13 replies to this topic

[Andykettle]

Anyone know where i can get a seatbelt stitched up? Bought some off ebay that were supposed to be in good condition but one of the sill mountings and part of the belt has been cut with an angle grinder! :nugget: Got a new bracket just need somewhere that can stich it up. I live in loughborough (leicestershire area) prefer somewhere local but i suppose i could post it to somone.
Any help would be great.
Andy

[The Matt]

To be honest I would get in touch with the guy who sold them to you and ask for a refund. I would not risk repairing the damaged webbing. Remember, someones life could depend on that belt and a stitched repair may just not be good enough.

[cowboy]

im going to agree with matt get your money back, seat belts are safety so you dont want to compramise there

[Steve@RetroDash]

dont mess. if its torn then get rid

[Dan]

I believe it's actually illegal to repair a seatbelt and the unit must be completely replaced. Complain direct to E-bay, he's selling dangerous items which are unfit for use.

[minidaves]

trouble with seatbelts and used seatbelts is you dont know whats happened to them in the past, they should be replaced after an accident etc because it changes the charastics of the webbing when they have been strained

dave

[dklawson]

Your laws will be different than ours. In the U.S. it is legal to re-web seat belts (professionally) and this is routinely done for classic cars where originality (and safety) are important.

On what I assume is a fairly late model car I'd agree that getting your money back and buying new belts is a safer and better option.

[The Matt]

And.........

If they were to be repaired (if it were legal) the stitching aint gonna hit the same holes as the original stitching, that means that you have a repaired seatbelt that has hundreds of little perforations -


'Tear along the dotted line' :erm:

[dklawson]

I agree about the stitching. The only method I know of that's acceptable over here is to completely replace the old webbing with new when a seat belt is reconditioned. They don't re-stitch an old belt.

[Clubby1275GT]

yeah complain to ebay, i did the same thing not long ago when someone advertised something as one colour but when i recveived it it had bits of another colour splashed all over it, told him i'd report him for false advertising and i got my money back!!

[The Matt]

I agree about the stitching. The only method I know of that's acceptable over here is to completely replace the old webbing with new when a seat belt is reconditioned. They don't re-stitch an old belt.

Yep, I have seen tensile test results from re-stitched webbing and believe me, the breaking strength drops alot!

I would think that it would not be cost effective anyway to have a repair to be honest (disregarding all the other issues).

[Dan]

Well I do know of one company who advertise re-manufactured classic seatbelts over-here. Whether they re-use some of the steel parts I can't say but I do know that with any replacement belt I've ever bought (always Securon) the instructions state that it's illegal to repair the webbing or mechanism of a seatbelt. So all you'd be able to re-use would be the fixed mounting points which would seem a little pointless ( ) to me.

Since a new belt is between £30 and £40 from Securon, it's foolish not to replace them.

[neil_g]

i agree with everyone saying to get a refund.

if it helps, i think i have a full set of grey belts spare in the garage?

[dklawson]

Again, over here, it is legal to reuse the locking mechanism as long as it hasn't required repair (like Dan said).

I've got the period correct Kangol magnetic latch belts in my Mk1. I believe the only factory belts available at that time were the Kangols or the silver webbed Britax belts. I wanted to keep my seat belts. The modern replacements simply wouldn't look right in my car. I had about as much chance of finding NOS Kangols as I did finding rocking horse poo.