[SD455DJ]

Here's a slightly better picture of the male end & retractor with the sleeve in my '70 Formula. I hope it helps.

Dennis

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

67-69 Camaro stuff

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Possibly better options :
https://www.wescoperformance.com/ret...hoCS_EQAvD_BwE

$93 per set







$55 per set

['ol Pinion head]

The remedy for any '70 worth a d@mn would be to source, nice used, the correct 70 F-body front outer retractor & female belts. The main issue one will encounter is color & condition. These retractors were color keyed. If scraping the bottom of the barrel in parts selection, the male ends of the can be rust pitted. Last, there are those of us that have sets, that aren't going to break up a set.

As alluded to, '70 F-body front retractors are shaped differently than '69 F-body retractors. 70's are relatively flat, except towards the bottom, where the small spool area takes up very little room. Much less obtrusive than aftermarket one "fits" all junk. Todd, there's a place for cheap universal fit Chinese junk belt "sets". At my place, they would be chunked in the haul off round file or pitched in the woods!

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

What ! ! lol
Those $93 Deluxe front sets ain't so bad.
GM and safety rated etc ....

30 different colors - even orange yellow and pink
Something for everybody.

Definitely not 100% correct , or even 90% , maybe close to 80%
For a driver or a flipper , probably as close as anyone will get without finding nice used originals.
Or even wor$e --- going the $nake-oyl route

Its what separates the 20k cars from the 60k cars and the 90k cars
Or the 20k's that are asking 60k



Which interior color(s) in 70 - with Standards Belts - also got Black Belts instead of color key ?
Was it Sandalwood , or any others ?

Think I still have a set of old bright blue standards in a box somewhere.
They looked pretty beat even in 1987

['ol Pinion head]

Todd, I'll double ck the belts I have in a '70. They are standards, plastic is sandalwood colored, as was interior, belts thereselves are black 3 loom.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

ouch
Sandalwood plastic buckles could look and feel like chalk by now in most cars that weren't well kept.
Bright blue plastic buckles not very far behind in that category.

[Formulabruce]

The ones I tossed with retractor were not bad shape, BUT the plastic around the retractor had been somewhat warped and that restricted the smooth action of the retractor.

[poncho-mike]

I sold my 70 Formula about 7 - 8 years ago, so I'm going from memory in my earlier post.

What is the difference between late and early Firebird as far as seat belts are concerned?

My cowl tag is dated 07C, so it was very late production.

Originally Posted by poncho-mike

I think so. There are separate lap belts and shoulder belts. Those look just like the ones in my 1970 Formula.

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by poncho-mike

... What is the difference between late and early Firebird as far as seat belts are concerned?
...

I do not believe there was any difference for the duration of the 1970 model year, if that was what you are asking.

I believe that seat belts fell under laws pertaining to model year of production, and were essentially certified for a given model year.

The lone model year exception was the mid-1972 model year change requiring the seat belt buzzer and drivers side shoulder belt interlock.

As such, to the best of my knowledge, the Firebird/Camaro belts go like this:
1) 1970; retractable front lap (male) belts; fixed length (male) shoulder belts; fixed length rear seat (male) belts; adjustable female belts (all)
2) 1971-1972.5; same as 1970 except drivers (male) belt changed to fixed length with sleeve.
3) 1972.5-1973; retractable front lap (male) belts with interlock; fixed length (male) shoulder belts with interlock; retractable rear seat (male) belts; fixed length female belts (all)
4) 1974-(?); retractable front (male) belts with attached shoulder belt; retractable rear seat (male) belts; fixed length female belts (all)

I believe the suggestion made yesterday was that a very late 1970 model year car might have had 1971 model year lap belts, but I am not incline to believe this as a possibility.

[poncho-mike]

I have noticed a lot of discrepancies in 1970 and early 1971 Firebirds. I would imagine production control would use whatever they had to get product out the door. I'm an engineer, and I write a bunch of deviations to deal with supply issues, especially here lately.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

No , I was suggesting 32nd week of 70 produced belts might have been 1970 belts.
- shooting from the hip
But that would be about 08b build week , so probably not.

What Sooner does have , would be fine for rear belts in a 70 , after removing the sleeve from male section.
Or just the female buckle used up front.
Or just run with what he has in hand up front , and let it ride.

Mike your 07c would have been about the 29th Week of 1970. in compare

Another thing to consider or research , in my GTO junkyard days , Standard Males would not work with Deluxe Females - and vice versa.
So double check the Male Chrome section is the right size and shape if just buying a Retractor.
The size of the catch hole is usually different also.
Again, this is GTO language. But worth verifying

[Sooner70]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

Those "might" could be late production 1970 belts , just not correct for your front seats.
A = Standard Belt
32nd week of 1970
Your car was built approx 22nd week 1970

Those could be rear belts from back seat of a Buick , as an example.
And could work for your rear seat too.

i think you're right, the date would be too late for my car. It does seem to be a complete matched set of belts though because they all have the same date. The rear belts with the male ends are the same length just don't have the sleeve. The only belts missing are the front shoulder belts with the male ends. When I bought the car it had 71 front fenders, so maybe the belts also came from a 71.

[unruhjonny]

Umm, I am pretty sure the 70-72.5 rear belts are significantly shorter than the 71-72.5 front belts.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by Sooner70

.... It does seem to be a complete matched set of belts though because they all have the same date. The rear belts with the male ends are the same length just don't have the sleeve. The only belts missing are the front shoulder belts with the male ends.

At least you have some usable stuff in the front & back, until whenever.
Was your car built with Black interior ?
Are you planning on sourcing shoulder belts and buckles too ?

[Sooner70]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

Umm, I am pretty sure the 70-72.5 rear belts are significantly shorter than the 71-72.5 front belts.

My mistake, the rear belts are alot shorter. The car was originally 67 Castillian Bronze with 213 brown custom interior. It had alot of issues and needed a complete restoration when I bought it. I had been searching for a 70 Trans Am for a long time without any luck. I just decided to build it the way I wanted it. Not sure what I'm going to do about the belts. The shoulder belts seem like they would be kind of pain to deal with the way it mounts to the roof. I still have some parts to paint (fenders, bumper, valance and spoilers) before I can drive it.

[Sooner70]

Here is a picture of all the belts, it didn't show up on the other post

[unruhjonny]

unless I am mistaken, I am seeing six front female belts, two rear male belts, and two "1971" front lap belts.

I am pretty sure the rear female belts were also shorter than the fronts... but not 1005 confident... I'd have to go find where i packed away my belts when I removed them from my car.

Honestly, unless you have monstrous concerns about having 100% correct belts - which only applies to points judging, I'd get some shoulder (male) belts, and call it a day.

I might know a guy who has some spare male shoulder belts... wink, wink.

EDIT:
Ok, I might be loosing it, I was certain I had three male shoulder belts in my hands last night, but I just looked in my box of misc belts, and I have one, and three-quarters (the actual metal end for the buckle fell off, or was removed.)

EDIT #2:
I just looked at the belts from my car, I didn't take apart the paired female buckles for the front, but by eyeballing it, they look to be the same length as the fronts. Sorry.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by Sooner70

The car was originally 67 Castillian Bronze with 213 brown custom interior.

I just decided to build it the way I wanted it.
Not sure what I'm going to do about the belts. The shoulder belts seem like they would be kind of pain to deal with the way it mounts to the roof.

A CastleBronze with Brown TA would have been a sharp build !

Looks like you might have gone with 71 Blue Interior color in the picture.
That Wesco Performance place also has the GM Deluxe 3-point front belts for $110 , in 30 different colors.
If you have low back buckets probably wouldn't need any shoulder point guides like a high back might.

Headliner belts and double buckles is a mess

[SD455DJ]

I found a few more pictures of the original shoulder belt (male - #2050) and the lap belt (#2004) with their sewn-on tags.

Dennis