my 54 bug has no seat belts at all. far as i can tell looking at legislation for NSW I don't have to fit any nor can i get a fine for not wearing one.

is this correct?

Correcto!

But you can get real bad hurties if you have a bingle (maybe more so if it's a Larra)

Can anyone tell me if a 63 beetle was originally fitted with seat belts? If so Im guessing just lap belts is that right?

I think the 63's were fitted on request only,they had a huge threaded hole which required an adaptor and these would have been only sash belts as in the 66/67' 1300.

WHen did mandatory seat belt legislation come in?

Yes I agree it needs belts, mine is a 63 buggy and I wanted to fit some 4 point harnesses but Ive been told to drive to to the examination with no belts and fit the harnesses later. Cant quite understand the logic as I would have thought that harnesses are better than no belts or lap belts but I have come to realise that logic and legislation do not work hand in hand in fact alot of the time legislation does not work at all

On the buggy topic, you may need to check your state regs. When I rego'd a buggy in ACT, state laws required that any modified vehicle needed to have seatbelts fitted regardless of age. They were noted on the engineering certificate.

On the topic of seatbelts in earlier cars, correct, if they didn't have them from factory you don't have to get them now by law. HOWEVER there are new laws being brought in now for the carriage of children in cars, basically enforcing all children to be secured by approved seatbelt restraints. This is causing grief in some circles, eg historic vehicles with timber frames, etc. Again, check with your state rego mobs but do not be surprised if you now need to have seatbelts if you carry children / babies (capsules etc).

thanks guys.

re 1963, had one of these, basic model. had factory belts in the front, no belts in the back...

My 67 type 3 has no belts in the back.. I take it im legal to have people in there without a belt on ??

Cheers Vice

The Aussie 1962½ update Beetle was the first Australian-made car to have seat belt mounting points fitted as standard. These are the large threaded holes on the A-pillars at shoulder level, on the tunnel behind the handbrake, on the rear quarters and under the back seat. They came from the factory with plastic threaded plugs in the mounting holes. Seat belts were available as an official VW accessory and were dealer-fitted as required.

Mandatory seat belt legislation was introduced in Victoria in 1968, and NSW in 1969. Nowadays they are covered by national design rules.

Therefore any car built before 1968 doesn't legally have to have seat belts. BUT - if you do fit them, you are required to wear them and you can be fined if you don't.

Funny storey, way back when I had hair my best mates dad had an oval, looked after it like a newborn baby, didn't take it out in the rain or even if it looked like rain. Decided to fit safety belts so went out and got some (I think) from an army surpluss store, they were so thick and heavy that you could hardly bend them, fitted them to the body just under the rear side window, used a small s/steel bracket pop riveted to the body steel and a small (about 20mm long) s/steel D shackle to fit the belt to the bracket.

Any seat belt that has the australian standard on them are legal for fitment, how they are fitted is covered vehicle modification rules, i have harnesses in one of my cars and had no trouble getting a mod plate for them at all, just had to fit them so all the angles are correct with the manditory size steel plates fitted were the went through the floor and parcel shelf.

If you fit harnesses they have to have the red release button as regular modern seat belts so the police can figure out how to open then in case of emergency! Hence brands like Simpson and Deist are not legal and probably why you were told to put them in post inspection.

I was told the above by a mechanic, what vwo60 did is probably the best way to do it, what harnesses did you get approved?

Slightly off topic, can you fit retractables in the front? In the back?
I've got a 1970 baja I'm thinking of.

I've seen plenty of ads in mags for retractable belts for VW so they shouldn't be a prob. They just bolt to the same points as the original. I will be putting some front ones in my 70 bug but Don't know how the back ones fit. Just make sure the bekts are approved.

Ahhh, I will have to look back through the VWMAs with a beetle perspective rather than my usual kombi eyes.