73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Interior & Equipment => Seats and Restraints => Topic started by: Spool on July 06, 2017, 06:27:51 pm
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73 C20 here.
Looking to finally put seat belts in the truck.
Any advice, tips, tricks or things to take notice of?
I'm looking at these now : http://www.wescoperformance.com/3point-seatbelt-gm-retr.html
I notice some have the belt side in a plastic like sleeve, which looks troublesome as it would be 90 degrees to the seat opening when buckled.
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make sure your seatbelts match your seat year is my advice. The shape of the seat bottom changed in 1981 I believe as well as how the belts came through the seat as opposed to between the seat back and bottom. Older seat with newer belts are too short especially if you require the seat not all the way back. This is talking about stock GM seat belts. Aftermarkets usually are the same length and routing. Were the 73's only lap belts?
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Thanks. Someone stripped a lot of the truck years ago. (Seat belts, charcoal canister, 2nd fuel tank...)
It's a process.
I'm thinking the retractable belt harness would sit inside that little pocket behind/beside the bench on each side. Is this right or does it sit on beside the bench seat which is visible when I open the door?
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it goes in the pocket about half way up around the corner. if you know what I mean
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I'm noticing most of the fixed lengths for bench seats are 20inches.
http://www.wescoperformance.com/3point-seatbelt-gm-retr.html
But the proper length would be 11 inches to keep it in the crevice of the seat, not 20.
Anyone have experience with this?
I feel like it's unusual to have the buckle that high up, no?
Looks super uncomfortable...(http://www.seatbeltstore.com/v/howtoimages/84_chevy_truck31.jpg)
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make sure your seatbelts match your seat year is my advice. The shape of the seat bottom changed in 1981 I believe as well as how the belts came through the seat as opposed to between the seat back and bottom. Older seat with newer belts are too short especially if you require the seat not all the way back. This is talking about stock GM seat belts. Aftermarkets usually are the same length and routing. Were the 73's only lap belts?
The 73's may have been only lap belts, however I do have existing holes where a three point seat belt once was.
Why they put them in and took them out... who knows.
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make sure your seatbelts match your seat year is my advice. The shape of the seat bottom changed in 1981 I believe as well as how the belts came through the seat as opposed to between the seat back and bottom. Older seat with newer belts are too short especially if you require the seat not all the way back. This is talking about stock GM seat belts. Aftermarkets usually are the same length and routing. Were the 73's only lap belts?
The 73's may have been only lap belts, however I do have existing holes where a three point seat belt once was.
Why they put them in and took them out... who knows.
In 73 that was an upgrade. The standard was lap belts, same with 74
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Thanks Vile.
Do you agree that the fixed length part of the seat belt is a bit too long at 20''?
I read on one website that you can order the 12'' with the plastic wrap for bucket seats and then remove the plastic part.
Maybe this would work out okay. I would hate to spend the money and then have to jimmy rig something like seat belts.
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I have the 20". It takes some getting used to but its not uncomfortable.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
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Just spoke with the guys at Wesco Performance.
Excellent experience. Great customer service that was quick and friendly.
Bought this with the 11'' fixed length for the bucket seat in which I can slide the plastic sleeve off.
http://www.wescoperformance.com/3point-seatbelt-gm-retr.html
Measuring 11'' from the hole in the truck puts the buckle right in the crevice of the seat.
I'll post pictures when they arrive and I install.
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My '75 only had lap belts standard, but when I took off the cab trim I found that it already had the captive nuts to install 3 point belts. I just had to drill a hole through the plastic trim.
I used a set of junkyard belts the first time, but they were from a newer truck and didn't fit that well, and they were not in very good shape. I put in a new set from truck, but found they were more like a universal set, and the fixed belt part sticks out from the seat quite a bit. When you buckle the belt, the buckle will be about 6 inches away from the seat cushion, compared to an OEM belt where the buckle is right on top of the cushion.
Bruce
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Extremely late update, yet, wanted to say I went with the follow process:
I ended up purchasing a "3 Point Retractable Seatbelt with Genuine Licensed GM Seat Belt Buckle" from Wesco Performance.
https://www.wescoperformance.com/3point-seatbelt-gm-retr.html
Cost me $110 in august of 2017, with tax and shipping for one seat-belt.
The re-tractor box fit nicely behind the bench as you can see in this video.
https://youtu.be/VB0plIkgQxA
I went under the truck to drill a hole for the installation of the re-tractor box as to ensure I didn't drill into the fuel tank from above.
I was relieved to see that I had ample room to work in drilling this hole. Afterwards, I used the nuts and bolts provided from Wesco to secure the re-tractor box.
(I do not remember the drill bit size used)
Another note is I went with the 11'' bucket seat sleeve.
20'' would have had my receiving end of the seat-belt almost towards the edge of the bench, but 11'' was really a nice fit in my opinion.
I had called Wesco to insure that I can remove the plastic sleeve intended for a bucket seat, and sure enough, I was easily able to do so.
https://youtu.be/SoOSwz6Ds6A
The only 2 downfalls...
The bolts provided from Wesco were not fitting the existing seatbelt holes in the truck. It was super close, but the threads were thinner on Wesco than need be.
I has used two of the remaining bolts from the original seat belts on the floor bed, which allowed me to properly secure both the 11" receiving end and the shoulder mount.
The other downfall was that, the original bolt that I had used from the truck to secure the shoulder mount had too thick of a head on it.
Thus, the plastic cover that hides the bolt cracked when I tried to place it.
I'll be calling Wesco soon to see if I can order proper threaded bolts for a 73' C20 and a replacement cap for the shoulder mount.
If so, I'll be ordering a new one for the passenger side as the seatbelt itself is great and looks sharp.