[SCG] 1967 seat belt change, seat back, and survey

[Mark Corbin]

All,

I know that in ‘67 there were two running changes to the seat belts The year started out with the outer front strap being what I call the “throw-down” strap. It was just a single strap and no built-in retractor, so people simply threw them down on the floor, or in some instances left them to hang out the door. The factory intended that this strap would have a retractor (at least on the Monza) but didn’t have the built-in retractor mechanism ready in time for the first cars. So they made the first cars with the throw-down strap and included the clip-on window shade retractor (the kind that had been an over the counter dealer-installed accessory). I know that at some time between #9875 and #13627, which is somewhere between the second week of November and the first week of December, they made the change to the built-in retractor, and kept that design through to the end of production in ‘69.

The second design change was the change from the Fisher coach emblem on the (inboard-mounted) buckles to the GM Mark of Excellence emblem. This happened some time after #13627 but before #26069, built the second week of June.

The third running change I want to inquire about involves the seatback on the Monza 2 door models. The seat back for the Astro bucket seats were originally metal on all models. But at some time before #26069 in June (I think somewhere around #23,000 or so) they changed the seatback on ONLY the 2 door cars to plastic, and left it that way to the end in ‘69.

All three of these running changes would be good to put up for a survey, to see if we can pinpoint the approximate time they made these changes.

-Mark