which seat belts are better?

[geezer]

i see guess i need to think this over ...u say the wesco ones are more functional?.. mabye ill go the rout of modernizing up the z instead of worrying about keeping it 70" style

Here is another option, if you are not afraid to perform a relatively simple mod to your early Z. I wanted to upgrade to a retractable style belt and really liked the Wesco WELR-N roadster style belt that Steve recommended. I also ordered the optional mounting hardware, just to make the installation a little easier. I reverse mounted the retractors hidden behind the inside quarter trim. This required cutting into the inside quarter panel to allow it to fit. With the optional hardware package, they include a pair of anchor plates, that I welded in place. I based the mounting location on the center hole of the inside quarter trim panel. By cutting a slot up to the center hole, the belt is positioned perfectly to it, with no interference of movement in or out. I mocked them up complete with a set of stock series 1 seats installed. I then talked my wife into climbing up into the seats to test out the belts. I wish, I had a picture of that (the car was on the rotisserie). She had no problems whatsoever and liked the ease of operation and perfect fit. I don't foresee any problems when its time for final assembly. These pics aren't too pretty but I think it will be a nice installation when completed. Of course, if your afraid to cut into your Z, this wont work for you.

Edited November 16, 2010 by geezer

[SteveJ]

i see guess i need to think this over ...u say the wesco ones are more functional?.. mabye ill go the rout of modernizing up the z instead of worrying about keeping it 70" style

James,

Aside from the fact that there is only one mounting hole at the bottom in a 1970 240Z, the drawback for the floor mounted retractor is that the shoulder mount is behind the floor mount. This means the belt travels from the retractor, back to the shoulder mount, and front toward the seat. Furthermore, I don't believe it's a straight line from the floor mount to the shoulder mount due to the package shelf/tool bins. (I'm not near my cars, so I can't look.) These factors contribute to periodic binding that I experienced with the belts with three mounting points.

You might have the skills that Ron does to do the hidden mounting. I know I don't have them. I bet it will look nice when all is said and done, or have you finished it already, Ron?

[KAL7467]

slept on it and am going to go for the wesco ones because as you say the geometry would be off a bit for the other ones and the binding could get annoying

[geezer]

You might have the skills that Ron does to do the hidden mounting. I know I don't have them. I bet it will look nice when all is said and done, or have you finished it already, Ron?

When I took those pictures, the retractor anchor plates were only tack welded in place to try it out. Once I determined the belts were located so they would work properly, everything was removed except the mounting plates because I had a lot more metal work, welding, blasting, painting etc. to do. I only took those pics to help explain to a friend how I was going about mounting the belts. I never got a good shot of how well the panel fits over the completed installation. In the last picture showing the trim panel slot, the retractor wasn't bolted on and the panel wasn't sitting flush. Since the topic came up, I thought I would just show you guys what the plan is. When completed, I will be sure to follow up with better pics and my evaluation.

Edited November 16, 2010 by geezer

[boyracer88]

+1 on the Wesco WELR belts. Installed them in my '72 240 yesterday in about 90 minutes. Easy to do, just bolt in and you don't have to remove the seats. I also recommend getting the hardware kits as you will need the extra bolts. As others have mentioned, its a good idea to get a couple washers for the top mount point to space it away from the interior panel. A very nice improvement over stock.

[d240zx2]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but it IS Easter.

My 10/70 '71 has had retractable belts installed. They work well, seemingly, with one exception: The seat and lower retract unit have about a 3/8" interference fit which will not allow the seat to travel to its rear-most position. I do not know which belts are installed. Question: Do any of you that have installed retractable belts experienced this problem? If so, what were your remedies?

Many thanks!