Morris Minor Owners Club

I understand that cars built after 65 were required to have seatbelts but could somebody clarify a question for me. My 1968 4 door was ran by my grandad then my dad as an everyday car in early 70s to early 80s, my dad does not recall the car having seatbelts (or did he not wear it) by the time i re purchased the car in 2000 it had front seatbelts in it which had ford logos on them which fitted to the cars anchor points, they didnt work so i removed and binned them. Im just interested to know if when new did they have belts fitted or were the cars of the day retro fitted by law at a latter date and just left the factory with anchor points provided?

Front seat belts were fitted from 1965 onwards. They were pretty useless static belts which generally took ten minutes to buckle and adjust, once the loose end had been retrieved from under the seat and the strap had been recovered after being trapped in the door, which is why hardly anyone ever used them

Anchor points were provided from ~1963 (or maybe earlier) with belts being optional. Front seat belts were mandatory from 1965 on all new UK cars. Retrofitting belts has never been required on UK spec cars.
Rather like motorbike helmets, some people were reluctant to wear them, hence new laws to make people wear them (if fitted). If your 1968 car doesn't have them it should fail the MOT.

They were pretty useless static belts

Once fitted correctly they're great and as long as you don't change size from one day to the next the adjusters don't need adjusting.
I got in to the habit of placing the centre strap end on the rear seat - to avoid it getting trapped under the seat.

When airborne, they are quite reassuring!
Clunk-click saves lives. (although the original belts were more flop-clack)

I find that throwing the main belt part over the steering wheel helps to keep it from falling out the door, or getting wedged under the seat ... the short strap seems to sit happily down by the handbrake.

I hook the main belt clip over the cantrail - can't get stuck in the door from there

If you haven't got any sealtbelts fitted, buy new inertia reel seat belts available from any morris supplier. They're far safer and fit everyone every time. They have saved quite a few people on this board from serious injury. What price do you put on your life?

my June 69 2 door has seatbelts written on the reciept i cannot find it to tell you the price of them

James