71 front seat belt retractor position

Hi guys,

when I got my Mach 1, the belts were not installed in the car, but clattering around in the trunk. They were in bad condition and now, close to the finishing line of the restoration, I had them completely re-webbed and tested in an aircraft belt workshop.

I am a bit confused how to install the ront belt retractors. Were they mounted in an upright position from the factory or did they come in a forward rake to follow the run of the belt around the hips of the driver?

To illustrate it better, I have made some photos, one for each position.

From an inner feeling, I would mean to install them in a forward angle, because of the more clean running belt. But how much can the retractor be tilted from vertcal with still functioning properly?

Images of Mach 1 interiors on the web show belts in various positions. So, that is no help.

they pivot there is suppose to be a spacer behind the re-tractor on the floor bolt so they can adjust position. for storage i push them horizontal. the spacer is like 1/4" thick put the star head seat belt bolt through the retractor then install the spacer, that keeps it off the carpet and allows movement, then torque it down. the retractor will then be allowed to pivot