[Rugratman]

I took them off and soaked them in Laundry detergent for a few hours, I used a old toothbrush and lightly went back and forth on them.......They look brand new, even the buckles!
I maybe spent a hour on them actually doing work on them, I can't belive how nice they look. And the belts are really soft, and the buckles move really easy now. I used a little WD40 on/in the buckles after they dried.
The water in the bucket looked like mud, You wouldn't believe all the dirt.
It was a easy job, it took longer to get the back seat out....since I was too lazy to pull the arm rests off...LOL

[YVEYANT]

Just think of the money you saved not having to buy new one's. Good stuff!!

[tripower]

Yep, I did the same to some red ones I had and they looked brand new! Soaked with piping hot water and pre-sprayed the spots, with "Shout". It was amazing!

[goatmanmitch]

Same here, lots of hot water and laundry detergent. Looks new, awesome bang for the buck.

[amcmike]

And how much money is saved after your head (or wife's, kids, etc.) goes through the windshield? Just a little food for thought. Don't forget these belts are over 40 years old now. Not to put a damper cheap beautification tips, but this is a safety issue, yet it's the least neglected by musclecar owners.

Here is one company that can refurbish (new belt material) or sell new: http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/

[Brad B. Hillebrand]

If the original material is not dry rotted, frayed or damaged I don't see why they won't work well (at least for a lap belt anyway).

[mskrom]

Man, great tip Rugratman-

Thanks for posting. I would not have thought of it-

Looks like I'll be doing this when I tackle my interior this winter!

[amcmike]

Most seatbelts are made from Nylon or Polyester that lose strength over time. So visibly it could appear fine, doesn't mean it's retained its strength. You can have 40 year old tires that don't appear rotted or damaged (assuming kept indoors and rarely used) but doesn't mean they are safe.

[Rugratman]

There was no dry rot at all, just stiff, black belts.
They feel just like my new truck belts now, shiney, black and soft. And the buckles are sparkling now. I think the belts are in excelent shape. If I hit something hard enough that I break the seat belt, I have other problems to worry about, for sure, like that wooden steering wheel.....

If anything, you would think this would stave off dry rotting.
I think the laundry detergent has a softener in it anyway. Worked like a champ, and really no effort.

[amcmike]

You can replace the belts for less than $300. For the sake of your loved ones, just do it. Save the scrubbing up improvements for the rest of the interior.

[YVEYANT]

If you are going to go that route you might as well replace the lap belt with a more modern shoulder belt. Lap belts have often caused more body damage than the accident in itself.

The following excerpt comes from www.seatbeltdefects.com:

"Lap belt only type of seat belts can cause serious abdominal injuries, spinal cord injuries, paraplegia, quadriplegia and even death. Cars with lap only belts are dangerous and should be recalled. No recall is forthcoming due to the extreme cost of such a recall. Until the last car with a defective lap only belt is off the highway, then countless more children and adults will be seriously injured as a result of an engineering blunder."

[YVEYANT]

I remember reading about this, I do use my lap belt when in my car but I tend to leave it a bit loose, damned if you do, damned if you don't...

[george kujanski]

Originally Posted by YVEYANT

If you are going to go that route you might as well replace the lap belt with a more modern shoulder belt. Lap belts have often caused more body damage than the accident in itself.

The following excerpt comes from www.seatbeltdefects.com:

"Lap belt only type of seat belts can cause serious abdominal injuries, spinal cord injuries, paraplegia, quadriplegia and even death. Cars with lap only belts are dangerous and should be recalled. No recall is forthcoming due to the extreme cost of such a recall. Until the last car with a defective lap only belt is off the highway, then countless more children and adults will be seriously injured as a result of an engineering blunder."

In the first part of the excerpt it says that lap only belts can cause serious injuries and in the last part it mentions DEFECTIVE lap only belts.

Well, sure, shoulder and lap belts are better than lap-only and lap only are better than none at all. Does that mean that as designs improve everything B4 is defective and should be replaced?

As we get smarter we develop better stuff....duh.

Up until '67, we also had a single hydraulic braking system, then dual systems were implemented. Way back, there were only mechanical brakes.

George

[Andre]

I would not worry about the integrity of these belts if they are not frayed. In my heavy junking days, we used old seat belts to make tow straps without any failure. In these cars, the belts will keep you in the car if the seat does not rip out the floor board.
I would be more worried about taking a sternum shot from the steering wheel center cap

[YVEYANT]

When they say DEFECTIVE lap belts, they mean lap belts as a whole, not an individual DEFECTIVE lap belt.

[YVEYANT]

I put that in there to make people aware that they are not very effective at protecting you from doing anything but flying through the windshield, for some that might be good enough. That is why they were done away with years
ago. I don't have any plans on changing mine personally, however if I were going to spend "$300" it would be on shoulder belts.

[george kujanski]

Good thought Ant, but it may not be just a bolt-in.

George

[SGTGTO]

I picked up a set of 3 point belts for the front of my 68 GTO. $300 bucks I think, from morriscustomclassics.com or something like that. Summit sells them. Atleast with a 68, they are a bolt in affair. You just have to locate the holes for the mounting bracket up top.

[Brad B. Hillebrand]

Originally Posted by amcmike

Most seatbelts are made from Nylon or Polyester that lose strength over time. So visibly it could appear fine, doesn't mean it's retained its strength. You can have 40 year old tires that don't appear rotted or damaged (assuming kept indoors and rarely used) but doesn't mean they are safe.

I'm sorry but I'm not sure I agree with that. Where did you find the information that the decay rate for Nylon or Polyester is substantial in 40 years? I’m curious about that one. Are you saying that the belts are somehow stressed by movement or ultra-violet light which in turns breaks the groupings of fibers? If so, and if the belts look fine, how much unseen damage does there have to be as a percentage to make the belt unsafe? If they look fine then a substantial amount of broken fibers is not present – right?

I bought 30 years old NOS tires that have no dry rot and look great. I do burn outs on them all the time - its been a few years of beatings and no issues yet.

Maybe there are exceptions to the rules.....

[amcmike]

Originally Posted by Brad B. Hillebrand

I'm sorry but I'm not sure I agree with that. Where did you find the information that the decay rate for Nylon or Polyester is substantial in 40 years? I’m curious about that one. Are you saying that the belts are somehow stressed by movement or ultra-violet light which in turns breaks the groupings of fibers? If so, and if the belts look fine, how much unseen damage does there have to be as a percentage to make the belt unsafe? If they look fine then a substantial amount of broken fibers is not present – right?

I bought 30 years old NOS tires that have no dry rot and look great. I do burn outs on them all the time - its been a few years of beatings and no issues yet.

Maybe there are exceptions to the rules.....

I don't have my materials books anymore to look it up, but sounds like you have already made your decision. Exposure to thermal changes, ozone, ultraviolet rays, chemicals from hands (including natural body oils), moisture, salt, and "stressed by movement" will all be factors in degredation of any material at different rates depending on the material and exposure to each factor. While broken fibers might be an obvious cosmetic indicater, composition breakdown effecting strength at the molecular level cannot be readily seen, and won't be discovered until it's too late. Anyway, I've said my peace so what anyone decides to do is up to them. I can only hope that nobody gets hurt.