ordered my front seat belt fasteners today

[Big_Richard]

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[TJ 450]

Sounds good.
I would imagine that the majority of belt retractors are not functioning as they should after about 30yrs of service. On both of my cars, they are extremely sluggish in operation.

Tim

[nathan]

you are an absolute demon...do you know how many starving children in africa you could have fed with those seatblet thingies!!

[WGB]

On my 450 I purchased a new set of local seatbelts with clasp on a long wire that bolts to the original point on the floor.

I did it for safety as I wanted seat belts that actually worked not 30 year old ones with frayed webbing and sluggish reels and they were very inexpensive. I have kept the originals in case I ever decide to restore them.

My 6.9 has quite adequate original belts but I would feel happier replacing them so will be interested in your costings.

Old belts can be re-built locally with new webbing and reels and I would rather explore this before lashing out too much.

Bill

[Big_Richard]

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[Big_Richard]

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[TJ 450]

I have come across three versions so far. The very early type similar to what's in 108's, the type I have in my 6.9 and the late type that was used well into the 1980's. Only the late type is attached to the front seat frame and then through the sliding rail to the transmission tunnel. All the early types fasten directly to the tunnel and bypass the seat frame altogether.

1. Early type... all metal construction with dyed-anodised mascot on button, anchors directly to floor.
2. Intermediate type... Compact plastic/wide metal buckle type, anchors directly to floor as in my 6.9.
3. Late type as in my 450 and Nathan's Mohican and Goldy, on sliding rail with coloured button on narrow side.
I actually have a mixture of both in my 6.9:


Tim

[Big_Richard]

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[Big_Richard]

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[Big_Richard]

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[TJ 450]

Looks good and I like the fact that the button is on the top rather than on the side.

What is the consealed text on the slipmat?

Tim

[Big_Richard]

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[John Hubertz]

I'd vote for the unique side-release original belt mechanisms - one thought - many USA cars have brand-new condition belt buckles as our seatbelts did not come into common use until the late 1990s.

Also, the driver's side retractor would be a like-new passenger belt retractor assembly.

Remember - active and passive safety was the hallmark of this series of S-Class, and any changes might be less than desireable to these systems.

I'm planning to replace Max's driver's belt system with a passenger side system from Aussieland, if anyone knows of a like-new belt (my webbing is worn) I'd like to get the belt/retractor assembly.

[Big_Richard]

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[TJ 450]

Ah yes, the "fasten seatbelts" indicator. They were clearly designed to annoy you so much that you either fasten your seatbelt or remove the relay. I was relieved to discover that W116's sold on the Australian market did not have this feature. The same cannot be said for later models, though.

Having said this, I do fasten my seatbelt when it's required.

Tim