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Posted by: 914socal Mar 3 2013, 08:42 PM

Has anyone rebuilt their factory retractable seats belts? If so was it pretty basic? If not does anyone know of a good place to have them done professionaly? This is for 73 914 2.0L. Thanks

Posted by: tod914 Mar 3 2013, 09:16 PM

If your not too concerned about the date tag on them, nos ones usually pop up on Ebay at a reasonable price.

Posted by: 914socal Mar 5 2013, 02:24 PM

Well, just an update if anyone cares. I spent the evening rebuilding one of my seat belts. It actually retracts now which it didn't before. I am not happy with it still so would need to replace the metal strapping inside. If anyone knows if you can purchase this. PLease see attached photos. Thx


Attached image(s)

Posted by: Kaduku Mar 5 2013, 02:32 PM

My driver side one also don't retract. I am also browsing eBay for one, which appear very pricey.

I looked behind my seat and realize I need to remove the back pad to access this thing (aaauuuggghh). It is hard to remove that back pad?

From your pics, it looks too complicated for me to rebuild, so I will have to spend more money.

Posted by: GeorgeRud Mar 5 2013, 02:54 PM

Removing the backpad is easy. Just remove the seats, disconnect the interior light, undo the two lower screws, take off the engine lid release knob, push the back pad down and out and you're done.

Folks have rebuilt the retractors, but with the age of the webbing, I wonder if replacing the entire belt system may be easier. I've seen sites on the Internet that sell replacement belts, and I think that newer retractors and webbing may be a good idea. I haven't tested one for fit yet, but figured it would be worth a try.

Posted by: SirAndy Mar 5 2013, 03:22 PM

Also note that those only work correctly if you hold them vertically.

I have given up on the retractable belts a long time ago. My early fixed belts are so much nicer ...

Posted by: JawjaPorsche Mar 5 2013, 03:30 PM

My daughter asked me last year what I wanted for Christmas and I told her new driver's side seat belt from Auto Atlanta. Her husband works nearby Auto Atlanta so he got me one on his lunch break. Needless to say, they work great! Much better than a sweater or something I won't use much.

Posted by: 914socal Mar 5 2013, 03:39 PM

LOL, I think I am going to try this and get them as a gift! Where the ones you got a newer aftermarket or rebuilt units??? Did you get lucky with new old stock???

Posted by: 76-914 Mar 5 2013, 03:45 PM

They're simple to rebuild. However there seems to be a concern over liability issues. If you want to bring them by I'll watch u rebuild them. I couldn't touch them myself. An extra winding helps but don't over look the stirrup the belt passes thru. It needs to be clean and polished, too. Did you crap in your shoes when that spring shot out?

Posted by: JawjaPorsche Mar 5 2013, 03:53 PM

Brand New Old Stock!

Posted by: GeorgeRud Mar 5 2013, 03:55 PM

It's tough when new ones are $65.95 from www.Gotbelts.com to spend over $400 at AA for the factory belt unless it's a concours car that has to be factory original.

Posted by: JawjaPorsche Mar 5 2013, 04:35 PM

My new driver's seat belt from AA was $125. Passenger seat belt was okay and was not replaced.

Posted by: 914socal Mar 5 2013, 04:42 PM

I rebuilt one last night just to see how it would go. Pretty simple in my opinion. Have you rebuilt before? Do you have new metal webbing? Yes, i was taken off guard when the webbing shot out!

Posted by: FourBlades Mar 5 2013, 05:49 PM

I swear someone on here has a rewinding and re-belting service.

They posted a thread on it a couple years ago.

John

Posted by: ThinAir Mar 9 2013, 10:26 PM

I really like the idea of [url=http:// https://www.gotbelts.com/retractable-lap-shoulder-belts/m.products/81/view/30]these[/url]. Does anyone know what you need for a 914 for
length, mount option, and the length of female receiver cable?

Posted by: zonedoubt Mar 9 2013, 11:08 PM

I bought one of the AA NOS belts. It's OK but not impressive. Still slow to wind back up. Maybe that's as good as it gets with 35+ year old belts.

Posted by: stateofidleness Mar 9 2013, 11:16 PM

*subscribed*

Looking for a cheaper, reliable solution myself.

Posted by: 914socal Mar 10 2013, 12:09 AM

Has anyone purchase this kit to the above link? My question is does it bolt in and fit behind the interior? I know that the retractor is 100 inch and the buckle is 9 inch.
Please let me know if someone has purchased to make sure the shoulder mount is bolts right on and if the retractor bolts on behind rear wall cover with no issues.

Posted by: yeahmag Mar 10 2013, 01:12 AM

That's the one I'm using (I think). Only minor mods to the plastic cover for the retractor were needed. A few of us around here are running them.

Posted by: euro911 Mar 10 2013, 02:03 AM

Posted by: metalmorphosis Mar 10 2013, 07:44 AM

Someone did a thread about replacement seatbelts about 1-2 mths ago and mentioned seatbeltplanet.com. I've talked to Steve from there and he said they have a complete new set for $200. I'm gonna order a set from them sometime soon but haven't yet so can't say if they are awesome or not. Do a thread search for replacement seatbelts cause whoever started that thread mentioned they were ordering a set.

Posted by: 76-914 Mar 10 2013, 08:44 AM

Yes. On both cars. Your spring looks good. Take it an extra round or 2 and polish the stirrup best you can. There is a lot of drag there.

Posted by: 914Sixer Mar 10 2013, 01:33 PM

A friend got a set of 993 belts and used them. You will need the holders too. If I remember correctly they did not require any modifications.

Posted by: struckn Mar 14 2013, 08:17 PM

Wondering... would the passenger side belt and retractor swap with the Drivers side. The driver side is the one that is used all the time and should be weaker where as the passenger side might still work like new?

Slightly OT but funny. Roof off windows down did you ever have the passenger belt start to futter at 70 MPH and scare the heck out of you until you figured out what was making that noise?

Posted by: rjames Aug 7 2013, 02:02 PM

For the past several years I've been looking for detailed info on replacement belts with pictures including the modifications necessary to install and decided to make myself the guinea pig. I just put an order in for one belt through 'gobelts.com' and will report back once I receive it.

Posted by: rjames Aug 24 2013, 11:39 PM

So I bought a new seat belt from here https://www.gotbelts.com/retractable-lap-shoulder-belts/m.products/81/view/30 and got it installed today. It fits, (mostly) but took a lot of playing with different combinations of the stock washers and the ones they sent with the belts to get everything installed correctly/safely.

I had to remove some of the plastic from the takeup real cover to get the cover to fit properly as the curve of the firewall interferes with it. That being said, the takeup real itself fit perfectly. Other than that, there were no mods necessary to install the belts.

Minor annoyance: The belt 'receiver' that attaches to the long interferes with the center cushion just a bit, not a deal breaker though.

There are two things that make it a deal breaker for me though- The takeup real works only marginally better than my tired stock 914 belt!! I expected a lot more from a new belt- At least for the belt to retract completely on it's own! But the last 12" or so requires some coaxing.

Also, the latch mechanism doesn't slide very easy on the belt, (takes some serious pulling with both hands) and makes it a pain in the ass to pull across your chest/waste as you try and get it to reach towards the receiver.

I only bought one belt as I didn't want to commit to two of them without verifying I'd be happy with them. My search for a good replacement belt continues. Getting closer to going with a non-retractable belt and being done with it.

I would recommend this product only if you want the piece of mind of new webbing, but not to outperform your existing setup.

Posted by: rjames Sep 6 2013, 02:23 PM

Some further developments in case someone comes across this thread....

You may recall that I purchased the seatbelt in question directly from Seatbeltplanet.com's website. I ended up calling them because in trying to figure out why the male portion of the latch mechanism wouldn't slide up and down the belt very easily, I broke the plastic cover. I sent an email asking if I could purchase a replacement part and quickly received an email back from Steve Pekrul who said he would send me the replacement part for free, even though I damaged it and offered to pay for it.
I relayed that I wasn't happy that it was so hard to move the male latch on the belt, and he explained that they have another model that works differently, but that the retractor had to be mounted vertically and that they couldn't sell it on the web in case someone purchased it for a car where it wouldn't be mounted correctly. That belt sels for only a little more $. My only complaint is that the info about the vertically mounted retractor belts wasn't on the website.

I still have the original belt installed, and I'm happy to say that the take up reel performance actually has improved with use. And if the other vertical reel belt that I should have ordered is as described, then these are a very good alternatives to a NLA part. They actually look good in the car, too.

Steve provided great customer service and I let him know I would pass on his contact info. He also answers the phone, which seems to be a rarity these days!

Contact info:
Steve Pekrul <askus@seatbeltplanet.com>
Senior Sales Manger
SeatbeltPlanet.com
Toll Free 877-435-6363

Posted by: PRS914-6 Sep 6 2013, 09:58 PM

I was the one that was tightening belts for people but quit do to lack of interest and the hassle. Even the NOS ones need to be tightened. After a few fly out and hit you in the face you learn what not to do. The trick is to tighten them more than stock. You can increase spring pressure quite a bit but eventually you will lose some pull out length when the spring tightens fully at pull out. No getting around it. The fabric has to be subtle or you are wasting your time.

If you are large in girth or short you need more length than most people but you can still get some improvement. I always ask people their size

Connect your belt at the correct seat position. Pull it out several more inches and mark it with a dot of white paint at the reel. When you tighten the spring you now know not to tighten more than what it takes to see the mark you made. Clean it while you are in there.

If you decide to do this, wear a shield until you learn how to do it......The spring is deadly!

Posted by: Spoke Sep 7 2013, 09:01 AM

I've been thinking about replacing mine for a while. 40+ year old belts do not give me the comfortable feeling about their integrity when stressed.

This place looks like a good deal if the belts are the right size and bolts are compatible.