'76 seatbelts into 74? won't match up....

[KFunk]

The seatbelt retractors on my 74 are messed up, and you have to pull them really slowly or the retractor locks them in place. It's really annoying and hard to explain to passengers.

When i was grabbing parts from a junked '76, I pulled on the seatbelt retractors and they seemed fine, so I took them home. I hadn't grabbed the female parts from the 76, since i figured they were all the same.

But when I got home, I realized they wouldn't match up with my female seatbelt stalks. My receptacle on my 74 has a pin in the center, and the male part has a big slot in the center to go around it.

The 76's male part just has a circle, and no notch in the center to accomodate the pin.

Is there any way humanly possible to swap only the retractors between the two? I figure I have to take apart the retractors to do it, since there no way to only remove the male portion and swap it. And i'm not driving 2 hours back to Xenia to get the female part of the seatbelts from the 76.

I've taken apart my 74's retractors before, only to have the spring explode and waste several hours of my life putting it back together. I think I could manage to take it apart quickly now and get the belt end out, since I know how it works.

I can't get the 76 retractor apart at all, since its held together with some pins or rivets that refuse to be beaten out....

[Delia]

I don't believe there's much you can do. One is Klippan (I think) and the other is Autoflug. Kinda like one is Beta and one is VHS.

The tabs (male ends) are quite different - one being "arrow shaped" and the other a squarish version with a hole in the middle.

My '73 came to me with one of each, and I've spent some time figuring out the differences. I recently acquired a set from mac in Illinois that is the correct arrow-shaped tab (Autoflug).

I've another set of late model belts (including the female ends), that were "restoration quality" but I suppose the ebay seller's vision of "restoration quality" and mine are somewhat disparate.

Might be worth the road trip...especially if you've recently priced a new set.

Might also be worth the trip to have something that works in case of an accident...

Be careful out there!

Delia

[KFunk]

eh crap... you're right. I thought I figured out a way of doing it, but I just murdered one of the good seat belt retractors while trying to get the belt out. I got the belt out of it, and it then retracted like crazy until the spring popped loose, and there was no easy way of gettin the spring back together....

So yeah, I think I'm gonna have to look for somebody else partin out a car and get the belts.

[Delia]

I can sell you the set I purchased from ebay.

Contact me off board if you're interested.

Delia

[a54atii]

Let me know if you want the matching parts from the car in Xenia. I could probably pick them up Saturday and mail them to you if that helps.

Karl