Seat Belts & Covers

Topic: Seat Belts & Covers (Read 5076 times) previous topic - next topic

Seat Belts & Covers

June 22, 2005, 10:03:59 AM

Just wanted to start a separate thread about the seat belts.

A lot of people (probably most at this point) are experiencing seat belt problems in one way or another. The most common seems to be the flopping seat belt receptacle on the seats. Once the plastic is broken, the receptacle flops all around and generally gets annoying. I'm trying to find a good solution for us, with the hopes of getting help from the Mustang community. Here is a comparison photo of the major seat belt receptacles:

I lined up the mounting holes so you can see height differences. From the left we have SN95 Mustang, Fox Mustang, and Fox T-Bird/Cougar. The SN95 Mustangs have a totally different belt system that could possibly be adapted to our cars with a little massaging. Most colors seem to be black, charcoal or that gawd-awful tan. The Fox Mustangs show the most promise. Note that on those cars, the seat belt receptacles are bolted to the driveshaft tunnel below the console, not on the seat tracks like ours. Therefore, they're a little shorter, but as you can see in the photo they should fit fine (and it also looks as if they're pre-flopped for us...convenient!).

I've also taken some pix of our power seat tracks. We had two different kinds, and that affects how the seat belts attach.

Note how the attaching points for the receptacles (far left) are different. The top track is 1987-88; the bottom is 1983-86.

A closer view. The 1987-88 receptacle bases used a slot that hooked over the tab on the left. You can use 1983-86 receptacles on 1987-88 seat tracks, if you bend down the metal tab on the receptacle first (or drill a slot into the metal to accomodate the metal tab). I believe you can do the opposite as well.

I've also dug out some of the three-point belts from SN95, Fox Mustangs and our cars for comparison...will post those pix soon.

My conclusion thus far has been that we do have unique seat belt receptacles, but it should be possible to either adapt Mustang ones, or use them from a Mark VII. The lap belts in back are no brainers...not really an issue. For those that have problems with the three-point belts retracting, replacement options for the time being seem to be T-Bird/Cougar only, possibly Mark VII. I would love to adapt a full SN95 belt system to our cars, because they are more abundant, convenient, and sturdy. I think they have a lot more possibility, provided you're not too picky about colors.

More info here as I get it.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #1 – June 22, 2005, 04:26:15 PM

Yeah I had seat belt problems to say the least when I bought the Red 86 GS (there were not belts for the back seat), Luckly the belts in my old GS were in good condition.

Hmm are the 87-88 Power seat racks any lighter than the previous model? the ones in the 86 are pretty heavy...

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #2 – June 22, 2005, 04:30:34 PM

Nope, they're both heavy as hell. The SN95 Mustangs had a very cool aluminum frame on their power seats, but those frames unfortunately won't bolt to our floorpan.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #3 – June 22, 2005, 05:37:24 PM

yeah, the halo seats in my '88 are from the ASC/McLaren Capri, but they ain't the original seats out of it!
I bolted them to the stock Tbird frames, and they work fine, but, I need gray belts. (and the gray interior to match, ha)
What I am looking for is some kinda lighter frame for the power seat on the drivers side, or else a manual seat frame, as these cars are heavy enough.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #4 – June 23, 2005, 12:48:19 AM

Hey Eric, when I put turbocoupe seats in my ranger pickup I noticed that the Ranger uses the same style of seatbelt that bolts to the seat track as our cars. Its just a little bit differn't shaped.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #5 – June 23, 2005, 01:29:38 PM

[Spock] Fascinating... [/Spock]

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #6 – June 23, 2005, 03:08:56 PM

Quote from: CougarSE

Hey Eric, when I put turbocoupe seats in my ranger pickup I noticed that the Ranger uses the same style of seatbelt that bolts to the seat track as our cars. Its just a little bit differn't shaped.

pics?

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #7 – June 23, 2005, 07:16:31 PM

I think I threw away the ranger ones because they looked like the ones in my cougar. Now that I think about it, I found a perfect red seat belt buckle in a junkyard! Woot!

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #8 – June 24, 2005, 09:19:26 AM

This is a thread i've been waiting for. Other than a cracked dash, broken seat belt covers are the only other flaw with my interior. If we drove Mustangs, there would be an infinate amount of choices for interior resto parts.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #9 – June 24, 2005, 11:10:23 PM

Those wires tore up two pairs of my shorts. I bent them out of sight after the second time so they wouldn't snag my pants anymore.. I would like to fix that now that my seats are out. It is rare that I see some in descent shape in the junk yard. I am thinking about putting in a harness and being done with it. I didn't think I could mount them though without a roll cage or a racing seat of some kind.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #10 – June 24, 2005, 11:48:02 PM

Hey,

Would like to ask if any seat belt experts know how to correct a slow retractor ('88 Bird). I took the panel off behind the driver door and looked at the operation but did not see any fault. If it is lubrication, I hesitate to apply anything that could soil the belt. The hanger on the pillar seems not to be the culprit although the pass through angle for belt pull and retract seems important as well to the retract speed. Any ideas??

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #11 – September 12, 2005, 01:24:51 PM

Just wandering if anyone has come up with seat belt covers from other cars/trucks that would work on our cars? I know ranger seat belts were mentioned...Ebay sometimes has seat belts in good condition but they seem to demand pretty high prices. A cheap alternative would be great.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #12 – September 12, 2005, 01:49:07 PM

I'm still agonizing over this whole deal. No solutions yet although I haven't had time to hit the boneyard and check other cars.

I have found exactly one company that will refurbish seat belts, Ssnake Oyl Products. As you can see by their website, they specialize in older hot rods and muscle cars...no real indication on if our seat belts are "too new" for them to refurbish. They are not cheap though, and not afraid to charge big bucks. I've searched through Mustang forums and sites also, and nobody seems to have a definitive answer for the Fox cars. Mustang seat belts, when you can find them, go for high dollars on eBay, and everyone and their brother jump to bid on them too.

This is not only a cosmetic/functionality issue, it's a safety issue that needs to be resolved in a timely and affordable manner. I am trying to dig up more information and will post if/when there is news.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #13 – September 12, 2005, 02:13:25 PM

Sounds good man. I'm tempted to pull the seat belts out of my Ranger to see if they'll work.

Re: Seat Belts & Covers

Reply #14 – September 12, 2005, 02:23:25 PM

my 96 ranger with turbo coupe seats, ranger belts. (very messy) hope it helps...