seat belt questions

I called http://www.andoauto.com/SBL8-1.htm last week and ordered a pair of retractable 3 point seat belts. The guy whom I spoke with told me that a Maverick didn't need the 8" door post extension.

I received the seat belts on Saturday and installed them yesterday, but it looks like I might need that door extension.I was also wondering where have you guys mounted the retractor box? Since I'm not using my rear seat belts right now I mounted the retractor box there, but I will have to relocate it. I am thinking of hiding it behind the side panel like I seen others do.

And has anyone relocated the top mounting hole?I used the factory hole and it is too far back for me the seat belt rubs on my neck.

Here you can see how it rubs my neck




I got the buckle side with the plastic sleeve




Using factory hole


Here's where I was thinking of relocating the hole to


Retractor box using the rear seat belt bracket

 

You do need the extensions.
And I don't know why you have the retractors in the back seat.

 

I mounted them there temporarily since I was just test fitting them and since Im not using the rear seat belts.

Where should I mount the retractor? The belts came with a bracket but I think I will have to make my own.

I will call them tomorrow and tell them that I do need the door extensions. They charge 15% restocking fee on returns but the guy told me that I didn't need them so I hope they understand.

 

The retractor should be mounted in the same place as the factory lap-belt retractors, next to the sides of the front seats.Pull the carpet back and look for the threaded hole.

 

I found one hole next to my front seat and that's where I bolted the anchor. If I did mount the retractor there where should I put the anchor?

 

Do they not go in the same hole? Earl has a setup like that, on his car.

 

Hopefully on the weekend I'll be fitting a set of retractable belts in my car, I'll be using the factory bolt holes, so I hope it's going to work ok

 

I don't think they would work using the same hole.

 

So I gave them a call and told them that I need the 8' door post extension but the guy told me that the extension would only make it worse and that if I wanted to hide the retractor behind a side panel it wouldn't work.

He said that I need to relocate the top mounting hole to prevent it from rubbing on my neck.

I am 5'5 so my seat is pretty forward. I don't know if that contributes to the belt rubbing my neck?

He said he would be more than gladly to exchange them for the 8' door extension belts but I need to know if this is what I really need since he will not exchange them again after this.

 

try unbolting the upper mount and mocking up an 8" extension. use some scrap metal or even wood. put the mock up extension in and see how the belt is.

 

Of course it can as the geometry changes when you pull the seat forward. To test it.. put it all the way back and watch the issue go away. Common problem on older cars like these and extensions should fix you up without the need to relocate anything.

 

I do have the same seat belts as you. I've been running them for probably 10 years or so. I installed the lower point and retractor in the same hole where the factory seat belt mounted. See the attached picture.

Occasionally it rubs on my neck, but it's not super annoying. If I ever switch, I'll probably go for the 8" extension upper mount instead.

 

How would the extension make it worse? The guy sounds like an idiot. Being 5'-5" doesn't help matters, but it should not make the seatbelt system intolerable either. I've never seen a '74-'77 Maverick that did not have the extension.

 

Thanks for the picture!

 

They guy said that the Mustangs were the only car that needed the extension and he said he was 100% sure that it would make the problem worse. We got into an argument, since I told him that I had test fitted one of the belts he said that I couldn't return it because I had already "used" it and that they couldn't resell it to another customer.
I told him I couldn't afford that and he tried to tell me that we would split the price of the belt in half so I would still need to pay half the price for a new belt since this one was no longer usable. To make the story short at the end he agreed to to exchange the belts at no extra cost and he made it seem like he was doing me the favor.That's why he told me he would not exchange them again after this

Regardless of what he said, I am going to return them and get the 8" door post extensions belts.