Saturday, April 11, 2015

3-point retractable seat belts

The original owner had replaced the 2-point static belts with 3-point static long ago. The lack of adjustment abilities was driving my wife nuts, so that became a priority last year.

 I ordered a set off eBay, making sure that I got the right ones that could be mounted with spools oriented sideways (vs. normal ones that align front-back). They call them inertia-reel seat belts.

 The hole for the "pillar" mount was already there, but I "flipped" my pillar loop around so that the belt would be presented a little higher, making it easier to reach over the shoulder.

I also sat down in front of the wife's sewing machine and shortened the receiver end. While I had the belt apart, I and also flipped the mount, so that the release button would be on the outside.

Blurry pic, but you can see how flipping the mount allows the belt to be presented away from the carpet on an angle towards the clasp position.

 Shortened length for better ergonomics. Virtually all the belts I found online had a long receiver end, which would make the point at which the tongue goes in around your bellybutton.

Finally, new 3-point retractable belts actually require 4 points to tether (the spool end, pillar loop, loose end anchor, and receiver). Luckily, when I peeled back the carpet behind the seat, there was an additional hole with a plastic plug. It fit the standard seat belt bolt perfectly... those Germans think so far ahead.

Anyhow, now the wife is thrilled. Happy wife, happy life.

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