Restoring OEM Seatbelts

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by 1981_c10

Great work on those!!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by hatzie

Once you've been at it for a while all those little bits and pieces you keep in bins start to come in handy.
Very nice work as usual

You are correct. I can kick myself, because early on I did pitch a few items, thinking I would never use or need it. Not anymore! I’m saving everything, you just never know. Just like that buckle, I had a replacement thankfully!

[Rich84]

Interesting..So narrow plastic buckle- fat gets metal buckle.

I have to check mine now. I have Suburban belts (gray) and buckles on the floor, but they lay on the floor. I have to bend it up to buckle. I would rather the blazer style that stand.

You might have just kept me from getting the wrong ones. Thanks TKCR

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by Rich84

Interesting..So narrow plastic buckle- fat gets metal buckle.

I have to check mine now. I have Suburban belts (gray) and buckles on the floor, but they lay on the floor. I have to bend it up to buckle. I would rather the blazer style that stand.

You might have just kept me from getting the wrong ones. Thanks TKCR

yep, I have ran into a bunch of people that this has happened too. Especially when people sell just a part of set on Ebay and such. Like buckles, someone will buy metal buckles, but their retractor only accepts plastic buckles, because of the tongue size. Several people have sent me their seatbelts to get restored, and they are mix matched, and they didn't even realize it.

[Rich84]

Funny thing is that I don't even know which buckles I have. I gotta get home and check.

I think they are metal...Pretty sure. LoL. I guess I'll start by finding the Blazer buckles and then the right belts to match in gray or black.

[TKCR]

Just finished up a set of 87 Blue Seatbelts for someone. He sent these belts to be restored. I have to say, the center buckles and lap belt are some of the worst that I have seen. Even the webbing was too badly damaged. There was no saving these!!
I had several extra sets of centers, so we just opted to use those and threw out his. Here are a few before & after pics!

[TKCR]

These are beautiful! Just found a very nice set of 1987 Charcoal Black seatbelts. I don’t believe these were ever used. Virtually no fading on the webbing. Casings were a little dirty, but a good hot bath took care of that. Even the seatbelt tag was still white. Still cleaned up the mounts, retractor mechanisms and re-lubed those. Although the center buckle were in good shape, the plastic sleeves were cracked as usual. I have a couple of sets of NOS Center Buckles and Lap Belt. So I used one for this set.

[TKCR]

Working on another set of Black belts for a friend of mine. He has restored his truck, and went with Black & Orange, but has Burgundy belts. Had to put some parts together for a set. The black retractors I had, were to be mated with plastic buckles. The male latch on the retractors have the long narrow latch, which will only mate with plastic buckles, which I don’t have. So I’m switching out the latches on the retractors, that way we can use metal buckles. So here what I have done so far. And the mounts were really rusty, this was after sandblasting. I worked on them a bit more after this photo was taken. The retractors were also seized, but I got them going again!

[TKCR]

So here are the progress pics on the Black belts in the above post. Got them cleaned and dyed. The mounts, all got all the rust off, and then sprayed the with a rust inhibitor. It sprays on clear, but turns black as it drys. So after they thoroughly dried, I sprayed them with black epoxy paint. There is some pitting.
I got all the stitching removed, and the narrow latch off. Now I just need to sew on the new latches, so they will mate with metal buckles.
The last 2 pics, I showed the examples of the latch sizes and which buckles they mate with.

[hatzie]

What model machine are you using to sew these seatbelts?

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by hatzie

What model machine are you using to sew these seatbelts?

It’s a Heavy Duty machine. Specifically for heavy fabrics, such as seat covers & belts.

[TKCR]

Finished up the Black belts for my friend here locally. They will going in his custom colored interior. This will be one of the last steps to finish off his interior. If you look at the photo closely, you can see the Burgundy belts.

[TKCR]

Also completed a set of Black belts, while working on my friends set. These got the usual treatment. Throughly cleaned and dyed the belts. Disassembled the buckles the throughly clean and remove debris, which you can see, had quite a bit. This keeps the buckles from functioning as they should. Retractors lubed to get them retracting freely again.

[Jeepwm69]

You know, I'll bet you could find a good sized customer base with the Jeep CJ crowd. All the belts were black, but they tend to turn purplish from the sun fading them out over the years.

What made me think of that is the retractor statement. Most old Jeeps the retractors stop working well from use and exposure to the elements.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by Jeepwm69

You know, I'll bet you could find a good sized customer base with the Jeep CJ crowd. All the belts were black, but they tend to turn purplish from the sun fading them out over the years.

What made me think of that is the retractor statement. Most old Jeeps the retractors stop working well from use and exposure to the elements.

The Squarebody customer base is keeping me plenty busy. I don’t care to branch out from that. Anyways, that would mean trying to located repair parts for those too.

[Jeepwm69]

Ah, good point.

And I certainly understand not wanting to open another can of worms.

[TKCR]

Another Charcoal Black restored for someone. 79-86 style. Fully restored.

[Sabaka454]

Originally Posted by TKCR

Another Charcoal Black restored for someone. 79-86 style. Fully restored.

Are you selling these?

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by Sabaka454

Are you selling these?

First sentence in the post: restored “ for someone”.
That means no, they are not mine to sell. Sorry.
When I do have a set for sale, I list them on my Facebook page. Link is at the bottom of this page, on my Signature. They usually only last the day before they are sold. If at any time you find a set, I can restore them for you. Most of these belts that I have posted, have all been restored for people that have sent me their belts.

[RADustin]

I just bought a full set of 2-point early belts. Blue in color.

All I need are the plastic reel covers...if you have two good covers we could do a trade+cash? LMK.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by RADustin

I just bought a full set of 2-point early belts. Blue in color.

All I need are the plastic reel covers...if you have two good covers we could do a trade+cash? LMK.

I don’t, sorry. No more than what those retractor covers are for those 2 point belts. I’ve often wondered if a 3D printer could make these?

[RADustin]

Originally Posted by TKCR

I don’t, sorry.

I’ll have a bunch of parts to sell then if you’re interested.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by RADustin

I’ll have a bunch of parts to sell then if you’re interested.

Parts, as in what kind of parts? PM me with details

[TKCR]

One of the things I’ve been doing lately when restoring the seatbelts, is disassembly of the metal buckles. A lot of times people are saying that their buckles just don’t work like they should, and here’s why. Over the years, things find their way inside the buckles, only to be trapped. When these items get lodged under the spring for the button, it no longer functions as it should. There have been times that the buckles will not release the latch, once the seatbelts were used, trapping the occupant in the seat. So every set of seatbelts that I’m restoring, I’m cleaning out the debris from the buckles and re-lubing them. Here are some pics of some of the “stuff” that I have found inside these buckles.

[tristan]

Are you interested in expanding your horizon to 1967-72 belts? The set from my 1971 C-10 are weary and need to be refreshed. The company in TX that used to rule the restoration market for seat belts may have disappeared as they don't answer the phone or return messages. Please PM me if so.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by tristan

Are you interested in expanding your horizon to 1967-72 belts? The set from my 1971 C-10 are weary and need to be refreshed. The company in TX that used to rule the restoration market for seat belts may have disappeared as they don't answer the phone or return messages. Please PM me if so.

sending pm