okay, I am having all kinds of problems determining what REALLY is supposed to be on my 72 SS. It is a genuine 454 as determined by the 'W' in the VIN, and I have 'parts' of what appears to be the original seat belts and shoulder belts, but some things are confusing me....

Starting with the Shoulder belts, they have female clasp ends (plastic square with GM logo on them) and I guess they should buckle to a short male end in the bench seat (which I dont have currently). The retractor on the floor near the door has a male end that - obviously - should have a female clasp end on the seat as well. This all seems fine as I know that these cars had '2' belts on the seat for both driver and passenger to make these shoulder connections. They didnt use the kind (in 72) that had the shoulder locked into one clasp with the retractable one......

...but now my dilemna is that I have seen information - as well as cars at shows - that seem to say there are differences in 72's, possibly due to when the car was made. Mine was a January build - hardly a [71 and 1/2] car, yet some folks have told me this was a 71 setup and that 72's were different, even in buckle styles!!! :?


So does anyone have a 72 SS that can confirm what they have? I want to acquire the other parts but first would like to know if these are even the right ones.

Also, if I want to use whats left of my current belts, buckles (as I said, originals I believe) then what methods do I use to clean and repaint or dye the webbing as these are faded black and are sort of stiff, but with no tears or wear, just neglect. Buckles all work, but to dye the webbing do you have to remove the buckles? and if so, does that mean cutting the belts and re-stitching?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mike

bump

Not sure if this will help or just confuse your issue some more. I have a '72 Custom made in Feb. It is NOT an SS. I have bench seat and the belts are just like you describe. Except I have a third set for the "middle" passenger. I think yours are correct, but that is just my opinion.

As far as redoing the belts. I had a brochure of a company that only restores belts. I can look for it if you wish. Or I've heard of others "dying" their belts with some shoe dye. I would think that would make them stiff, but I've never done that.

actually JW, that does help quite a bit and thanks!.

I didnt list all the possibilities I have encountered in this effort to unearth 'the truth' (where are Mulder and Scully when I need them?? 8) ), But one of the ones I did not mention was the 3rd seat passenger belts - lap only of course!. I saw one car at the Southern Regional Chevelle Show in Gainesville GA last year that had exactly that setup. His was a Custom as well and not an SS. So I guess its possible the SS might not have had a 3 person belt, but I am betting it became standard issue on 72's with all the new safety stuff starting to appear in 72 and coming in full force in the subsequent years. So I think I will look to keep mine as 'stock' as they are, and just diligently search for the missing pieces (the right passenger laps both 'female' and 'male', the drivers 'male', and both of the center passenger belts).

As for the belt cleaning or dyeing, I have heard of people doing it, but never 'how', so I will still leave that question out there. And yes, JW, I would appreciate the information if you think you can find that brochure, and probably some others here would like to have it as well.
I think probably a standard fabric dye should be able to stain it. If I clean the belts really good to get off any grime, fingerprints, and stuff....I guess I could just set them so the buckles stayed out of the dye and get most of the mesh into it, and then leave it for a few hours.....?

Anyone else have any ideas or knowledge of doing this?

Glad the info helped. Just my opinion, but I've seen a '72 SS with bench seats and the belts just like mine, with the third lap only belt. Not all SS had the buckets. But people have switched around seats often.

Anyway, I found the vendor that I spoke to a while back about possibly restoring mine. I saw him at a show and his products looked and felt really nice. Not stiff, cracked, or ugly. Check them out at Ssnake-Oyl products (http://ssnake-oyl.com/). I ended up just cleaning mine and they came out good enough, so I did not use their service. But he "seemed" honest and sincere.

Hey JW, again thanks for your help with the seat belts. I think I now have most of it figured out, and know what parts I need...

but, as a follow-up question.....on your 3rd passenger belt, which belt is the long one, the female or male end one? or are they both about the same length.

I am not sure I will do the 3rd passenger belts right now, but I just want to know in case I decide to in the future.

Thanks,
Mike

Hey Mike. On my center passenger belt setup, the long one is female (with the square plastic housing). It is long and adjustable. To be quite honest, I've thought of taking it out. As you know, with the seperate shoulder belt, if you count all the belts, there are 10 pieces. I really never use the center belt. While I always use my belt, the wife really doesn't and a lot of times she likes sliding over right next to me. Brings us back to the old high school days. And she just ends up tucking the center belts under the seat :-) Hell, maybe I should have gotten that elky with buckets.......