Factory Seatbelt Differences

[leddzepp]

It was brought up in another thread how a center seat belt (from a bench seat) could be used as a shoulder belt. Here are some pics showing the differences in the lengths. The bottom belt is a lap belt (I used a pair of vise grips to keep it extended), the middle belt is a factory shoulder belt and the top belt is a center belt. The lap belt is exactly the length of the shoulder belt, while the center belt is a bit longer. The mounting bracket is the only thing separating you from using the others as a substitute. The bottom pic shows that the mounting bracket is flat on the shoulder belt, and the center belt bracket is angled. You could use a heavy duty vise to flatten the center belt bracket. Otherwise, it would look kinda funny sticking out of the pillar Or better yet, get new all new webbing and re-use the shoulder brackets....or if you don't have those, I am sure you could find some from another set of belts on a different vehicle.

[LEEVON]

Thanks leddzepp, I've been wondering about the length for awhile now I know!

[chipflyer]

Good info Scott, I went out and compared my center belts with a real shoulder belt and it is just about an inch different and I had one I borrowed about a year ago that was exactly the same length as the middle belt I got from you so I would guess that the center belts or shoulder belts varied in length a bit. Great tip though about using the lap belt.
Now for getting replacement seatbelt tags to finish them off and make them look perfect contact:
http://www.seatbelttags.com/
Thurston can make up either brand with the correct fabric and he is very reasonable with the price.

Jeff

[leddzepp]

Hey Jeff- That is great info there too! Thanks for posting. I missed out on the blue shoulder belts that you had for sale on here a while back. You did a great job on them, and I wished I had been able to buy them. With all this info, we can pretty much make our own shoulder belts now.

[chipflyer]

All I did with those belts was buy and then sell them. They were put together from new webbing by Cheyenne Superman but they didn't match the original belts I had and I wasn't happy with the boots he included. I am glad someone found good use for them, I wanted original stuff and shouldn't have spent money on them at all.
Yep, all good info, I wish we could found a source for new boots.....

[70LonghornCST]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

Hey Jeff- That is great info there too! Thanks for posting. I missed out on the blue shoulder belts that you had for sale on here a while back. You did a great job on them, and I wished I had been able to buy them. With all this info, we can pretty much make our own shoulder belts now.

Scott,

Thanks for the great information. That is important information also on the lap belts. In fact, I had pulled a set of lap belts from a 71 CST that were in very nice shape. Later on, I found some NOS lap belts from different GM models. Some were one inches different from the male end of the truck lap belt, and others were more like 4 to 5 inches different. I woulnd up using the NOS male ends on my truck belts...I just needed to wind one belt a couple more times arount the little spindle than the other.

I did notice, too that the truck lap belts are the exact same length as the shoulder belts...both the male and female end. Those are what anyone could easily pull off and use. (I'll post a pic later)

If someone is building a set and adding new webbing, I found that in certain vans with utility buckets, the female mounting ends are nearly flat like the truck male shoulder belt mounting ends. Only a little squeeze with a vice will make them perfect matches.

Also, in terms of the little nub on the inside of the boots, I think I might have a solution for the repop boots. As I was walking around in Target yesterday, I noticed that they sell a little rubber/plastic nub that has double stick tape on the back. This might work as it's very small and should fit well inside. I will buy a set and post a picture later.

I will be putting together a set just to see what's possible.

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by 70LonghornCST

Scott,

Thanks for the great information. That is important information also on the lap belts. In fact, I had pulled a set of lap belts from a 71 CST that were in very nice shape. Later on, I found some NOS lap belts from different GM models. Some were one inches different from the male end of the truck lap belt, and others were more like 4 to 5 inches different. I woulnd up using the NOS male ends on my truck belts...I just needed to wind one belt a couple more times arount the little spindle than the other.

I did notice, too that the truck lap belts are the exact same length as the shoulder belts...both the male and female end. Those are what anyone could easily pull off and use. (I'll post a pic later)

If someone is building a set and adding new webbing, I found that in certain vans with utility buckets, the female mounting ends are nearly flat like the truck male shoulder belt mounting ends. Only a little squeeze with a vice will make them perfect matches.

Also, in terms of the little nub on the inside of the boots, I think I might have a solution for the repop boots. As I was walking around in Target yesterday, I noticed that they sell a little rubber/plastic nub that has double stick tape on the back. This might work as it's very small and should fit well inside. I will buy a set and post a picture later.

I will be putting together a set just to see what's possible.

Thanks for bring this old thread back up Richard! There has been a lot of talk on factory shoulder harnesses lately, and there is some excellent information and pics here. That plastic nub from Target sounds like it has great potential.

[powell72]

This is good info, thanks leddzepp.

Jeff, I can't recall exactly what the difference was with the boots from c-sm, weren't they missing the indentation or something?

[chipflyer]

Yes, the indentations were missing, they were about an inch and a half to short and are made of a thinner material.

Jeff

[leddzepp]

The "indentation" on the boots I have is actually a "hook" on the inside to secure the buckle so it does not fall out.

Jeff- Did the re-pop boots you have have a "hook" inside? It seems to me that the buckle would fall right out if not.

[chipflyer]

Nope, no hook at all. The buckle fit tightly so it wouldn't fall out. They were completely smooth like the black one shown. The saddle boot doesn't have a hook but just a square nub that traps the buckle.
I had thought at one time that a die could be made to create the indentation with a little heat, but after looking at a real pair I have decided that it wouldn't work. There isn't enough material there and it would be way to thin and rip through.
Can you show a pic of yours with the hook?

[leddzepp]

Great pics Jeff. The ones I have are like the factory on the inside. I guess "nub" would have been a better word for it, rather than "hook" A pic would explain it better. I am at work right now, but I will post a pic later when I get home tonight. They aren't really re-pops for our truck, but are very similar and are from another make/model vehicle. I saw a pair like them on Ebay a while back and posted a pic here, and it was discovered that they were not the original ones for our trucks (IIRC, you also contributed to that thread). I got my hands on a set just like them, and I was very impressed with the quality and the way they held the buckle securely.

I was going to get a set of the re-pops like you have pictured, and contemplated doing the same thing to make the indentation. I also came to the same conclusion that you did, and realized that it would just wear through and ruin them.

[jay_shy]

Here are several boots I have collected....

1st pic l to r 67-72 boot, mid to late 70's blazer boot (so i am told), 68-70 mustang/cougar boot.

2nd and 3rd pic are different views.

[jay_shy]

Here are a few of the inside of each boot.

[leddzepp]

Thanks Jayshy for your pics. You beat me to it! The one in the far right pic is the one I have....so I guess it is from a cougar/mustang. Thank you for the info.

[chipflyer]

Yep, nice pics.

[chevygurly]

we replaced ours with autoloc seatbelts..it was easy to install and the colors are pretty damn close to factory colors.
http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autol...atbelts&r=5010

[1972K20]

That's a lot of good info on seat belts.

[70LonghornCST]

With some recent inquiries about building a set of Shoulder Belts like the ones that just fetched $710 on eBay last month, I figured that I'd piece together a set for the fun of it. I'm not done yet. I still need to sew on the female belt mounting ends that are truck specific. Also, I need to sew on the flattened male belt pilar mounting ends to the male belts. I also need to pick up some better buckle backs (the chrome part). I used two out of the box NOS belts from a 71 car for the female belts (same length as the truck belts, and two male lap belt ends from a truck. The boots are just like the ones used on that eBay set. This is what I have so far.

[70cst]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

It was brought up in another thread how a center seat belt (from a bench seat) could be used as a shoulder belt. Here are some pics showing the differences in the lengths. The bottom belt is a lap belt (I used a pair of vise grips to keep it extended), the middle belt is a factory shoulder belt and the top belt is a center belt. The lap belt is exactly the length of the shoulder belt, while the center belt is a bit longer. The mounting bracket is the only thing separating you from using the others as a substitute. The bottom pic shows that the mounting bracket is flat on the shoulder belt, and the center belt bracket is angled. You could use a heavy duty vise to flatten the center belt bracket. Otherwise, it would look kinda funny sticking out of the pillar Or better yet, get new all new webbing and re-use the shoulder brackets....or if you don't have those, I am sure you could find some from another set of belts on a different vehicle.

Thanks...Great info!!!

[todd99]

Does anyone sell reproduction center seatbelts?

[70LonghornCST]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

[...] The mounting bracket is the only thing separating you from using the others as a substitute. The bottom pic shows that the mounting bracket is flat on the shoulder belt, and the center belt bracket is angled. You could use a heavy duty vise to flatten the center belt bracket. Otherwise, it would look kinda funny sticking out of the pillar Or better yet, get new all new webbing and re-use the shoulder brackets....or if you don't have those, I am sure you could find some from another set of belts on a different vehicle.

Chevy vans from the early to mid 70s with utility buckets have a mounting bracket (on the female belt) that is almost flat (15º to 30º bend) and is EASILY flattened in a vice and a little extra help from a hammer on an anvil. I'll re-sew these onto the truck male lapbelts that I have for shoulder belt male ends.

[WIDESIDE72]

Good info!
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[randy500]

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