RE: [T3] Safety belts

[Jim Adney <jadney@vwtype3.org>]

On 9 Apr 2003 at 8:05, Travis Keedy wrote:

> My car came with no belts at all (never installed far as I could tell), I
> bought a set of T3 Non-Retractable (for my 66) belts from a swap meet.  I
> spent a couple of hours soaking in warm soapy water, cleaning, repeating
> (you wouldn't believe how black water becomes w/ 37 years of dirt) till they
> were relatively clean.  Well, recently, while trying ADJUST the passenger
> belt it snapped.  Is it possible the soap and water treatment aided in thier
> demise?  Or should everyone be worried that their own belts will not
> actually do their job if god forbid the time comes?

I really don't think the soap and water would hurt the webbing. But it is well 
known that the webbing can age and deteiorate. I think strong sunlight, heat, 
and dirt can make this worse. The dirt in the webbing has an abrasive effect 
which can wear the fibers. I never heard of one just snapping like yours did; I 
agree, that's a bit scary.

> >I would avoid aftermarket belts because you probably won't find ones that
> fit correctly.
> ________________________________
> 
> I disagree w/ this.  Some of you might remember I was asking a few weeks ago
> about putting Honda belts in, to attach to my Acura seats, I decided you
> were right that was a bad idea as I would need to fully trust my mounting of
> the seats to hold my a$$ in the car.  My solution ended up being a set of
> the fixed (non-retractable) belts that are commonly available in the
> catalogs (the ones w/ the wolfsburg logo on the clasp).  They may not be
> "correct" and since they were given to my be a club member they don't
> necessarily match the color of my car, but I'll tell you the new webbing and
> attachment certainly feels more secure than what I had before.

Sounds like you found a good set, made to fit VWs. I just didn't know how hard 
it would be to find belts with the right fittings on them.

-- 
Jim Adney
jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison, WI 53711-3054
USA

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