New seatbelts in an old car?

[Doug&Julie]

Yet another question concerning my "new" 1970 911T that will be in my garage in a couple of weeks... Aside from the seats, I'd also like to replace the seatbelts with inertia reel seatbelts or something more modern for better safety and convenience. I've tried a search but didn't really come up with much. Anybody have any ideas on how easy this is? I don't even know how much it costs for new belts? Is this something very DIY or will I need to have my mechanic take care of it?

Right now the car has "fixed" three point belts that just lay on the side of the seat/car.



Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[dotorg]

Its easy... just get the units and bolt them up. Yours is set up for 3-pt already, so that makes it easier.

Mine wasn't, so I bolted in lap belts until I just went with harnesses full-time. In either case, though, installation is simple. Best case you just bolt them in the stock locations, but its also easy to just bolt them through the floor using a big washer or mount plate on the underside. Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, its perfectly safe to bolt them through the floor -- sure its easier for them to pull out than bolted into bungs welded into the frame, but unless you use a small mount plate or washer, you won't survive something hard enough to pull out anyway.

[Doug&Julie]

Cool. Yes, I do believe the car is set up for standard 3pt installation.

Any suggestions as to where to get the belts?

Thanks,

[dotorg]

I got mine at some local autoparts store when I bought the car -- it didn't have them (and there was some question as to if it ever had them), and I didn't want to drive 4 hours home without them. They were just a generic $40 set of lap belts and mounting hardware. I'd bet most bigger autoparts stores have them. I'd guess they'll be slightly more money, but OEM replacements are a LOT of money.

[Tim Walsh]

http://www.peparts.com has new ones or the boneyard has them.

I went with the 944 seat belts, but they require a bit of modification first (had to grind off the locating pin that isn't used on my 911)

[steve911]

You might try Performance Engineered Products
www.peparts.com

Slow fingers - Tim beat me to it

[randywebb]

I would not get them from a junkyard - they might have stressed already in a crash and WILL be old.

Spend the $$ for new ones. I need to get on the stick and ask NHTSA how often they should be replaced - my bet: 30 years is too long for safety.

Who knows the race rules on harness age? Might give an idea for seat belts.

[Scooter]

Make sure your new belts are not designed for an airbag equipped car. I am going the reverse direction, because I installed a non-airbag steering wheel.

[Dantilla]

The SCCA now requires harnesses to be replaced every two years. Mostly due to UV damage to the webbing.

[Doug&Julie]

Originally posted by randywebb
I would not get them from a junkyard - Spend the $$ for new ones.

No fears there...safety is paramount in my book.

[randywebb]

I just sent an Email to NHTSA - will post back if they have any info. Wow - 2 years is pretty short. I'm not that paranoid.

[Deschodt]

Get new ones from PEP... I just did on my 73.. Things to keep in mind: the new receiver needs to mount somewhere ! You may/may not have to reuse old hardware or get new one, or given your non-stock seats get a seat adapter that includes mounting point for both the belts and the receiver. Also remember the inertia reel will only unlock if the mechanism is vertical so don't freak out about it being stuck when you get it.. Last thing, they're pricey: $300 a set if I recall... But hey, it's safety equipment !

[Jeremy Cottrell]

The PEP site is closed. Are they factory belts? Does anyone have pictures?

[jpnovak]

Anyone know a source for replacement non-retracting belts? I would like to replace the ones in my 71 targa.

[RallyJon]

What do you want to see? They're pretty straightforward: inertia reel, lower outside bracket that attaches to the seat mount.

This shot shows the PEP receiver:


I hid the inertia reel under a stock trim piece:

[Doug&Julie]

Excellent! Nice clean interior, btw.

[Deschodt]

I could take pictures of mine - jsut installed yesterday - but I bet their site will be back up before I post them ;-) Not sure what there is to see... They offer a set of SC style receivers that you can weld (?) to the transmission tunnel, or replacements for the factory receivers attached to the seats... Pretty sure I paid >340 for a set of belts + receivers..

The inertia reel portion looks like the original I took from my car but it's hidden under a panel on my car anyway so you could not tell either way... {edit: I see someone posted phots, cool ]

The attachment on the B pillar above your shoulder has a different plastic cover than stock (nicer, to me) and the belt receiver is totally different (bright red modern top actuated release button). That said I could have reused my 73 receivers just as well, but they looked tired, faded and unsafe.

In the case of upgrading a car that came with fixed belts, I have to ask "who cares" since you're going non-original anyway... I like authenticity, but a set of modern seatbelts is a compromise I am happy to make in order not to eat the steering wheel one day ! That said I had to use Home depot type bolts to attach the whole ting to my seat base, I am not sure how safe that is, but they look beefier than the tiny porsche bolts holding my seat to the floor ;-) All in all I'd rather crash in a modern car !

[HarryD]

Originally posted by Jeremy Cottrell
The PEP site is closed. Are they factory belts? Does anyone have pictures?

My replacement belts came from PEParts.



The belts are made by REPA who provides belts for Porsche, Audi and VW among others. When you order them, you tell them what year to duplicate. Depending on what you need, you may want to get a later model and figure out the adapters you will need to mount properly. I woiuld think some time on the phone with yur vendor of choice is time well spent to get the right thing.

[sfmlaw17]

Go to Andover Restraints. That is where I got my rear belts, but will get fronts as well as soon as I need them. They were fast and look great. No affiliation here, just satisfied.

http://www.andoauto.com/seat_belts1.htm

[sagacis]

How about 3-point (shoulder harness) for back seat? My kids ride there and I would feel better with better belts. How would I mount them?