Question on seat belt desireability for restoration/resell.

[DixieRestoParts]

Hey Guys,

I'm having a set of seat belts restored for a car I own. I had some extra pieces I sent with it. The guy doing my belts said he could add the missing pieces and do them as either 68-9 or a 70 set. I'm not sure which way to go. My goal would be to sell them after they are restored to help offset the cost of the ones for my own car.  How hard is it to sell a set of restored 70's? Have you guys seen much demand from people on this board for restored seat belts of the 68-70 vintage? He can do any color, but the ones I sent were dark green. I'm thinking 68-9 would have a broader market and would include the vaulted A12 cars. So, I'm wondering what you guys think?

I know there are repro's out there, but I'm not sure of the quality of those. Anyone used them?

Thanks !
Randy

[ODZKing]

Randy,
From my observation, there isn't a huge call for seat belts of any year ... however when you do they cost big bucks to restore or even find in decent to excellent condition.
I had my chrome redone on my 67 one by one and replaced the belts that were freyed and had the tag sewn on.  Luckily I have a guy in town who has a big enough sewing machine to do it.
But if the right person comes along that needs a nice piece at a fair price, they'll sell.  My 

[Ghoste]

The funny part is, you would likely be the type of guy I would ask the same question of Randy.

[1974dodgecharger]

arent seat belts have a lifetime warranty?  could of swore no matter how old your car is the manufacture will replace a seatbelt at their costs.

(not as old) there was person I know whos seat belts were broken and the car is 20 years old he took it to Honda and they replaced it free of charge.

[Ghoste]

Really?  Never heard of that before.

[Lennard]

I personally would pay no more than $300 for a new set of seat belts for my '69 Charger.

[DixieRestoParts]

Thanks guys, I guess that answers the question. LOL.

I think I'll go ahead and get them done as 68-9 Black. Should be the most applications and maybe someone will want them down the road. If not, who knows, maybe I'll get another Charger one day. 

[maxwellwedge]

2 door A-Body use the same belts as well.

[DixieRestoParts]

2 door A-Body use the same belts as well.

Good point, thanks.

[bill440rt]

Aren't the A-body retractors different though? 
I thought they were longer for some reason.

'70 belts are a little harder to find because they are different than '68/'70, aka "one year only".

[Ghoste]

There seem to be an awful lot of one year only bits on the 70 models.

[odcics2]

arent seat belts have a lifetime warranty?  could of swore no matter how old your car is the manufacture will replace a seatbelt at their costs.

(not as old) there was person I know whos seat belts were broken and the car is 20 years old he took it to Honda and they replaced it free of charge.

Not surprised a Honda seat belt would fail.  Is this another one of their famous secret recalls ?       

[DixieRestoParts]

arent seat belts have a lifetime warranty?  could of swore no matter how old your car is the manufacture will replace a seatbelt at their costs.

(not as old) there was person I know whos seat belts were broken and the car is 20 years old he took it to Honda and they replaced it free of charge.

Not surprised a Honda seat belt would fail.  Is this another one of their famous secret recalls ?       

LOL. Well, a crusty old seat belt doesn't count as having failed. My experience has been you'll need a ton of luck getting Chrysler to take care of anything under warranty that's more than a few years old. They'll find a way to wiggle out of it.

[Ghoste]

I'd be surprised at most any automaker offering warranty on a 20 year old part.  I'm even shocked that Honda would do it.

[maxwellwedge]

Aren't the A-body retractors different though? 
I thought they were longer for some reason.

'70 belts are a little harder to find because they are different than '68/'70, aka "one year only".

The retractors could be different - need to check...

[DixieRestoParts]

Aren't the A-body retractors different though? 
I thought they were longer for some reason.

'70 belts are a little harder to find because they are different than '68/'70, aka "one year only".

The retractors could be different - need to check...

Front retractors are longer in A-body due to deeper floorpan, but would work. Rears are same. Depends on how picky you want to be.

[Charger454]

arent seat belts have a lifetime warranty?  could of swore no matter how old your car is the manufacture will replace a seatbelt at their costs.

Here's somebody else trying to get a free ride. Ridiculous! 

[odcics2]

arent seat belts have a lifetime warranty?  could of swore no matter how old your car is the manufacture will replace a seatbelt at their costs.

(not as old) there was person I know whos seat belts were broken and the car is 20 years old he took it to Honda and they replaced it free of charge.

Not surprised a Honda seat belt would fail.  Is this another one of their famous secret recalls ?       

LOL. Well, a crusty old seat belt doesn't count as having failed. My experience has been you'll need a ton of luck getting Chrysler to take care of anything under warranty that's more than a few years old. They'll find a way to wiggle out of it.

"Crusty" does imply the finish "failed", but in any event I have personally never had any issues with Chrysler standing behind any warranty or even post warranty issues. I've only owned Chrysler products since 1972, though, so I'm not an expert...       

 

[DixieRestoParts]

arent seat belts have a lifetime warranty?   could of swore no matter how old your car is the manufacture will replace a seatbelt at their costs.

(not as old) there was person I know whos seat belts were broken and the car is 20 years old he took it to Honda and they replaced it free of charge.

Not surprised a Honda seat belt would fail.  Is this another one of their famous secret recalls ?      

LOL. Well, a crusty old seat belt doesn't count as having failed. My experience has been you'll need a ton of luck getting Chrysler to take care of anything under warranty that's more than a few years old. They'll find a way to wiggle out of it.

"Crusty" does imply the finish "failed", but in any event I have personally never had any issues with Chrysler standing behind any warranty or even post warranty issues. I've only owned Chrysler products since 1972, though, so I'm not an expert...      

 

Well, I've owned them since 1982, so you got me beat by 10 years, but my experience has been otherwise. Most recently with my 2004 Ram and 05 T&C, but that's another story for another time. Wish I had your luck !