Does a 1965 2 door saloon need seatbelts?

[Garry Beckett]

Hi All, I'm a brand new memberto the MMOC & after an absence of almost 30 years skinning my knuckles & getting dirty fingernails, I find myself playing around with cars again!! I just bought a 65 2 door saloon for my son as his first car & it needs a little TLC to get it back on the road & mot'd… I'm getting there, but I'm in need of a bit of advice on seatbelts…..At present there are none in the car, and apart from a threaded hole at the base of the door pillar which I think might be for a seatbelt bolt, I can find NO other evidence of holes or fitting points to anchor a belt too!! So, the question is, does it have to have them, or did it escape the law by being registered in June 65… I will fit some eventually, I'm just curious & in a bit of a rush to get an MOT on it… Many thanks.. PS: thoroughly enjoying being back on the spanners & working on an MM after all these years

[ASL642]

1965 so you need to fit belts. The "hole" you found would be for the lower section of the belt.

[jagnut66]

Hi,
Whilst seat belts are a sensible idea I didn't think that they had to be fitted by law in 1965?
Best wishes,
Mike.

[LouiseM]

No - the wearing of seat belts for those sitting in forward facing front seats became mandatory on 1st January 1971. That said, they were available as an optional extra in Minors prior to that date and supplied & fitted by distributors and dealers so if your Minor had them fitted from new then you are required to wear them.

I will fit some eventually, I'm just curious & in a bit of a rush to get an MOT on it…

Personally, I would place personal safety above rushing to get the car on the road, particularly as this is the first car for your son. Seatbelts are relatively quick and simple to fit and there is a lot of advice available on the forum of how to do this.

[rayofleamington]

a 1965 Minor would have been made with all 6 mounting points for driver & passenger belts (3 per belt) as the belts were an option.

The 'upper' mounting is in the rounded rail below the rear quarterlight. If you find the position on another Minor that may help you know what to look for.
the 3rd position is in the floor just in front of rear seat near the tunnel. The floor mounting may well have been lost if the floor has been repaired / replaced.

I've driven Minors without seatbelts and at 'modern' speeds with 'modern traffic' (busy roads & careless / random drivers) it is quite frightening! Whilst I also go for an MOT in advance of properly finishing a car (are they ever finished?), seatbelts are definitely worth having when you can use the car.

[Garry Beckett]

Thanks all, thats been useful replies posted… I never thought of a replacement floor obliterating holes!! As for the holes in the body either on the door post, or under the rear side window, I looked for those very closely after viewing a few old models down at ESM, and I have to say that unless somebody has done a really exceptional job on filling & spraying over them, I can see absolutely no evidence of them ever being there… Given its past maintenance & standard of body repairs I doubt previous owners/repairers would have to that much trouble…. So, its got me baffled for the moment…..
The only reason I'm pushing to get a ticket on it is that, we've been graciously loaned a garage for a week or so just to get a couple of bits done. But as I work away from home for 3or4 weeks at a time, and will be off again as soon as the Tour De France finishes, I need to vacate the garage & be able to have the car back on the road so it can stand outside our place whilst I'm away…. The uniforms around here (South Norwood) would be on it like flies to a dog t--d if it didnt have the necessary paperwork on it….And in the bat of an eyelid, they'd have it lifted & sent to the crusher no doubt!!! Anyways, thanks again for your replies… PS: to the chap that posted about a BS marking or suchlike, there is none that I can see One last thought, might it have just had a lap belt??? If so, the lost hole in the floor due to a replacement being welded in at sometime could be the answer

[drivewasher]

First used BEFORE Jan 1st 1965 = No seat belts req, But after !st Jan 1965 possibly only a drivers belt that restrains the upper body.
There is a flow chart for MoT testrs use here:
http://www.transportoffice.gov.uk/crt/d ... guides.htm

[drivewasher]

First used BEFORE Jan 1st 1965 = No seat belts req, But after !st Jan 1965 possibly only a drivers belt that restrains the upper body.
There is a flow chart for MoT testrs use here:
http://www.transportoffice.gov.uk/crt/d ... guides.htm