[RG1400]

I READ ALOT HERE ABOUT RESTORING MY SEAT BELTS ( AQUA/CODE 220). ANY ADVISE ON THE BEST WAY TO REMOVE THE BUCKLES SO AS TO CLEAN UP THE RUST INSIDE AND BE ABLE TO REALLY CLEAN THE STRAPS TO BE REDYED.

[RG1400]

I READ ALOT HERE ABOUT RESTORING MY SEAT BELTS ( AQUA/CODE 220). ANY ADVISE ON THE BEST WAY TO REMOVE THE BUCKLES SO AS TO CLEAN UP THE RUST INSIDE AND BE ABLE TO REALLY CLEAN THE STRAPS TO BE REDYED.

[Ron Landis]

Wash the belts with Woolite. Not sure on best method to disassemble. Check with Barry Martin at Sonic Motors in Holley, Michigan, as he has been doing this for awhile.

[Edward Farrell]

Rick

I was thinking of buying the correct belt material from one of the vendors and removing the old stuff, cleaning the hardware and having a commercial shop sew the new belts in.

Does anyone see a problem with this idea?

Ed

[RG1400]

ED
I'M NEW AT THIS. MY FIRST CAR. I WAS PLANNING ON DYING THE ORIGINALS THE SAME COLOR. THERE ARE QUITE A FEW POSTINGS ON HOW TO CLEAN AND DYE ETC. I'M LOOKING TO SEE HOW TO DIASSEMBLE THE BUCKLES TO CLEAN THEM UP AND REUSE. NOT SUCH IF I SAW THE POSTINGS IN THIS SECTION OR UNDER 66/67 FORUM

[Mase]

There is a company called SnakeOyl recommended by Jeff Lily in one of his restoration books. They specifically do seat belts.

Mase

[Edward Farrell]

And, believe me, they will take your last dime. I had my 66 Mustang belts done by them. Great work, but, WOW were they expensive.

[1970cat]

try soaking them in a sink with laundry soap/water overnight.then give them a good scrubbing with a potato brush. i've done this a couple of times and it is amazing what it will do. cleans and softens them , but won't remove rust stains etc. the sewn on tags come out nice too.

[Old Goat 67]

Reviving and OLD post.

Used Andre's method with a twist.
Mixed up a mixture of Super Washing Soda and Woolite in my shop utility sink with about 3" of hot water.
Soaked everything but the retractors for about 4 hours with water agitation every 1/2 hour or so.
Water got real dirty.
Placed a 2X6 across the top of the sink to be able to scrub belts with Simple Green cleaner and a brush.
Rinsed well with hot water and hung up to dry.

Next day, while steel wooling the shiny parts, I noticed that the buckles were moving much much better, but still had some hesitancy. The metal bar that the webbing slides over showed some tell tale signs of rusting, from what I could see. I'm thinking, "This is causing added friction on the webbing."

I have some Gibbs Pentetrant that has worked wonders for me on various parts.
http://www.roadsters.com/gibbs/



So, I figured "what the heck", and put the buckle as far to the bolt mounting piece as I could and putting just a "wee" bit of Gibbs in there to attack that rust. I figured that if it got on the webbing there, it wouldn't hurt as it couldn't be seen.

UREKA! These things work like brand new!!!
Charles

[shawn e.]

Some peoples significant other may not approve but the bathtub is a great place to scrub on seat belts!

Shawn