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Wed Apr 16, 2014 2:37 pm

I want to add a shoulder harness to my '65 Bug and I have two choices. First, I could buy a used original set. Or, second, I could buy a new set from Wolfsburg West. The price would be the same for either set, about $65 plus shipping. Neither are the retractable kind.

My question is about which set would be the best quality? I can guess what the original set would be like, but I've never seen the Wolfsburg West ones so they could be high quality, strong material, or something cheap and unsafe. I would prefer new over used if the quality was the same.

Any opinions about this? Or is there another brand that's better.

John

Wed Apr 16, 2014 4:53 pm

I suggest that you should buy the new ones for safety...I trust WW for quality parts

Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:02 pm

I have the 3 point belts from Wolfsburg West in my `63. They are a quality setup. Material seems to be the same as what is in a new car. I am happy with the product. I would not not install 50 year old used belts in a car if I ever planned to actually drive it. Just my opinion.
Shane

Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:13 pm

Wolfsburg belts are the way to go, just installed them in the front and rear of my 66 ..... Love the results

Wed Apr 16, 2014 8:18 pm

If you're sold on the non retractable, the WW set is good.

Had them for about 2 years, but I got sick of dealing with them and went with the Ebay Humvee retractable set for 30 bucks. Doesn't look as nice, but much easier to live with. I was constantly fighting the WW ones out from between the seats, or slamming the door on them.

I still have the WW set in the back, holding in the car seat. Since they don't get used a lot the lack of retractor is no big deal.

Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:55 pm

Just the kind of answers I needed. Now I have two more questions:

1. with the Wolfsberg West belts, can I use my original bolts or is there a reason I need to buy the WW seat belt adapter plugs. Or perhaps just the one for the upper mount on each side.

2. pb_foots ...do you still have a link to the specific eBay Humvee retractable set that you bought, or the model number/brand name. I haven't found them yet.

Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:45 am

My car had no seatbelts in it before I put them in so I bought the WW bolt kit.
Shane

Thu Apr 17, 2014 7:01 am

Here's the link.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TWO-UNITS-3-POINT-SEAT-BEL...338a72b58e

There's a whole thread about these belts with pics and instructions.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=526370&highlight=seat+belts

They work great and were the right choice for me since I wasn't really concerned about staying original. I really liked the look of the WW belts and the quality was good, either way you can't go wrong.

Wed May 07, 2014 11:27 pm

pb_foots...thanks for the links. On one of them I'm up to page 7 out of 12 but it's mostly about newer bugs and convertible bugs. I'm stuck on figuring out what bracket to use to attach the retracting unit to the floor bolt behind the front seat (that's where the current lap belt attaches). How did you do it and did you have to use a bracket of some kind (the retracting unit has to be vertical).

Also, on the belt there is an extra sliding metal piece(with a bolt hole)...it's a fourth attachment point and I don't have a clue where it is supposed to go. Does it attach to the bracket(mentioned above) below the retracting unit?

I forgot to mention that I've received the Hummer set of retractable belts so that's why the specific questions. The order came with the belts and two plastic bags with bolts and a couple of washers. No brackets, and no mention of them.

Thu May 08, 2014 3:37 am

yes, in that thread there is a link to the bracket you need. it bolts to the back of the retractor and allows you to bolt it to the bottom of the B pillar.

here it is:

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C26%2D857%2D024

You're also going to need these I think.

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C16%2D111%2D702%2DHRD%2DPR

I'm not sure what 4th point you're referring to. You have the retractor bolted to the bottom of the B pillar, (where the door latches) with the bracket in the above link, then there's another point at the top of the same pillar where the top of the belt bolts to, then the end bracket bolts to the same bolt as the retractor.

I'm on the road so can't post pics of mine, but there are quite a few in that other thread that should help. here are a couple. See how the retractor mounts to the bracket, and the bracket to the car?

Thu May 08, 2014 4:40 am

+1 for the humvee seat belts. They work well and feel much safer than the original 3 points in my 67. I actually bought a set of 4 thinking I'd use them in the back too, but it doesn't look like they'll fit. Has anyone done this?

Sat Oct 11, 2025 6:16 pm

In the over ten years since this was posted, parts from Wolfsburg West have gone down in quality including the safety belts.

The most troubling is regarding safety. Their three point belts, despite the claim on the website, will not fit 1962 through 1965. Wearing the shoulder belt over the arm, as the low mount places the belt is unsafe and could cause bodily injury. In 1966, the shoulder belt's mount moved up the pillar, but not as high as a modern vehicle, so might not be high enough for taller folks. Plus the shoulder portion of the belt is ridiculously too long for a 1964 and probably too long for 1966 and newer, defeating the purpose of having a shoulder belt: one be already through the windscreen by the time it considered restraining the unfortunate wearer.

For the time being while consider how to proceed, have it mounted in the rear safety belt's mount, making the seat belt hook pointless.

I am also concerned about a thin floating metal bar being relied on to keep the wearer restrained in an accident.

Now onto the niggly:
The shoulder belt's cap over the mount is black plastic when early Volkswagens had nothing black in the interior. I will at some point paint this to match the headliner with the correct paint.
The lap belt's ends are sewn differently, the inner is sewn so the loop is facing out, rather then the neater looking of having the loop on the tunnel side.
Safety belt's stitching is not strait nor neat, clearly made without care.

Sun Oct 26, 2025 10:26 am

Another place to get the same Chinese stuff that is sold on Amazon, Ebay, Etc. for about half the price is Aliexpress. Did a quick search for "leather welding blanket" and got these results:

https://www.aliexpress.us/w/wholesale-leather-weld...62785NDk6X