Mustang Forums at StangNet

seat belt conversion

This is a discussion on seat belt conversion within the Fox 5.0 Tech forums, part of the Fox 5.0 Mustang category; i have an 88 stang with 2004 seats. i am replacing the carpet and i cant get the bolt out ...

Go Back   Mustang Forums at StangNet > Mustang Forums > Fox 5.0 Mustang > Fox 5.0 Tech

Over 159,000 Members!!

Register Vendors Garage FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read




Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 07-20-07, 09:57 PM
Member
 
Join Date: July 2006
Posts: 4
seat belt conversion

i have an 88 stang with 2004 seats. i am replacing the carpet and i cant get the bolt out of the passenger side seat belt buckle. i am considering getting 2004 belts so that i can use the buckles that came on the seats. anyone have any idea if they will bolt in?
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 07-21-07, 04:51 AM
Ghost001's Avatar
Official Member
 
Join Date: December 2002
Location: California
Posts: 399
Do you mean the bolt that bolts the buckle onto the tranny tunnel? Is it rusted or broken?

Anyway, you may want to try a universal belt from www.GotBelts.com or somewhere like that.

I ordered one from www.GotBelts.com, with a 9-inch buckle, 110-inch overall length, and the hardware kit for an extra $6:

http://www.gotbelts.com/relapshwbuen.html

I have 2002 seats, and I'll probably bolt the buckle onto the seat.

I don't yet know if it will fit, though.

I'm currently using one I ordered from www.AutoPartsWarehouse.com, which looks a lot like the GotBelts one. The AutoPartsWarehouse one fit, but the buckle fit only on the tranny tunnel, not on the seat, because the eyelet was too small for the seat bolt. However, the buckle is too long (14 inches), and it's upside down when installed on the tranny tunnel (the buckle cable has a weird bend near the eyelet, so it can only be installed one way), so I ordered the one from www.GotBelts.com.

The GotBelts one has a buckle that looks like it'll probably fit on the seat, because the eyelet looks bigger on the 9-inch buckle, and it looks like it probably doesn't have the weird bend that my current one has (my current buckle resembles the 12-inch buckle at GotBelts). However, I have no idea whether the other parts will fit, although I'm guessing that they probably will.

I have no idea whether the safety (will it fail during a crash?) is as good as a Ford belt. But at least, the one I currently have, retracts nicely. I'm guessing that the new one will also retract nicely, because it's not a Ford belt.

By the way, if anyone knows of an aftermarket lap-and-shoulder belt (3-point?) that is known to be safe, I'd be interested in hearing about it. I couldn't find much info, regarding the safety of various aftermarket 3-point belts.

Last edited by Ghost001; 07-21-07 at 05:13 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 07-21-07, 12:19 PM
Official Member
 
Join Date: November 2003
Posts: 141
You can use newer seat belts, I did when i swapped in some 03 Cobra seats.

I was able to simply bolt the passenger side in after bending some tabs to get the right angle. However, I couldn't get the driver's side to work correctly.

So... I put the 03 buckle on the 91 seat belt. I had to cut the threads on the end of the belt and then resew them with nylon thread. Don't worry, i promise it will be strong enough, I resewed some car hauler tie down straps in the same manner and they held firm.

Also, i painted the orginal belt with black vinyl spray (original grey) and it looks very good. It almost exactly matches the charcoal of the 03 belt and it has lasted for several months with no fading and nothing rubbing off.
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old 07-28-07, 02:52 PM
Ghost001's Avatar
Official Member
 
Join Date: December 2002
Location: California
Posts: 399
Update: I received and installed the seat belt from www.GotBelts.com, on the driver side.

I didn't realize it, but the kit only comes with 1 seat belt. So I just ordered a 2nd kit, for the passenger side.

It fit quite well. However, the buckle loop is too small to buckle to the seat bolt. It looks like it would probably be okay to use a dremel to widen the buckle loop hole a little bit, to get it to fit. However, I decided to simply use the bolt in the tranny tunnel.

It retracts quickly, and it snaps into rigidity when I pull hard on the belt.

Last edited by Ghost001; 07-28-07 at 02:55 PM.
Reply With Quote
Reply




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


 




All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:31 AM.