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sgellis Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2016 Posts: 2013 Location: SW Nova Scotia, Canada
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OB Bus Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2003 Posts: 2535 Location: Ocean Beach in Beautiful BLUE California
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 3:32 pm Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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sgellis wrote: |
I am looking for the plastic plugs that block off the large seatbelt anchor holes. I decide not to run seat belts so don't want an adaptor and bold in there.
I couldn't find any available but also can not find the part number. I currently have aluminum tape over the holes and would like something a little nicer this year.
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Wow. This is just my opinion but why not? Is this bus a garage queen that never goes out?
Sounds you want a much shorter life. _________________ Larry in OB
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
69 Westfalia and 2002 Eurovan Camper. |
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Loren Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2004 Posts: 1700
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 4:11 pm Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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There are a handful for sale in the classifieds. Just search for "seat belt plugs" in all categories. |
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sgellis Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2016 Posts: 2013 Location: SW Nova Scotia, Canada
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sgellis Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2016 Posts: 2013 Location: SW Nova Scotia, Canada
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KevinAlbrecht Samba Member
Joined: March 07, 2002 Posts: 970 Location: Ocean City > Boca > Pompano > Kirkland > Eugene
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 4:46 pm Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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sgellis wrote: |
It didn't come with them. If I was worried about safety I would never drive a bus. Seat belts are a marginal improvement at most in a split.
It's more import to be very observant while driving and be aware of its shortcomings. |
Well... I can understand this mentality, as I rode without belts for most of my time in Florida. I will say this: If you are driving this bus regularly, then I would run them. In a rush to a meeting (for beers or business), 'being aware' does not always happen.
I didn't wear seatbelts when I had my accident, and I barely made it out of it alive.
My next bus had them installed before the motor. They may only be lap belts, but they would keep you in the seat and not through the windshield.
By the looks of that anchor point, having a plastic plug in there is not going to clean it up much.
JMHO
Check the image below to see how I made out. _________________ Kevin Albrecht
Wait, what...?
WideFive wrote: |
Single carbs are for lawn mowers! |
Don't forget those seat-belts!
Click to view image |
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easy e Samba Member
Joined: May 28, 2008 Posts: 3931 Location: 1 hr north of Santa Barbara
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 5:03 pm Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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sgellis wrote: |
Loren wrote: |
There are a handful for sale in the classifieds. Just search for "seat belt plugs" in all categories. |
Thanks. Never thought to search all.
Now what color should a 64 kombi have? |
Not sure... but three colors are available: silver beige, anthracite grey and black.
I'd match your seat pedestal mats.
311-857-785 _________________ aka: Evan
Spreadsheet for Bus RPM, based on gearing & tire size (Excel format)
Searchable, click-navigable 1958 Bus Parts List |
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sgellis Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2016 Posts: 2013 Location: SW Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 5:20 pm Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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KevinAlbrecht wrote: |
sgellis wrote: |
It didn't come with them. If I was worried about safety I would never drive a bus. Seat belts are a marginal improvement at most in a split.
It's more import to be very observant while driving and be aware of its shortcomings. |
Well... I can understand this mentality, as I rode without belts for most of my time in Florida. I will say this: If you are driving this bus regularly, then I would run them. In a rush to a meeting (for beers or business), 'being aware' does not always happen.
I didn't wear seatbelts when I had my accident, and I barely made it out of it alive.
My next bus had them installed before the motor. They may only be lap belts, but they would keep you in the seat and not through the windshield.
By the looks of that anchor point, having a plastic plug in there is not going to clean it up much.
JMHO
Check the image below to see how I made out. |
Wow. That was quite a hit.
I live outside a small town and the bus is a weekend toy.
And that photo is just from the gallery. Mine is a little nicer. _________________ My 64 Kombi restoration
My camper interior build
My 54 standard restoration
The Nova Scotian Barndoor (YouTube)
The Nova Scotian Barndoor (CAD drawings) |
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sgellis Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2016 Posts: 2013 Location: SW Nova Scotia, Canada
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sgellis Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2016 Posts: 2013 Location: SW Nova Scotia, Canada
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Eric&Barb Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2004 Posts: 24732 Location: Olympia Wash Rinse & Repeat
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2019 5:13 pm Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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Totally get that these old VWs and especially buses are not top rated in any crashes, but still having seat belts can easily save you life or keep you from being crippled up.
Can remember going thru many wrecking yards as early as the early 1970s thru the 1990s and rarely if ever saw a bus crushed in the front enough that one could just assume the driver or front passenger would have died from being crushed.
Eric's Mom was in an accident back in the late 1970s driving thru an intersection in a 1960 beetle. She was going straight about 30 MPH and a 1970 Mercury Cougar doing probably 10-15 MPH turned left in front of her even though the light was not a green arrow. Due to her not wearing the lap belts that were installed, her head almost went thru the windshield, and had half an eyebrow scalped off from the safety glass. Could have easily ended up slitting her throat if her head had gone thru. Plus being thrown forward one of her legs was badly broken up under the dash, and needed to be wheel chaired around for two months afterward.
Went up to the tow yard, removed the windshield, disconnected an Amperage gauge that had shorted out, bent up the front left fender from rubbing on the tire, and drove the beetle home while wearing goggles! The police officer who was handling the accident called later that day and was astounded that the beetle had driven home.
Mercury cougar had burst radiator, oil pan, battery. Right front corner had impacted the beetle just at the LF fender and hood point.
Wish could find it, but way back in the hey day of vintagebus.com someone posted an insurance diagram from back in the 1960s or 70s that showed the cause of death of VW bug owners. It was a silhouette showing upper chest and head, each death was marked on that with an "X" where the killing blow struck...
Was amazing how many very upper chest and head blows were recorded.
Also have a 1958 sunroof beetle that was in a pretty good front end accident before we got it about the mid 1970s. There was an odd domed shape in the sheet metal just left of the interior mirror. Exactly the shape of the forehead of someones head. Had that dent bondoed over when the body shop restored it in the late 1980s. That is a curved piece of metal that will take a heck of a lot of pressure to dent up that way, and that probably was the death of the driver. Wearing a lap belt he or she would have never head butted that place.
Also unless you live right on a highway many miles from anywhere:
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The NHTSA reports that approximately 52 percent of all accidents occur within a five-mile radius of home and 69 percent of all car accidents occur within a ten-mile radius from home. |
Keep in mind that for most folks in urban areas that is going to be driving at speeds well below 60 MPH. Plus even if you do get into trouble on the freeway, pretty likely you and any other automobile/s involved are going to be trying to brake hard and slow down before impact.
So not having seat belts of any kind is like playing Russian roulette, but instead of only one bullet in a six shot revolver, you are loading more like 3 or 4 bullets in it...
Why up the odds??? _________________ In Stereo, Where Available! |
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Eric&Barb Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2004 Posts: 24732 Location: Olympia Wash Rinse & Repeat
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2019 5:38 pm Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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Forgot to mention that years ago we traded off a nice late 1950s panel van. It was sold off to a fellow who got it up and running. One late night he took a RH turn on a slower city street a little too fast. Bus turned over on the LH side. Driver body hit the driver door and it popped open as the early doors often do. Driver popped out and was crushed under LH side of the bus as it came to rest. If he had been wearing a lap belt he would not have completely gone out the door and had a good possibility of surviving. With a three point belt at worst he would have almost certainly survived, with possible left arm injury...
Clara was turning left into her place in a 45 MPH zone. Driver behind her decided to pass her and hit the 61? deluxe bus she was driving. She popped out the door and came to laid out on the pavement with another car driving right by her in the dark... Clara and that bus are still driving today. _________________ In Stereo, Where Available! |
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sgellis Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2016 Posts: 2013 Location: SW Nova Scotia, Canada
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Andrew Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2000 Posts: 5865 Location: Who in the what now?
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Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:07 pm Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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sgellis wrote: |
OB Bus wrote: |
Wow. This is just my opinion but why not? Is this bus a garage queen that never goes out?
Sounds you want a much shorter life. |
It didn't come with them. If I was worried about safety I would never drive a bus. Seat belts are a marginal improvement at most in a split.
It's more import to be very observant while driving and be aware of its shortcomings. |
I learned two things from this.
(1) You don't think seatbelts make enough of a difference to be worth using.
(2) You think that you're a good enough driver, that you don't need to worry about safety.
(1) Seatbelts may only make a "marginal" difference; but in terms of injuries, there's very little difference between a back injury that you can recover from and a back injury that leaves you paralyzed for life. I'd take that marginal difference when it can mean the difference between being in a wheel chair for the rest of my life and being able to walk...
(2) Some accidents are simply unavoidable. You're sitting at a stop light, and somebody (probably in a mustang) loses control and plows into you, for example. Doesn't matter how good of a driver you are, if you're stopped in traffic and somebody runs into you, there's nothing that could have been done to avoid that.
Please rethink your stance on this. There's no reason to not have seatbelts in your bus. _________________ -Andrew |
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johny__utah Samba Member
Joined: September 02, 2008 Posts: 426 Location: Arizona/California
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Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:10 pm Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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My younger brother is needs the seatbelt loop bolts, can work out a trade for original hole plugs if interested. let me know thanks! _________________ 1956 L31
1961 L346 L347
1963 L380 L289 |
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sgellis Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2016 Posts: 2013 Location: SW Nova Scotia, Canada
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Major Woody Samba Enigma
Joined: December 04, 2002 Posts: 9010 Location: Portland, OR
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Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 4:15 pm Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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I am an insurance adjuster and have handled hundreds, maybe thousands of accidents. Maybe you are a very good driver and the odds of you causing a crash are low, but lots of folks aren't good drivers and you need to take them into account as well.
Being ejected from a vehicle, you are much more likely to die in a crash. VW's flimsy doors and windshields held in place by rubber seals that you can push out with your foot don't help.
If you are involved in a relatively minor accident but can't stay in your seat and control the vehicle, the accident is much more likely to become a serious accident as you could end up leaving the road, flipping, going into oncoming traffic etc.
Since you have the right to endanger your own safety, I won't lecture you on that. However, when you're on the road you also have an obligation to others. A driver without belts on is a menace to other drivers and to pedestrians. Even if you won't do it for your own sake, consider your duties to others and install modern belts. |
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crofty Judas of the North
Joined: August 09, 2000 Posts: 19672 Location: Land of Whine and Phonies
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:23 am Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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sgellis wrote: |
No seat pedestal mats in a Kombi. |
Pretty sure those started with the 64 model year buses. _________________ Your Vanagon sucks, Stop waving at me.
HamburgerBrad wrote: |
I slept on crofty's tent once. I passed out drunk from two bottles of Everett's brother's wine. |
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EverettB Administrator
Joined: April 11, 2000 Posts: 69801 Location: Phoenix Metro
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Clara Samba Member
Joined: June 14, 2003 Posts: 12399
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:49 am Post subject: Re: Seat belt anchor plastic plugs |
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EverettB wrote: |
crofty wrote: |
sgellis wrote: |
No seat pedestal mats in a Kombi. |
Pretty sure those started with the 64 model year buses. |
Early 63 so not all 63s but most.
From Progressive Refinements, I believe this is the change:
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They changed the headlight bucket in December 1962.
I think all models got the seat mats, once they offered them. Including kombis and trucks.
I think buses got white plugs. I can check my junkyard drawer, but I think they are mostly white. The plugs for the back seat belt mounts (no belts installed in back) in my 69 bug are black. |
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