Restoring OEM Seatbelts

[TKCR]

Restored a set of 87 Burgundy Belts for someone. These weren’t working correctly, so a through cleaning of the mechanisms was in order, now they work. They had a lot of gunk buildup which was keeping the counter balance weights from swinging. Rust & debris removal from the buckles. Emblems and covers were cleaned and polished.
Here are the Before pics.

[TKCR]

And After

[TKCR]

I have several Charcoal Black Seatbelts that are beyond my help. The webbing is frayed, so those just have to be re-webbed. So I finally made myself get a set out and send off to the professionals, that know more about re-webbing seatbelts.
Once they come back, then I’ll work my magic on removing the rust on the mounts, lubricating the retractor mechanisms and then restoring the retractor casings. Can’t wait to see them.

[TKCR]

Just completed a set of Charcoal Black belts for someone. Full restoration of rust removal, buckles disassembled for debris removal and then a through cleaning & dye. Retractor mechanisms cleaned & lubed for better retracting.

[1rippen6]

Originally Posted by TKCR

The 81-87 Saddle Tan interior did have all light saddle tan, but the dash was dark Saddle. They did that because of the glare from the windshield.

You won't have any light saddle 81-87 retractors for sale by chance. I want to retrofit them into a 72 blazer for the shoulder belts. Plan is to anchor the top point to the roll bar. I would have them rewebbed with parchment and the correct buckle so it looks somewhat period correct. I just want something light close to 72 parchment, I will paint them but wanted something light in case they get scratched.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by 1rippen6

You won't have any light saddle 81-87 retractors for sale by chance. I want to retrofit them into a 72 blazer for the shoulder belts. Plan is to anchor the top point to the roll bar. I would have them rewebbed with parchment and the correct buckle so it looks somewhat period correct. I just want something light close to 72 parchment, I will paint them but wanted something light in case they get scratched.

I have quite a stash of belts, I’m sure I have something.

[1rippen6]

Originally Posted by TKCR

I have quite a stash of belts, I’m sure I have something.

Awesome, if you take some pictures of the lightest you have that would be great.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by 1rippen6

Awesome, if you take some pictures of the lightest you have that would be great.

Sending a PM

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by TKCR

I have several Charcoal Black Seatbelts that are beyond my help. The webbing is frayed, so those just have to be re-webbed. So I finally made myself get a set out and send off to the professionals, that know more about re-webbing seatbelts.
Once they come back, then I’ll work my magic on removing the rust on the mounts, lubricating the retractor mechanisms and then restoring the retractor casings. Can’t wait to see them.

Just like anything else there's likely to be good and bad outfits re-webbing belts.
Plenty of leg work to find a good one.
I'm interested to see what kind of results you get.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by hatzie

Just like anything else there's likely to be good and bad outfits re-webbing belts.
Plenty of leg work to find a good one.
I'm interested to see what kind of results you get.

Me too.

[xbanone]

Have you ever attempted a color change on a set of belts? I have a nice set of burgundy I would like to change to mahogany.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by xbanone

Have you ever attempted a color change on a set of belts? I have a nice set of burgundy I would like to change to mahogany.

No they don’t turn out. No use ruining a good set of belts. I could do a set of Mahogany for you, I have a few sets. They just need the restoration done on them. They would look like these.

[xbanone]

Originally Posted by TKCR

No they don’t turn out. No use ruining a good set of belts. I could do a set of Mahogany for you, I have a few sets. They just need the restoration done on them. They would look like these.

That's great! I'm also looking at the seats you have done. Very nice work. I'll be in touch.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by TKCR

I have several Charcoal Black Seatbelts that are beyond my help. The webbing is frayed, so those just have to be re-webbed. So I finally made myself get a set out and send off to the professionals, that know more about re-webbing seatbelts.
Once they come back, then I’ll work my magic on removing the rust on the mounts, lubricating the retractor mechanisms and then restoring the retractor casings. Can’t wait to see them.

Well I got them back already, today! And I am more than happy with the new webbing.
Now it’s time for me to do my magic. Rust removal of the mounts. Through cleaning of the mechanisms & re-lube.

[LT7A]

They turned out nice!

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by LT7A

They turned out nice!

Yep the webbing did, but I still need to restore the casings. Then they will really look NICE!

[TKCR]

Well here they are! I got them finished up today. Restored the casings. Rust removed from the mounts. Cleaned & lubed the mechanisms. These are paired with a NOS set of center buckles & lap belt, and new upper anchor covers.
NEW WEBBING

[TKCR]

So I also have been working on a set of Charcoal Black retractors. These are someone’s belts from Canada. This is all they had, was the retractors. And they needed some mechanism help. They were rusty and had a lot of dust/hair debris, so that was the major part of the restoration.
So here are the Before pics.

[TKCR]

And then some of during restoration. Rust removal, cleaning and dye.

[TKCR]

And then the After. Since he didn’t have center belts, I put a set of NOS center buckles with this set. And also new Upper Anchor Covers.
These will be heading back home to Canada

[LT7A]

If you're not careful, you could make the whole rest of a guy's truck look bad in comparison to those seat belts, haha.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by LT7A

If you're not careful, you could make the whole rest of a guy's truck look bad in comparison to those seat belts, haha.

When I was packing those belts to go to their new home in Texas, I had to stop on last time and stare at how nice they were. They were like new! Almost wanted to keep them for my truck, even though my belts are pretty darn nice too. This particular set, a guy is getting these for his brothers truck, which has been completely restored. The only thing he didn’t like, was the aftermarket belts, which I fully understand that one. So he was getting these for a Christmas Gift for his brother. He knew this would make his brother very happy to have stock belts back in his truck.

[TKCR]

Here’s a set of 1987 Blue retractors to we’re restored for someone. They didn’t have centers, so I had a set of NOS Buckles & Lap belt, to make it a complete set.
Completely restored. Throughly cleaned and dyed. Mechanisms cleaned and lubed for better retracting. Rust removed from the mounts. The extra mounting tabs were also restored.
Here are the BEFORE Pics.

[TKCR]

And the AFTER Pics

[TKCR]

Been working on a set of 1976 Blue seatbelts for someone. He is in the process of restoring a Spirit of 76. So he sent me his belts in hopes of being able to do something with them. At first, I was pretty skeptical. These were in pretty bad shape. Faded, and DIRTY is putting it nicely. Some rust on the mounts, the inner buckles and the upper anchor, since these were chrome. You don’t see too many of these.
So here is what I started with.