Seat belt surprise

[Tim Klein <tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Center rear seat belt" was an option in '67, but were left- and
right-side rear seat belts standard?  The '67 section of our
club web site is ambiguous on this question.  Until today, I would
have guessed that they were not standard, at least in the Crown
model, since I didn't think my '67 Crown had any rear seat belts.

But this afternoon, I accidentally drop-kicked a screwdriver into
the nether reaches of the trunk, and my intrepid girlfriend climbed
in after it.  "Hey, there are seat belts down here!" she said,
pointing a flashlight down behind the rear seat, where my own
eyes have never gazed.

So we climbed into the back of the car, reached under the seat back,
and pulled out two sets of seat belts.  The buckles were still
wrapped in clear but well-aged plastic, and were as shiny as on
the day they were made!  We marveled for a moment.  Then, shrugging,
we decided that since they'd managed to stay virginal for this many
years, they might as well remain that way -- so we stuffed them back
where they came from, without even taking off the plastic wrap.

"Wow, honey, this makes up for the sewing scissors!" I exclaimed,
referring to the pair of scissors that she somehow, last week,
dropped through the left rear window slot and thus down behind
the door panel, where they will no doubt remain for years to come.

The odd thing is that we never found that screwdriver in the trunk.
I can only conclude that it was transformed, through some sort of
Imperial magic, into new seat belts.

Tim Klein
'67 Crown
Rye, New York