72 Seatbelts Have Lost Stiffness

[Owen L.]

My '72's seatbelts are not stiff at all; seems the starch has gotten up and gone. Both the lap and shoulder webbing easily roll across the width whereas other vintage Corvettes I've owned don't really allow this. Been this way since I bought it back in '89-ish. Does this mean that replacement webbing is the only way to go or is there a stiffening agent that can be reapplied?

[Bob B.]

Re: 72 Seatbelts Have Lost Stiffness

Be careful 50 year old seat belts are strictly for looks as a SAFETY ITEM they are barely past useless
I saw a nice 72 LT1 coupe in Costa Mesa,CA that had a guy pull out in a truck and cause a wreck to the front end of the Vette, not a real bad wreck but
we all know how bad Corvettes look when they get mashed My point is even with safety belts on the Corvette driver went half way thru the
windshield I understand hurt pretty severe as you can imagine. Having your belts rewebbed after 20 years max is a good idea.
Just saying SCCA made us re web all belts every 3 or 5 years
Bob

[Owen L.]

Re: 72 Seatbelts Have Lost Stiffness

Be careful 50 year old seat belts are strictly for looks as a SAFETY ITEM they are barely past useless
... Having your belts rewebbed after 20 years max is a good idea.
Just saying SCCA made us re web all belts every 3 or 5 years
Bob

Thank you for that bit of common-sense wisdom. Of course you're right. My car will be a driver, so maintaining absolute originality for this type of component could very well be foolish on the streets.

[Bob B.]

Re: 72 Seatbelts Have Lost Stiffness

A proper seat belt restoration isn't that expensive and they seem to be pretty "right" a "hard" seat belt webbing just
screams it is time its not like we have ABS, airbags and all that fun stuff- enjoy the ride
Bob

[Harry S.]

Re: 72 Seatbelts Have Lost Stiffness

I agree with Bob. My very nice restored 63 belts are in the box for judging. My ugly, but safe belts are in the car for driving.

[Frank D.]

Re: 72 Seatbelts Have Lost Stiffness

I have two sets of original seat belts on the shelf..... I run very close to original repros (only cost $109) and I installed them two weeks before a front-ender; they may have saved my life. Don't play around with seat belts or brake maintenance...