Shoulder Belts and Seat Belts

[dobie]

Hey guys.... A couple of quick questions........

First, how do you guys clean your seat belts? My belts are pretty dirty after 40+ years. The buckles are rusty in spots, but nothing Im too worried about. Id just like to get the webbing cleaned up so it doesnt get my clothes dirty every time I use them.

Second, how to you attach the shoulder belts to the roof? I have the hooks, but the extra webbing hangs down. I cant find anything to hook it to. I took a few photos of the X's car last night, so I'll post a few photos later today. Im just not seeing how you get the extra length to stay outta your way.

Thanks!

:cheers:

 

[69hemibeep]

Steve. the buckle of coarse to the front the other end in the bolt of the second pic and the slack is pulled up with elastic to the snap near the coat hook

 

[dobie]

No kidding? Wow. So here's my issue then....My belts dont have the elastic, nor the snap on the roof/headliner. When I looked at the Satellite last night, sure enough the elastic and snap is present. I thought for sure that that wasnt factory correct. Wrong once again! I'll put up a pic of it.

The other issue I had with the shoulder belts was the bracket itself. The ones I found in a box of parts are marked "7R and 7L." When I put them in with the visors, it is really hard to fasten them. With the new headliner, I was really worried about ripping it while trying to fasten the buckle to them. That's kinda what lead me to the Satellite, again thinking that something wasnt right. When I looked at the Satellite's brackets, I noticed they're a bit longer, and have a bit more bend to them. They're marked "8R and 8L." The ones marked "8" put the hook a shade farther out from the headliner. Being the fantastic X i am, I swapped them out rather quickly and brought the 8's home to try. So, what's correct for mine?

 

[dobie]

So here's a few pictures....

This is one marked "7" that I had with all of my stuff. This is what came with the car when I got it.


This is one marked "8" still in the Satellite. You can kinda see where its longer than the other one, and puts the hook out farther away from the roof.


Here's the elastic and snap then on the Satellite's roof.



Since I dont have the elastic and snap, what would you guys recommend I do? Rubber band the extra lengh maybe? It's not like Im gonna be using the shoulder belts much, if at all. Id just like to get them installed back in there.

 

[69hemibeep]

I went to a fabric shop and found some 1" elastic because mine was dead, and had an upholstery shop sew it in. If I remember it is a 18" piece in a loop with the snap at the loop end. If you like I can measure to be sure. That satellite must be a 4dr, funny the elastic goes over the coat hook :huh:

 

[69hemibeep]

Looking at you pics I think the short pieces under the visor are correct, the belt does fit snug against the headliner. I dont think they were intended to be used just there to meet the new law specs. Oh as far as cleaning I dropped them in a bucket of simple green over night and rinsed them off

 

[dobie]

I went to a fabric shop and found some 1" elastic because mine was dead, and had an upholstery shop sew it in. If I remember it is a 18" piece in a loop with the snap at the loop end. If you like I can measure to be sure. That satellite must be a 4dr, funny the elastic goes over the coat hook :huh:

OK. Thanks for the information. Yeah, the Satellite is a 4 door. No need for any measurements right now. Thanks for the offer tho. I'm not even sure how I'd get a snap a into the headliner.

 

[dobie]

Looking at you pics I think the short pieces under the visor are correct, the belt does fit snug against the headliner. I dont think they were intended to be used just there to meet the new law specs. Oh as far as cleaning I dropped them in a bucket of simple green over night and rinsed them off

Thanks for the cleaning tips. I'll try that in the next few days.

 

[69hemibeep]

You can actually feel a dent where the snap goes then run a large needle into it to verify. I can get you a good measurement when your ready! My belts were stiff with cat piss :toetap:

 

[dobie]

Do you think a snap could be installed without tearing up the headliner? I don't even recall there being a snap when I tore the old one out 6 yrs ago. I'll have to go thru some old pics.

I started cleaning the belts with simple green too. Storms rolled in, so I'll let these dry and continue tomorrow maybe.

 

[69hemibeep]

Do you think a snap could be installed without tearing up the headliner? I don't even recall there being a snap when I tore the old one out 6 yrs ago. I'll have to go thru some old pics.

I started cleaning the belts with simple green too. Storms rolled in, so I'll let these dry and continue tomorrow maybe.

The snap goes on after the headliner so assuming you have coat hooks these pics are the passenger or right side for Steve Like said above you can feel a dip in the metal under the headliner where the hole is. This is a hardtop I don't think there would be any difference

 

[dobie]

Thanks so much. I'll start looking into finding the elastic piece and getting the snap installed.

 

[Basketcase]

I left the shoulder straps out whenever I replaced the headliner. Looks alot neater without them. Luckily the PO of this car felt the same way.

 

[dobie]

So here's a little update then. I really didnt want to mess around with the headliner. As it turns out, im also missing one of the coat hangers anyways. I figured this would be a fairly easy/cheap fix. Its not correct, but then again, the majority of my car isnt correct either. Its functional, and at only $2, it was cheap!

 

[generaljmwlee]

I got my shoulder belts out a four door a-body every thing is the same but the elastic .have the do the same with my belts to hold them up.