Who makes a decent seat belt that fits our old trucks??

[RustyPile]

For several years I've been buying a lot of parts for my trucks from a certain very large mail order business.. Until recently, quality has not been a problem.. They also have excellent customer service and are close enough to me that I receive most orders the next day..

Last week I contacted them to order a set of seat belts for my '71 C/10.. The specified belts had to be special ordered but they had a set in stock for a passenger car that closely matched the '71 belts.. I ordered them with the understanding that if they didn't fit I could return them.. I received them the next day... As it turned out, the belts wouldn't fit because of the way the retractor mechanism mounted.. I set up the return and ordered the specified set. It took a week to get them..

They arrived today and when I unpacked them, they appeared to be the same belts as the passenger car belts, but with different mounting hardware.. Here's the kicker.. The retractor and it's mounting bracket is too large to fit between the seat and door.. Plus the bolts were all METRIC.. I tried using SAE sized bolts but one size was too small and didn't fill the holes properly. The next size up wouldn't fit through the holes.. I'd no more enlarge a mounting hole in a seat belt than I would enlarge one on a brake caliper.. These are safety items and designed to be used "unmodified"..

I've looked at Dorman and other "universal" belts from some other suppliers and they are cheap looking and the mount is funky.. My question is: Who makes a decent belt that fits our trucks and looks good doing it??

RustyPile

[special-K]

Are these reproductions of original type belts or are you upgrading to shoulder belt?

[HO455]

You might check out this thread.

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=826988

[RustyPile]

Originally Posted by special-K

Are these reproductions of original type belts or are you upgrading to shoulder belt?

I'm wanting to upgrade to shoulder harness.. The truck is a '71 and has provisions for installing shoulder harness.. The lap belts are original '71s, so I'm wanting to get rid of them and install newer belts. Locating lap belts are not a problem. It's the three point systems I've tried just don't fit for various reasons.. The 2 different brands I've had my hands on appear to be from the same mfgr. as they are duplicate designs.. The biggest problem I'm having is finding a belt set that has retractors small enough to fit between the seat and door.. Also the center belts have to be approximately 21 inches long so that when the seat is in the most forward position, there is still enough belt exposed to access the buckle. I have the original gas tank (not wanting to relocate).. The area on the drivers side has limited space for a belt retract device..

[RustyPile]

Originally Posted by HO455

You might check out this thread.

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=826988

Originally Posted by HO455

From http://buckle-up.net/
They had the aqua green color in stock (For some reason not many vendors sell that color. Unfathomable as to why that would be! It's green! Everyone loves green! ). The delivery went off without a hitch too.

"Been there, done that", so to speak.. The 3 point belts shown on their website looks exactly like the two sets I just returned.. Oversize retractor that requires the attachment bolt be in the horizontal plane.. The mounting holes in my truck are vertical, requiring a 90* adaptor bracket.. This adaptor will work on a suburban because there is no gas tank encroaching in the space..

[FirstOwner69]

Have you seen these?
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=657298

[RustyPile]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

Have you seen these?
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=657298

Yep, I have.. I'm not gonna make a derogatory remark about the person offering them nor the design of those belts..

[special-K]

I'm interested in finding shoulder belts that work and look right. Are the last ones shown in that link the same as what you bought?

[jimijam00]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

Have you seen these?
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=657298

I got these. Fast shipping. Work and look great. I would buy again.

[tim_mc]

I bought mine in turquoise from Seat Belt Planet. I've had them for a couple of years and they still work and look great. Assembled in the US and sold by a veteran-owned business.

https://www.seatbeltplanet.com/c-138...evy-truck.html

[dfwright]

Originally Posted by tim_mc

I bought mine in turquoise from Seat Belt Planet. I've had them for a couple of years and they still work and look great. Assembled in the US and sold by a veteran-owned business.

https://www.seatbeltplanet.com/c-138...evy-truck.html

I'm rocking a set of these in ivory myself, and have had them in since November 2016. Still happy with them. I have my gas tank still in place, so these do work with stock cab setup.

[TheRocket]

I've used Juliano's for years. They fade a bit, but that is to be expected in the sun we have in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Overall, they have held up well. www.julianos.com

I, too, wanted the three-point belt and a center belt. They bolted right in.

[RustyPile]

Originally Posted by dfwright

I'm rocking a set of these in ivory myself, and have had them in since November 2016. Still happy with them. I have my gas tank still in place, so these do work with stock cab setup.

Those belts look nice but I don't particularly care for the buckle styles. I prefer buckles with push button release.. The main thing I question is the cantilever mount bracket.. It could possibly fail in a hard impact...

[RustyPile]

Originally Posted by TheRocket

I've used Juliano's for years. They fade a bit, but that is to be expected in the sun we have in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Overall, they have held up well. www.julianos.com

I, too, wanted the three-point belt and a center belt. They bolted right in.

I've had three sets of belts in my hands from two different companies. Just from appearances, these three sets look to be from the same mfgr.. That Julianos 3 point set looks exactly like the first set I ordered from another company.. Not only was the retractor too large, the "other half" (buckle end) was too short.. When the seat in the most forward position the buckle just barely peeked through the gap between the seat and seat back.. Maybe Julianos is using a different supplier than when you bought your belts..

[pjmoreland]

I bought my shoulder belts from LMC. I generally try to avoid buying stuff from them, but at the time I was having a hard time finding anything in stock from other places. They actually fit pretty well, and I was able to attach them to the original mounting holes. LMC has an instalation video on their website where they drilled new holes, but that isn't necessary.

The receptacle side is long enough that you should be able to move the seat forward without it disappearing. I actually see that as an annoyance because I run the seat all the way back which makes the buckle sit kind of high up on my body.

My only other complaint is that you have to pull the seatbelt slowly out of the retractor or else it locks. I'm used to it now, but passengers always struggle with it.

[RustyPile]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

I bought my shoulder belts from LMC. I generally try to avoid buying stuff from them, but at the time I was having a hard time finding anything in stock from other places. They actually fit pretty well, and I was able to attach them to the original mounting holes. LMC has an instalation video on their website where they drilled new holes, but that isn't necessary.

The receptacle side is long enough that you should be able to move the seat forward without it disappearing. I actually see that as an annoyance because I run the seat all the way back which makes the buckle sit kind of high up on my body.

My only other complaint is that you have to pull the seatbelt slowly out of the retractor or else it locks. I'm used to it now, but passengers always struggle with it.

Your retractors are definitely different from the ones I've been looking at. LMC you say??? I've had several bad experiences with those folks. I never considered them in my search.. I might give them a try. My wife is 4'11" and even needs a cushion so she can see over the steering wheel.. So the receptacle side has to be long enough for her..

[Tomchev]

Ordered mine from Seatbelt Plus. They fit and work very well. 1971 c10

[RustyPile]

Originally Posted by Tomchev

Ordered mine from Seatbelt Plus. They fit and work very well. 1971 c10

Read the last 2 sentences of my post # 13....

[Stocker]

Got my 3-point belts from Tom http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=657298 and have been very happy with them.

[CastIron]

I got some from seatbeltsplus a few years ago. They do have the angled bracket between the retractor and the floor. Having replaced many, many oem seatbelts over the years, I'm not worried about the bracket being a weak spot. I replaced some in a fairly new car the other day that had a similar bracket from the factory, and it was a lot thinner than the aftermarket belts I purchased.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Got my 3-point belts from Tom http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=657298 and have been very happy with them.

Was going to get belts from him. Bummed that he no longer offers the original style buckles. Do not know where to get belts now as I do not want the ones offered by him or others. May just get them and have my buckles stitched in, IDK.

[OL SKOOL]

I just ordered these took about 3 weeks to receive them. GM logo on the buckle i ordered for bucket seats by accident. I contacted Seat belts plus and they sent me new webbing no charge. I also talked to a real person on the phone good company to deal with. They seem to be well built comes with the hardware kit. I haven't installed yet not quite ready for that step yet.

[jimijam00]

Originally Posted by Richard

I do not want the ones offered by him or others.

Junkyard, run what you brung, or go without. Good luck.

[AJC]

Originally Posted by RustyPile

The main thing I question is the cantilever mount bracket.. It could possibly fail in a hard impact...

Okay, so your main problem is the bracket being cantilever? Now I can see where you are coming from. I got my seat belts from Morris Classic Concepts. Which like the other kits above have a bracket that moves the mount hole forward, cantilevering it as you have mentioned. If I wanted to get rid of the brackets I would order new seat belt anchor plates to move the mount holes forward. Which probably would be the right way of doing it.

Now I have been happy with the seat belt setup. They lock up in a panic stop and keep you from flying forward and I do feel better using it over just a lap belt.

[Bigdav160]

The seatbelts I installed in my Suburban were from Seatbelt Planet also.

I went a step further by installing reinforcement plates and mounting the retractor in the b-pillar. When I installed buckets I moved the recepticle side forward some to make the belt cross my lap and not my stomach.

Since the belts are installed in the same position as modern vehicles I have no doubt they'll function properly in an accident.