OE style retractible seat belt?

[Cap10323]

My drivers side seat belt is fraying and falling apart, I've been stitching it up for years because I couldn't find a good replacement, but it has gotten so bad I doubt it's really strong enough to do anything in the event of an accident.

Despite a decent amount of searching, I can't seem to locate an OE style retractable seat belt replacement from any of the usual vendors. I can find ones that are somewhat similar, but none of them will work the stock latch mechanism, and the aftermarket latch mechanisms are all hideous, or flexible and dangle on the floor when not in use.

Surely someone has to make a direct bolt-in replacement. Or do I really have to source a used one.
_________________
-Ian

'77 Westfalia - 2.0 F.I

[jtauxe]

Don't install used seat belts. Your safety is more important than looks.

There are several vendors of replacement retractable seat belts. To my knowledge, there was never an OE retractable version, so you'll have to replace with something that does not look like the old ones.
_________________
John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD

[Cap10323]

[Cap10323]

The belt tongue says "REPA" and then a part number, and the buckle also says REPA and has a VW Logo.

AFAIK REPA was VW's OEM.
_________________
-Ian

'77 Westfalia - 2.0 F.I

[mikewire]

I wanted to put shoulder belts in my 1972, so I sourced some from a MKII Jetta, which worked great and bolted right in.

You could go that route...but, because you have a late Bay already setup with shoulder belts, I would think it's probably best to source new seat belt webbing material and rewind the mechanism. Those mechanisms could be tricky, so if you don't want to tackle the job yourself, there's got to be a place that would rebuild/recon yours.

Bonus is that you could pick out any color you want for the replacement material.
_________________
-Mike

@countdowngarage
@bigskyeuro

1972 VW Kombi 9 Passenger Deluxe w/ 2.0L F.I. VWAC swap
1965 VW Beetle Deluxe Bahama Blue

[Cap10323]

I texted the folks over at the Busted Bus, who have literally some of the best customer service I've ever experienced. (definitely the best for a company that sells used car parts)


And they texted me back several photos of seat belt mechanisms until we found a match. Early vanagon belts seem to be an exact match. Down to the part number on the tongue.

Luckily they had several in great shape, so I grabbed one. Which will let me use the stock buckle and everything, exactly like I wanted.

The plan is to re-wind the old one as a spare though.
_________________
-Ian

'77 Westfalia - 2.0 F.I

[Cap10323]

Got the new belt in the mail, it's identical in every way, except the tongue is slightly too thick. I'm going to try and take it to a friend of mine with a belt grinder and fix this issue.

Meanwhile, I have been unsuccessful in trying to find a shop to re-spool the old belt. Has anybody else had this done? I don't trust my sewing skills enough to attempt it myself.
_________________
-Ian

'77 Westfalia - 2.0 F.I