along the bottom of the seat. Adjustment for the belt was accomplished by pulling the belt through a locking device on the buckle. Exactly as the aircraft seatbelts work. The judging manual states that the coupes and the convertibles were different in this regard, with the coupes having retractors and after January 1 1968 having sholder harness as well. The shoulder belt was an option on the convertible.

Hope this helps.

[Reba Whittington]

Re: C3 Retractable Seat Belts

The Judging Guide does not state that only coupes had retractors; it says "some early cars." In fact, the first ones I ever saw were on an early convertible.

[Jim B.]

Re: C3 Retractable Seat Belts

Yes, the judging guide says that "some early 1968's have retractors" which means that most of the others did not.
Again, I am the original owner of my 68 convertible which is a late one and it does not and never had a retractor. I am also an experienced NCRS judge.

The guide also does not diferentiate between convertibles and coupes until the bottom of page 4 when it talks about shoulder harnesses. These were standard on coupes and optional on convertibles. My answer was referring to this situation as a model for differentiating between the convertibles and the coupes. Most shoulder harnesses required the retractor. The lap belts had the slot in the console for storage which would not work well with retractors.
Unless you know the origin of the 68 and its original options it will not be possible to determine if it came with retractors or not. But, if it was a convertible, odds are it didn't.