Today I got around to fixing my seat belt problem and wanted to share my experience. My seat belts had the retraction problem common to these cars. I also had some wear and fraying on the belts so I figured it was time to replace them. I ordered the front seat belt assembly set from Fox Restoration which can be found here:
http://www.foxresto.com/1979-93-Mustang-Front-Seat-Belt-Assembly-Set-p/31379099.htm
Although the retraction mechanism is different than our stock units, I was able to make these work just fine. They also match the stock units perfectly from a visual standpoint. I ordered mine in scarlet red and the color is dead on. They are not cheap at $150 but they are quality and I can justify it for safety purposes alone. Just thought I'd share in case anyone else is considering doing this restoration.
Believe it or not a large majority of the retractor problems can be fixed with furniture polish (i.e. Lemon pledge) sprayed on the belt when fully extended.
That's interesting. What causes the retraction problem that can be so easily fixed with polish?
Furniture polish has wax and silicone in it. Furniture polish just so happens to be cheap and have the same thing in it thats used to lubricate them. Its an upholstry shop trick.
Good to know for next time this occurs. I'd probably be pissed that I spent the money on the new belts to fix the retraction problem if it weren't for the fact that the belts were also frayed :D
Thanks for the tip!
Did you have to modify anything for the Mustang seat belts to work?
WOW!! GREAT to know as one of mine has this issue!! Thanks for the advice!!
No problem, learned it from an upholstery guy and worked like a charm on my sn-95 belts
The only thing that I had to do was to remove the plunger from the stock unit. The new assembly doesn't use a plunger. FoxResto actually sells a plug to cover the plunger hole which I will probably pick up:
http://www.foxresto.com/1979-86-Seat-Belt-Tension-Adjuster-Hole-Plug-p/31379010.htm
The other thing I should note, though not a big deal, is that due to the dimensions of the retraction mechanism being different I also had to turn the units slightly askew to get them to fit right. This did not affect the operation of the seat belts.