Nate,
I would add the belts. Think of it this way...would you go to Valley Fair and ride the wild thing without a seatbelt?
As in your case, you were "saved by the belt". My grandpa had a 1959 Apache on his chest for a half an hour....luckily it did not kill him. I understand what F46 is saying about vehicle design, but I would go with belts. My 46 will get them during this rebuild.
I don't care if people wear em or not....but I have seen a lot of people who walk away from some pretty nasty stuff because they wore their belt.
As far as the side impact crashes go, I have seen people killed and kill others by bouncing off passengers...you become a 200 lb feed sack flying around in your truck...if you clobber your sweetheart while flying across the cab....she will be toast...
If you look at the newer vehicles, they have softer materials mounted where people will make impact. some of this we can change in the old trucks, but some not.
Also, one thing to keep in mind in a crash, the law of gross tonnage prevails...if you go up against anything but a semi, you will probably win the war of weight...
