jpsmit wrote:there seem to be lots of choices - I am reliably told that the aircraft style - the middle one is the correct one for the car. I can get a set quite reasonably but sadly they aren't engraved. The fellow I was talking to (who was the seller) strongly discouraged me from using the three point option as they don't seem to be as reliable.
The Heartbeat CIty belts in Viva Las Vegas' link look great.
The chrome aircraft type (the middle one in your picture J.P) is correct for HB Viva. The lower one is the later static type as used on early HC (Canadian Firenza) and other early 70s GM cars. No idea what the top one is.
I'm not sure of the introduction date for the later type (lower in your picture). It could have been 1970 and have appeared on some very late HB cars(?) They were certainly in use on the HC by 1971. Oddly, my very early Firenza has one of each type fitted too - but that's an 'oddball' 1970 pre-production car.
I'm not sure why the seller of the aftermarket belts would say the 3 point belts aren't reliable? Does he mean just that specific manufacturer? 3 point belts were original equipment on all Vauxhalls of this vintage, and have been on everything since. I think they had become a legal requirement in the UK by 1971 - although their use in the UK wasn't compulsory until 1983. Things will no doubt have been different in Canada.
I have a set of aftermarket replicas in my GT. I obviously haven't tested them properly and hopefully never will(!) but have now sourced a set of 1960s grey webbing engraved buckle Vauxhall belts. So I'm going to fit them on my early GT - although I think the GT belt webbing will originally have been black. Here are my aftermarket ones -
*Note - aircraft style belts are only legal for UK use on pre-1971 vehicles.