TeamDoty
Member
Hey everyone,
I'm working on some seat belt stuff (amongst other things) for my 1976 Camaro LT/RS. My research has turned up some confusing info. I'm no expert... just presenting here what I've found and hoping others might chime in with help. This could help me and others for sure! Thanks!
I dug into this because when I bought my '76 a couple months ago the rear belt retractors were missing. The receivers, however, were there. My car, originally and now, has the custom white knit seats over Firethorn Red interior (the big 3... carpet, dash and console).
The front belts of my car work fine and seem to be correct. They are black and have the dual retractors. Both the front and the back receivers are the longer, rectangular type with the plastic covers. The retractor end (male component) is the wider tab with the trapezoid shaped hole in it.
Here's some pictures of the front belts in my car:
I've found an online seller that provides an informative image with their belt auctions to help people correctly identify which retractor/tab/male-component goes with which receiver. They don't ever state specifically which belt type is for which year model car but state, like a lot of parts, they are compatible. So not the best source to really determine what is correct:
My front belts and the rear receivers look like the tan colored belts on the right in the image above.
I have found this information on the NastyZ28 site:
"Above center: A depiction of the seatbelt recepticals, 1973/74 style (left), 1975 - 77 style (center), 1980 (right)."
This would indicate that for a 1976 Camaro the center receiver in the above image would be correct and the type I have (on the right) would be incorrect.
However, something else from NastyZ28 on the same site page has me confused. This pertains to the retractor mounted on the floor in the front of the car.
"Above right: A depiction of the seatbelt retractors (front outboard)... 1974 on the left, 1975 - 77 on the right. Looking at the metal tab on the retractor, you can see the difference between 73/4 & 75+ is more than just cosmetic."
My retractors look just like that on the left above (note the smooth region w/ rivets and the textured region on the rest of the cover vs. the all textured version on the right). This might indicate my belts are from a 1974 Camaro... but the male component/tab on my belts doesn't look like that. I have the wider tab with the trapezoidal hole.
So, to me none of this adds up. What I'm seeing is that I have 1980+ metal tabs and receivers mounted in 1974 retractor covers. I guess that's possible if someone really went to the trouble of building out a set like that
I was in a rush to get retractors in the back of my car (mine were missing) so I (hastily?) purchased a full set of rear belts that I thought were right, and they were red, and I thought that would be cool to eventually have all red belts. Here's the rear seat belts in my car now:
Now it's true that GM used different seat belt manufacturers/suppliers for a given model year so it's very possible that... well... anything is possible. But my seat belt foo is about all worn out!
Any seat belt gurus out there?
Thanks!
I'm working on some seat belt stuff (amongst other things) for my 1976 Camaro LT/RS. My research has turned up some confusing info. I'm no expert... just presenting here what I've found and hoping others might chime in with help. This could help me and others for sure! Thanks!
I dug into this because when I bought my '76 a couple months ago the rear belt retractors were missing. The receivers, however, were there. My car, originally and now, has the custom white knit seats over Firethorn Red interior (the big 3... carpet, dash and console).
The front belts of my car work fine and seem to be correct. They are black and have the dual retractors. Both the front and the back receivers are the longer, rectangular type with the plastic covers. The retractor end (male component) is the wider tab with the trapezoid shaped hole in it.
Here's some pictures of the front belts in my car:
I've found an online seller that provides an informative image with their belt auctions to help people correctly identify which retractor/tab/male-component goes with which receiver. They don't ever state specifically which belt type is for which year model car but state, like a lot of parts, they are compatible. So not the best source to really determine what is correct:
My front belts and the rear receivers look like the tan colored belts on the right in the image above.
I have found this information on the NastyZ28 site:
North Georgia Classic Camaro - Carpet, Floor & Seat Belt Restoration and Information
North Georgia Classic Camaro - Carpet, Floor, Seatbelts Restoration and Information
nastyz28.com
"Above center: A depiction of the seatbelt recepticals, 1973/74 style (left), 1975 - 77 style (center), 1980 (right)."
This would indicate that for a 1976 Camaro the center receiver in the above image would be correct and the type I have (on the right) would be incorrect.
However, something else from NastyZ28 on the same site page has me confused. This pertains to the retractor mounted on the floor in the front of the car.
North Georgia Classic Camaro - Carpet, Floor & Seat Belt Restoration and Information
North Georgia Classic Camaro - Carpet, Floor, Seatbelts Restoration and Information
nastyz28.com
"Above right: A depiction of the seatbelt retractors (front outboard)... 1974 on the left, 1975 - 77 on the right. Looking at the metal tab on the retractor, you can see the difference between 73/4 & 75+ is more than just cosmetic."
My retractors look just like that on the left above (note the smooth region w/ rivets and the textured region on the rest of the cover vs. the all textured version on the right). This might indicate my belts are from a 1974 Camaro... but the male component/tab on my belts doesn't look like that. I have the wider tab with the trapezoidal hole.
So, to me none of this adds up. What I'm seeing is that I have 1980+ metal tabs and receivers mounted in 1974 retractor covers. I guess that's possible if someone really went to the trouble of building out a set like that
I was in a rush to get retractors in the back of my car (mine were missing) so I (hastily?) purchased a full set of rear belts that I thought were right, and they were red, and I thought that would be cool to eventually have all red belts. Here's the rear seat belts in my car now:
Now it's true that GM used different seat belt manufacturers/suppliers for a given model year so it's very possible that... well... anything is possible. But my seat belt foo is about all worn out!
Any seat belt gurus out there?
Thanks!
