Your has shoulder belts in the front? Could you please post a pic of the setup? I'm looking into a finnie, but one condition I have to meet with my dad is the addition of lap and shoulder belts. Then I'm SUPPOSE to try and find headrests, but you all know how that one goes.
Thanks
David

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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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I was wondering about that myself.
My '60 Fintail never had ANY seatbelts until I acquired the car in October 2001. I decided to install both lap AND shoulder belts for my front seats.
I had to design and fabricate an anchor kit that would fit through an opening in each door post to attach the shoulder straps - a major project! In the US, only lap belts were required in 1964, and not front shoulder belts until 1968.
At some point after 1960, possibly as early as 1963, Mercedes were factory equipped with anchors for both lap AND shoulder belts, as certain European countries (I think Sweden was one) required them by the early '60s. My Dad had a '66 Euro 250SE which had the factory Kangol front shoulder straps, but strangely, without the lap belts!

If you want to see if the Fintail you're contemplating has shoulder belt anchors, you'll need to remove the inside door post trim strip, which is fastened with three philips screws. If there are belt anchors, you should find 7/16 fine-thread holes for them in the door posts and floor or sills. Regardess, if you decide to install belts, don't waste your time or risk your life on used ones. You can get new belts, with the '60s style chrome buckles, from J C Whitney or by contacting Beams Industries in Oklahoma City (Check the postings by 68 Mercedes for the phone number)

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

David and Mark,

The door posts in my '63 have the threaded anchors. Apparently the car came with these as I don't see any signs of them having been added later. I'll try and get a picture tonight.

The belts are MB with the bright chrome clasps. Pre-push button operation with a simple "hook" style of clasp.

Headrests are not in my future. I would guess you'd need to add framing to the inside of the seats which would require significant upholstery services and even then would look kind of strange. Good luck on that one.

Phil

Glad to hear your 220 has lap & shoulder belt anchors.
If all 63 and newer Benzes have them, it would make sealbelt installation a snap, compared to the ordeal it was on my '60.

As for headrests, Mercedes did offer them as an option on the W111. Apparently they were availible individually, rather than having to buy a pair. At a recent car show, I saw one mounted to the drivers seat in a 280SE convertible and have seen photos of them in older models. They are mounted on a pair of chrome bars that curve around and attach behind the seatback, rather than through the top. I think they were more of a comfort option than a safety feature and would be expensive and hard to find today.
If I wanted headrests in a Fintail, I'd try to install some matching front seats out of a '69 or later W108 or W114 sedan.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

As discussed please see the shoulder and lap belt photos here:Click here