S-10 seatbelt update

[Brad]

Some of you may be “nutritionally enhanced” or have friends or relatives like me that are, and they can’t fit the belt all the way over and latch it. I recently found a guy at PDX airport who works on airplane seatbelts. He was able to lengthen the lower belt about 11”. (I’ve included an old picture of the belt that I’m referring to, it’s the one that goes over the waist). The new belt length is perfect for my mother who’s fairly large in the middle where it goes. There’s even a bit left over.

I was a little apprehensive about having someone sew my belts but the guy explained the requirements for airplane belts and they’re much stricter than automobile requirements. I feel he did an excellent job and his customer service was excellent as well.

He explained that with the extra length the belt and buckle probably would not retract all the way, due to the tight fit within the mechanism. With the extra length, I thought the belt buckle would flop outside the cab when I shut the door, and I’d have to be careful with this, but instead it is pulled up to around the stomach area. This is due to the upper belt pulling it upward with its tension.

If you’re wanting the S-10 belt mod but can’t make it fit, I’d suggest going to an airport and finding someone who works on airplane seatbelts and getting the lower belt lengthened. 11” worked best for my needs, but measure and use your own discretion.

I’ll post updated pics within a couple weeks.

[Bill72BB]

Brad;
What year S10 belt's are you using, They look like they bolt up to the original seat belt hole's .
I used the later model S10 belts and had to make a bracket to mount them but I don't have a problem with the length .

Thanks

Bill

[Brad]

I don't remember what specific year they were out of, I just know it was an ~80's model. I do have them bolted up in the stock location, both the receiver and the mechanism for the safety factor. One interesting thing to note is that due to the angle of where the receiver side mounts in the cab, (wierd angle in middle of cab) I swapped out the driver side receiver for the passenger side and vice versa. This allowed the buckle to naturally rest up and close to the seat as opposed to laying on the floor and having to reach down for it. Oh boy, I think I just need to take some pics

I wanted everything as stock as possible for the safety factor. I was going to do the extension bracket, bought the steel and everything, but that didn't seem safe to me. A few days later I stumbled upon the guy doing airplane belts. I forgot to mention, it only cost me $15 to have it extended. Pretty cheap when safety's involved.

I really like the length of the driver belts. In fact, even at full extension, no part of my body touches the wheel (everything bolted to stock locations). I just had to lengthen the passenger side for friends and reletives' comfort and safety.

[DennyB]

those are first generation belts....from 82 to 93