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I thought I'd write this up in case anyone else was looking for a seatbelt alternative as I was. This past fall I finally got around to repadding and recovering my seats, so it was time I replaced the belts as well. Also, my daughter is now old enough and tall enough to ride in the car and there’s no way she’s going in it without belts. I pulled the originals out of the car way back when I bought it years ago, they were a rotted mess, and never got around to replacing them. I know, not the smartest thing to be riding around without belts, they were literally the only part of the interior that I haven’t redone or replaced. Anyway, I wasn't so thrilled with the prices from Moss and the other suppliers on their belt sets; I think Moss wants like $180 or more for a pair. Then I saw these on Ebay:
Ebay Seatbelts
However when I first saw these posted a few weeks back I think someone goofed on the sellers end and they had them up for only $40. I checked the measurements against my originals, which I still have in a box, and called to confirm whether the sale was for a pair or a single belt. They told me the sale was for a pair, brand new in the box. I figured for $40 hey, even if they don't work out it was worth the risk, so I bought a set. Here’s the good and bad:
The good: they aren't quite as nice or as hefty as the originals that were in the car when new but they seem to work just fine, and now that they are installed they don't look half bad. Also, all the hardware that came with the set is the same size as what was originally in the car, so all the welded nuts on the rear wheel arches, bottom of the B pillar, and inside floor pans can still be used with the new bolts that came with the set. Only thing I had to do was get two bolts a bit longer than the ones they supply for the inside stalks. With the carpeting and padding on the floor, and the fact that the welded nut on that is sort of recessed in a bit, the supplied bolts weren’t quite long enough. I just cleaned up and reused the two that were originally in that location, fortunately I saved all the hardware from the original belt set. Once I got them in everything seemed to work just fine. These belts are about 2.5-3 feet longer than the originals, but the spool pulls most of that in, so I didn't have any problem with them being to long. My next concern was how sturdy is the lock-up mechanism itself. Obviously that’s a hard thing to test unless you’re actually in an accident but I've yanked on them with all my might and they lock up quickly and seem pretty solid, so I'm hoping for the best.
The bad: they are made in Taiwan and as such, as mentioned above, they aren’t quite as nice as the originals. The base of the retractor mechanism is made out of a piece of flat steel plate, which is painted black, unlike the originals which had a cast aluminum base. Also the covers for the spools are cheap black plastic, as is the plastic covers on the pivot points. However how much do you actually look at these things when they are in the car, and they look a bit better installed than out on the bench. Only really negative thing I’ve found so far is that the receivers for the buckles are mounted on the stalks in the same plane as the attachment point to the car. If you were mounting to the inside of the tranny tunnel this wouldn’t be an issue since it would all be vertical. However since the TR6 stalks mount to the floor this puts the receiver horizontal when it emerges out next to the seat. I’ve tried twisting the stalks 90 degrees so they are vertical but they’re pretty tough. It just makes buckling the belts a bit awkward until I can get them twisted around and staying there. I guess thats a small issue all things considered, and not surprising since these are really "universal" belts and not made specifically for the TR6.
Anyway, I just wanted to pass this info along in case anyone else is looking for TR6 seatbelts at a lower price than what is offered from the usual suppliers. I see these are now on Ebay from the same seller all the time, at twice the price I paid ($80). If you're interested I would suggest calling and telling them you saw them for $40 awhile back and see what they say. Who knows, maybe you can get them at the same price I paid.
Ebay Seatbelts
However when I first saw these posted a few weeks back I think someone goofed on the sellers end and they had them up for only $40. I checked the measurements against my originals, which I still have in a box, and called to confirm whether the sale was for a pair or a single belt. They told me the sale was for a pair, brand new in the box. I figured for $40 hey, even if they don't work out it was worth the risk, so I bought a set. Here’s the good and bad:
The good: they aren't quite as nice or as hefty as the originals that were in the car when new but they seem to work just fine, and now that they are installed they don't look half bad. Also, all the hardware that came with the set is the same size as what was originally in the car, so all the welded nuts on the rear wheel arches, bottom of the B pillar, and inside floor pans can still be used with the new bolts that came with the set. Only thing I had to do was get two bolts a bit longer than the ones they supply for the inside stalks. With the carpeting and padding on the floor, and the fact that the welded nut on that is sort of recessed in a bit, the supplied bolts weren’t quite long enough. I just cleaned up and reused the two that were originally in that location, fortunately I saved all the hardware from the original belt set. Once I got them in everything seemed to work just fine. These belts are about 2.5-3 feet longer than the originals, but the spool pulls most of that in, so I didn't have any problem with them being to long. My next concern was how sturdy is the lock-up mechanism itself. Obviously that’s a hard thing to test unless you’re actually in an accident but I've yanked on them with all my might and they lock up quickly and seem pretty solid, so I'm hoping for the best.
The bad: they are made in Taiwan and as such, as mentioned above, they aren’t quite as nice as the originals. The base of the retractor mechanism is made out of a piece of flat steel plate, which is painted black, unlike the originals which had a cast aluminum base. Also the covers for the spools are cheap black plastic, as is the plastic covers on the pivot points. However how much do you actually look at these things when they are in the car, and they look a bit better installed than out on the bench. Only really negative thing I’ve found so far is that the receivers for the buckles are mounted on the stalks in the same plane as the attachment point to the car. If you were mounting to the inside of the tranny tunnel this wouldn’t be an issue since it would all be vertical. However since the TR6 stalks mount to the floor this puts the receiver horizontal when it emerges out next to the seat. I’ve tried twisting the stalks 90 degrees so they are vertical but they’re pretty tough. It just makes buckling the belts a bit awkward until I can get them twisted around and staying there. I guess thats a small issue all things considered, and not surprising since these are really "universal" belts and not made specifically for the TR6.
Anyway, I just wanted to pass this info along in case anyone else is looking for TR6 seatbelts at a lower price than what is offered from the usual suppliers. I see these are now on Ebay from the same seller all the time, at twice the price I paid ($80). If you're interested I would suggest calling and telling them you saw them for $40 awhile back and see what they say. Who knows, maybe you can get them at the same price I paid.
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