Marti report

[garcias280]

Hello all. We just received our Marti report and are relieved to find our car is a real GT/CS. The door data plate was missing and the car had some body work done in the rear end that made us wonder if it was the real deal. The previous owner did tell us he blew the 302 it came with and replaced it with a 289 but the report says it came with a 3 speed manual trans. but it has a 4 speed. Could this be right? Or was this changed too? It runs great the way it is so we have no immediate plans to change it. One final question- is it taboo to change the seat belts to have shoulder straps? Our kids love the car but laws being what they are, they are not allowed to ride in the car the way it is now. Thanks for any advise. This is a great site. Sara

 

[darb]

Sara,

Where do you live? Double check your laws. Most states have exceptions to the law which govern vehicles that were manufactured in a period of time when shoulder restraints were not mandated by the state / federal government. Since at the time of production your vehicle was produced without should restraints, you (based on most state law) do not have to convert the vehicle.

As a safety issue, especially with children, you may want to make the switch. You can either get the original 1968 shoulder restraint setup, which is a strap bolted to the roof of the vehicle, which buckles into a second buckle attached at the same location as the primary. Or you may purchase an aftermarket part.

Look into it before making a decision.

Brad

 

[PNewitt]

Cars made before Jan1, 1968 didn't have shoulder harnesses. The federal safety act made it mandatory for all cars to have shoulder harnesses. Cars made after Jan 1 had shoulder harnesses. That mandatory belt installation nixed the stock louvered hood for "regular (non-CS) '68 Mustangs as a (previously) standard item for '68.

If you have kids back there (precious cargo), do whatever it takes to keep them safe. There were aftermarket--dealer-installed shoulder harnesses available for the rear seats back then (but states probably don't know that). Not sure how they attached those belts then.

I'd also seriously consider that metal shield for the gas tank problem, and (I'll put it this way) I'm getting a racing fuel cell to replace the gas tank (a whole different issue).

Take Care--be safe,
Paul.

 

[68sunlitgold]

Sara,
Almost all GT/CS's should have the front shoulder belts, as Paul stated, it became maditory after 1 Jan and since about 99.5% of all GT/CS's were built after that date, they should be there. As for the back seat, I would ask maybe a restoration shop about what they may be using to put in rear shoulder straps.

Doug

 

[Russ]

I wouldn't want to argue the point of shoulder harnesses with Paul or anyone else, but my GT/CS has NO provision for shoulder belts, and it was built on Feb 14, 1968. It has the indented rear reflectors, the dash knee pad and padded windshield posts also. I guess this type of issue just goes to show there are no "absolutes" with these cars.

Russ