[383 Camaro]

My seat belts in my 78 Camaro are faded and frayed and unsafe.... I was wondering if there is some where that i can just buy or order the actual belt so we can restore them ourselves. Has anyone done it before??? Ive called all the junk yards in the area and checked the classifieds ads, but no luck! I found some online that are after market seat belts, but they don't seem to be a good option. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Countilaw]

You buy new seatbelt strap material from most professional upholstery supply stores. I have done this to several restorations. You can get the color matching super strong nylon thread there too.

I lay out the old seat belts and sew the buckles on one at a time just as they come off the old belts.

Seat belt material and buckles

Frank

[383 Camaro]

I appreciate your quick response. If you don't mind i have a couple of quick questions.

Can the strong nylon thread be put through a regular sewing machine... such as my moms common house hold sewing machine?

How did you handle and how difficult is it to deal with the spring loaded mechanism end of the seat belt?

Is the material flexible enough that it automatically rolls up in the spring loaded mechanism?

By chance do you have any pictures of the process that you went through in your seat belt restorations?

Thanks for your help!
383 Camaro

[DanTwoLakes]

You can sew with nylon #69 thread on a home sewing machine, but you need to get the heaviest needle that the machine will hold, or you will just keep breaking needles. The nylon seat belt material is very flexible. If you want to just buy the belts already pre-made, there are lots of places on the internet to buy them. One place is www.seatbeltpros.com.

[383 Camaro]

I have looked at wescoperformance.com, gotbelts.com, and andoauto.com My concern with their 3 point retractable seat belts is that they are universal and not ment for a 78 camaro with t-tops and i cant find any one that can tell me if they will mount up and fit like the original stock seat belts, my main concern is the mechanical mechanism that bolts to the roof of the car and is surrounded by molding.

All of the camaros out there and i cant find anyone out their that has put after market seat belts in successfully... very frustrating!

I do appriciate all the help that i am getting!

Thanks
383 Camaro

[hemi43]

The new seat belt materials that are used today are much more flexible and thinner than the old 60's type. The color I needed wasn't available, so I got something close, and painted them . I know this sounds Mickey Mouse, but it worked perfectly. I used SEM interior dye for vinyl. Dan
www.geocities.com/dantechfab

[DanTwoLakes]

Originally Posted by 383 Camaro

my main concern is the mechanical mechanism that bolts to the roof of the car and is surrounded by molding.

Then by all means, just buy the seat belt material and copy what's in your car while using the original hardware. If you don't feel comfortable sewing the material, take it to an upholstery shop. Most guys will be happy to match the thread to the material and sew them for you, at least I would.

[formula joe]

For a 78 Camaro I have never had trouble finding used parts -but maybe not in your area. To make new seat belts sounds like alot of work considering how plentiful and cheap 70's 80's Camaro parts are Email me at mjangus@telus.net I'll give you contact info for a guy in Vancouver Canada -great prices tons of stuff just needs to be shipped. (If you want... or make your own!)

[DanTwoLakes]

I just stumbled across this web site. I think this is exactly what you're looking for. They specialize in replacement seat belts for classic cars.
http://www.retrobeltusa.com/menu/retrobeltmenu.html