1972 Seat Belt Question

[Jetaway]

Greetings,

I need to replace the shoulder belt on my 1972. I should say that its nominally a 1972, but has, to the best of my knowledge, some 1971 equipment (vertical rear defroster, for example) and fixed, not retractable seat belts.

I found an earlier thread on seat belts, and am interested in the following:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?40364-which-seat-belts-are-better&p=348736&viewfull=1#post348736

But ... what I am not sure about is exactly how much work it would require. The retractable belt equipped Z's have a small well in the floor / side wall, don't they? I don't, just a mounting plate. If boyracer88 is reading this, could you tell me if your 1972 has a well for the retractor? Anyone else, am I right about there being a substantial difference in the mounting of retractable vs. non-retractable belts?

Chris

[SteveJ]

I'm not sure what you are asking. The thread you referenced discussed aftermarket belts that I have used, and I described how they are mounted. The retractor for these belts mount to the ceiling. They don't need a well since they aren't on the floor. If you can turn a wrench, you can mount the belts. If you can figure out things, it won't take long to remove the old belts and install the new ones.

If you want non-retracting Nissan belts, I have a set of those in a box in my garage. They aren't identical to the original belts, but they are genuine Nissan parts. Send me a PM if you're interested in those.

[Jetaway]

I'm not sure what you are asking. The thread you referenced discussed aftermarket belts that I have used, and I described how they are mounted. The retractor for these belts mount to the ceiling. They don't need a well since they aren't on the floor. If you can turn a wrench, you can mount the belts. If you can figure out things, it won't take long to remove the old belts and install the new ones.

If you want non-retracting Nissan belts, I have a set of those in a box in my garage. They aren't identical to the original belts, but they are genuine Nissan parts. Send me a PM if you're interested in those.

Steve,

Sorry about that chief ...

I think I saw pictures from another thread on seat belts with the retractor on the floor, saw something about early Z's not having two holes in the floor, mixed in something about welding (no can do), decided I wanted to check out the belts that boyracer88 said he was going to try, recalled something about someone not liking WESCO belts in a '72, and managed to space out your writing that the WESCO WELR belts with their roof mounted retractors was the way to go.

Hopefully that clears it up for you. Or at least take comfort in the thought that I've got it straight now.

Chris

[SteveJ]

Okay, I was wondering why your post made it sound more difficult than it was.

[Jetaway]

Steve,

Looks like this:

Chris

[Jetaway]

I went to a local car upholsters' shop and asked if they did seat belts. They did, and had black webbing in stock. Quoted a price of $15.00 and that it would be done by day's end, a little over two hours at this point. I returned around twenty minutes before closing, and they had it done. In fact, they had two done as the person who worked on it inadvertently had cut off the "good" side that I had left as a model. Their bad, my gain, as I got both for $15.00. I have the non-retractable type and reused the original hardware and can't believe how much more snug the shoulder belt feels. As far as I know, its never been in a major accident, so the stretching or slack in the old shoulder belts must have been simply due to a million little tugs over their lifetime. I think I'll have them do the lap belts next Monday. If you have an older Z (or any car, for that matter), have the belts replaced, I think you'll find it worth the money, even if you don't get quite the 'deal' I did.

Chris