1959 – Seat belts were standard from the factory in all Corvettes. The lap belt design consisted of 2 straps that came across the lap with a latch in the middle. There were no retractors on the belts, meaning that when they were not in use, they hung at either side of the seat.

C2 Corvette Seat Belts

The lap belt design remained more or less the same, with the addition of a tongue on the inboard console to secure the belt out of the way.

1965 – A retractor was added to the base of the outboard belt. A plate was also added, almost as an afterthought, to hold the outboard belt in place.

1966 – Shoulder belts became an option. They were not originally available with a retractor and lay behind the seat, creating somewhat of a mess every time the driver tried to use them. The shoulder belt was a separate piece from the lap belt.

1967 – Although the outboard belt had a retractor to keep it out of the way when not in use, it still got caught in the seat when it was tilted forward. A change to the winding mechanism helped alleviate this problem.

C3 Corvette Seat Belts

1968-1971 – Lap belts were designed without retractors for this period, while the shoulder belts did have retractors.

1969 – A tongue was added to the center bottom of the seat, moving the lap belt out of the way for entering and exiting the Corvette.

1968-1969 – Shoulder belts looped around the seat and were held in place by the headrest or the outboard side of the seat. They fit into a bracket that latched into the inboard lap belt buckle, securing the entire seat belt together.

1969 – A sheath was added for the inboard buckle, instead of the tongue, to give it to give it more stability and keep it out of the way when not in use.

1970 – High back seats allowed for a design that incorporated the shoulder belts into the seat. Shoulder belts became standard in all Coupes at this time.

1972 – The lap belt retractor was positioned under the seat.

1972-1975 – On Convertibles, the shoulder belt came through the seat and hooked into the lap belt. This was because there was no B Pillar.

1974-1977 – On Coupes, the retractor was positioned under the seat for lap belts and behind the seat for shoulder belts. The shoulder belt came out of the B Pillar. A tongue connected the shoulder and lap belts so they buckled together.

1978 – 3-point seat belts were first used in the Corvette. The lap belt was bolted to the outboard frame of the car, the shoulder belt creates a loop and a sliding tongue latches into the buckle on the inboard side. The retractor was located in the B Pillar, making the belt much easier to use.

C4 Corvette Seat Belts

1984-1996 – Few changes were made once the 3-point seat belt came into use. C4 Corvette seat belts featured dual retractors, both positioned in the lower quarter trim panel/sill area of the vehicle. Belts were manufactured of five panel webbing.

C5 Corvette Seat Belts

1997-2004 – With the addition of the air bag, an inertia switch was incorporated into the Corvette seat belt restraint system. The air bag will not function without the seat belt being engaged, avoiding potential injury if the driver would be too close to the air bag when it deploys. C5 Corvette seat belts featured dual retractors. The shoulder belt retractor was located in the upper quarter trim panel and the lap belt retractor was located at the rear of the sill next to the seat. Belts were manufactured of seven panel webbing.

C6 Corvette Seat Belts

2005-2013 – The C6 Seat belt restraint system included the same air bag/supplemental restraint system originally released on the C5 model. One major change between the C5 and C6 model seat belts was the C6 passenger restraint system utilized a single retractor mechanism, compared to the two used on C5 models. The single retractor was attached to the shoulder belt and located in the upper rear quarter trim panel. Belts were manufactured of nine panel webbing.