palmbeachvette76

When I first bought my '76 it had separate lap and shoulder belts (non retractable) that were a real pain. I looked for replacement belts for the car and the sticker shock ($400 and up) made me look for alternatives. I found some universal styled belts for $100 that worked but the buckle end along the transmission hump was very long (similar to little import trucks style) putting the buckle where your belt buckle would be. So off to eBay I go looking for some original styled short buckles which I found but the shoulder belt and the gm buckle didn't fit as good as they should and would often times pull out on their own.
So off to google I go looking for anything else and I find some info stating that 1998-2002 Camaro/Firebird rear seat belts work. Hmmm, gotta check this out. I go back to eBay and found a set from a 2000 Camaro in the dark grey color and won them for $25 plus some shipping total was less than $50.
Now to figure it out since the camaro belts connect to the back side of the rear seat for the belt guide which isn't going to work on the corvette. So, since I had the universals attached to the top of the pillar behind the seats I had to figure out how to reuse this piece and then it was down hill from there.
Here is a pictoral of what I did and everything worked out great and took around an hour start to finish. Just used basic hand tools: hack saw, rachet and sockets, etc. So if anyone has looked for belts or an alternative to the high dollar reproduction belts here something to consider.
Eric

First I removed the seats and the existing seat belts.



This is a view of the camaro belt guide. It's made of hard plastic and was easy to cut an opening with a hack saw to remove the belt.





The buckle ends I had came in a plastic sleeve which was easy to remove the old belt end but to install the new one I used a screw driver to push it through where the belt is looped over the metal mount





Next it was time to cut the existing belts I was replacing. In this shot you can see the pillar mount I need to reuse then how I cut it, increased the cut gap to remove the belt and install the camaro belt then I used some shrink wrap to cover the cut.







New bolts to mount the retracting unit behind the seats on the frame



The ends that mount along just inside the sill plate area next to the rear of the seat is curved the wrong way, nothing the hammer couldn't fix


This view shows the carpet pulled back to locate the threaded hole about halfway up the frame rail then I used a razor blade to cut the carpet. When the carpet is down you can feel a dip in the frame where the hole is. The other side I could feel it without removing the carpet.


Passenger side installed



Buckled installed on the transmission tunnel

zwede

Nice install overall, but:

You didn't need to cut the hanger loop. The buckle on the Camaro belt is removable. I'd be a little worried the belt could slip out of the hanger in a crash letting you slide forward/under the belt.

I'd also replace the bolt with a grade 8.

riggs 74

By cutting that upper harness, you just rendered the whole seat belt system useless, it will never hold you back in a crash.

Like Zwede said the buckle on the F body belts come apart, you just have to be care and spread the buckle just enough to get the center bar to slip out, using two pair of adjustable wrenches work well for this.

Also as a side note, you can remove the plastic cover of the retractor and the small plastic guide so you can reinstall the Vette seat belt covers to give it a much nicer look, not to mention the belt retracts a lot smoother.

Riggs

brady5885

will these work on my 82?

Peterbuilt

WOW! I didn't know that. Your right that will look much better.

I just installed the Camaro belts a few months ago, on my "B" pillar there is a dog bone (one end bolts to the pillar and the seat belt slides through the bottom part) so I unstiched the part that bolts under the seat, removed the buckle and the triangle camaro part, then slid the dog bone part on and replaced the buckle and resoed the flat part.

BOSTONCAMARO

..I know off topic but...whose carpet are you using, looks good

brady5885

Will these belts work in 79-82 models?

brady5885

Please does anyone know if these belts work in 79-82 models?

palmbeachvette76

No, they won't. The retractors have to be mounted on a horizontal plane and the 1978-82 is a vertical plane.The locking mechanism is position sensitive on the 78-82's.

palmbeachvette76

Thanks, it's from Ecklers 3 1/2 years ago so not sure if they use the same supplier or not.

brady5885

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
Thanks for the definite answer.
What are the alternatives for the 78-82? ... Apart from the high dollar reproductions??

Learning_Curve

Do you have a pull-a-part near you? Almost any car with the seat belt retractor mounted in the B pillar will be mounted vertically. Take your old belt with you and search for something similar.

Ecklers Vette Tech

Good afternoon!

Yes, we are still using the same company for the carpet. They look great installed and put up with abuse well!

If anyone would like samples of our carpet, please private message me and I will take care of you!

Thank you, Eckler's Family of Automotive parts.

Ecklers Vette Tech

Good afternoon,

We have this set available and sell quite a few of them.

http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corve...1978-1982.html

As for any other alternatives we only have lap belt systems.

I do recommend going with a 3 point system, as it is definitely safer.

Thank you, Eckler's Family of Automotive parts.