Does anyone have experience with aftermarket seat belts like these?
http://www.seatbeltsplus.com/category/3-Point-Retractable-Seat-Belts.html
My 88 Classic Saab 900 has the god awful rat trap belts. I’ve seen online where I can retro fit pre 88 or post 90 belts, but to tell the truth I don’t want to fit 20-30 year old belts. Anything wrong with something like these? I assume they’d bolt in to the stock mountings which are still there I believe. I’m swapping seats at the same time to some earlier C900 velour seats that thankfully don’t have the horrible belts on them.
I had a set installed in a '65 Oldsmobile I once owned. I didn't do the installation myself, so I can't comment on that. Though if your Saab has mounting points, I'd think it should be a fairly straightforward bolt in. My belts were manual adjustment, and even with that, I found them plenty comfy and fit properly.
Unless these are made specifically for your Saab, or they just use one bolt hole, you'll have to fab up some kind of mount point adapter for the reel. It seems that no two cars are the same - I know that AE101 coupe seatbelt reels don't fit on an AE92 coupe, and AE101 Sedan reels don't fit on an AE101 FX.
Fun fact: Samurai seatbelt reels aren't mounted to the frame, they knock around freely in a metal box with a slit opening for the seatbelt. The box is lined with plastic to keep the noise down.
GameboyRMH wrote:
Unless these are made specifically for your Saab, or they just use one bolt hole, you'll have to fab up some kind of mount point adapter for the reel. It seems that no two cars are the same - I know that AE101 coupe seatbelt reels don't fit on an AE92 coupe, and AE101 Sedan reels don't fit on an AE101 FX.
Fun fact: Samurai seatbelt reels aren't mounted to the frame, they knock around freely in a metal box with a slit opening for the seatbelt. The box is lined with plastic to keep the noise down.
HHmm, I'll have to get the quarter panels / B pillar trim off and see what I find. I know the mounts are there for regular belts as other countries still got them the same year. Out with the calipers this weekend. What are the standard bolt sizes for belt mounts, I wnat to say they are normaly a metric fine thread, but I can't rememebr.
Adrian,
I've got a 1991 Volkswagen that came with a passive belt system that's attached top the door. All the regular mounts are there ,too. I suspect you'll find that most cars built for multiple markets are like that. Canada didn't adopt the passive belt rule at the time so your car should have both sets of mounting points.
Put a similar system in my '72 Chevy pickup. Had to drill out one of their mounting holes to match the OEM bolts, and drilled mounting holes for the reels.
I put one of these (from Amazon) in my track car for daily driving. My car also came equipped with a stupid passive restraint system and I have a 4 point for tracking. I also felt much better with new over 25 yo used stuff.
If you can find good, clean belts out of a donor car, i wouldn't be too worried about age. Fraying, Arizona sun faded, or other things like that would be important.
I installed a set of universal belts in an 1800S, and they were...close, I guess. The latch was obviously designed for captains chairs in a van, which would have put the latch at your belt buckle. I found a latch mechanism from an 850 that used the same shape of catch, and it worked well.
I would probably trust a good-condition used Saab set, even 20 years old, more than a new Chinese made "universal" (ie, fits nothing) set. But that might just be me.
dculberson wrote:
I would probably trust a good-condition used Saab set, even 20 years old, more than a new Chinese made "universal" (ie, fits nothing) set. But that might just be me.
The link I posted is very strong on 'made in the USA' only, not imported stuff.
Would it be possible to get hold of a set of original Saab belts, then get them "re-webbed", so to speak? In other words, re-use the hardware but have the belt material replaced? I have to think that you can buy seatbelt material in bulk from somewhere, then it would be a matter of having someone cut and sew them, and I'm sure someone in the Detroit area does that. Seems like that would be the best of both worlds, OEM fit with no worry about age or deterioration.
Should be possible once you find belt material with matching width, just be sure to use a small screwdriver to keep the reel tension from releasing when you remove the belt...what a PITA job that is.
When stitching it you should find the proper thread to use and do the "boxed X" stitch like the original equipment.
I want to put a new set of belts in my REPU. I took the way too short belts out a few years ago to install the normal fix RX-7 belts I took out of a parts car, only to find out I already had the RX-7 belts in the truck. The REPU is known for having really shorts belts which is odd for a truck only sold in the US, and Canada. When I go the truck ten years ago I could barely get the belt on, and now they seem to have shrunk. Damn if I know how that would happen, but it did. Maybe a set of these would solve the problem. I was thinking maybe a set of newer B-series or Ranger belts from a wrecking yard would work, but the idea of new is probably better.
Chris
http://wescoperformance.stores.yahoo.net/conversion-van-seat-belt.html
i used these in my pro-touring duster. really like them. only complaint is that theres no way to pu;; them the whole way out and have them ratchet back like stock GM passengers side seatbelts. that would be nice for auto-x....
the inertia locks are a touch happy as well. will ock if you pull them put too fast. but nice, as you dont flop forward under moderate braking or cornering. good wuality, and top npth supplier.
