65 seat belt retractor

[Chasander]

Will the 65 only retractor work on a 63?  Will the hooky thing on the side have a place to go. 

[1965rivgs]

  Great question! A member posed this question to me a couple of days ago and I dont have an answer. I have a stripped down`64 I can check.

  I also just received a box of some very nice first gen seat belts I will be selling for a friend.

Tom Mooney

[R8RS]

Tom - do you have a set with retractors in black?  For the 64?

Steve ROA# 16044

 

[1965rivgs]

1 hour ago, Chasander said:

Will the 65 only retractor work on a 63?  Will the hooky thing on the side have a place to go. 

  I checked a stripped  '65 and a stripped '64. Of course, the '65 has the locating hole for the "hook" associated with the front retractor...but the '64 does not. That would lead me to believe the '63 doesn't have the locating hole either.

Tom Mooney

[1965rivgs]

1 hour ago, R8RS said:

Tom - do you have a set with retractors in black?  For the 64?

Steve ROA# 16044

 

Hi Steve,

  As a matter of fact, I do have a very nice '64 set in black. Send me a PM and we'll see what I can put together.

Tom

[Chasander]

Thanks for checking Tom. 

[dr914]

  I would purchase an nos set of 64 seatbelts if anyone has a set for sale

[Riviera63]

7 hours ago, 1965rivgs said:

  Great question! A member posed this question to me a couple of days ago and I dont have an answer. I have a stripped down`64 I can check.

  I also just received a box of some very nice first gen seat belts I will be selling for a friend.

Tom Mooney

Hi Tom,

 

Any chance there are any 63 belts in that bunch? Thanks.

 

Bill

[RivNut]

Belts for a 63 are non GM or Buick specific.  These are just like the ones that are in my ‘63.

https://www.wescoperformance.com/ll60.html
 

[Riviera63]

1 hour ago, RivNut said:

Belts for a 63 are non GM or Buick specific.  These are just like the ones that are in my ‘63.

https://www.wescoperformance.com/ll60.html
 

 

Au contraire Ed. There are specific belts for the 1963 Buick. Look at the attached thread and you will see this. As you yourself pointed out in that thread those same style belts are shown in the Buick Accessories pamphlet. Both of the 1963 Riviera's I just bought had those same style belts as Tom posted in his thread and I just purchased two more seat belts from a 1963 Riviera that are the same as well. Two of the 1963 Pontiacs I owned had factory seat belts. Those were the style that you showed in your previous post. What the other GM models did in 1963 I have no idea. 

 

Bill

 

 

[RivNut]

The 1963 code for factory installed seat belts is B1.  Do you by any chance have pictures of the data plates from those 63s?  My 63 does not have the B1 stamped into the data plate (fact: I’ve never seen a B1 stamp on a 63 data plate) so I have to assume that mine were installed later, but they were not the factory belts that you pictured.  Why the original purchaser of the car didn’t have the factory belts installed, I don’t know. In the link that you posted, the picture from the Accessory Brochure was mine.  I’m curious if the belts in the box are dated?  And, are the belts unique to Buick, or are they universal for GM for 1963, or are they something that Buick/GM bought from an out side manufacturer and repackaged as GM?

[Riviera63]

8 hours ago, RivNut said:

The 1963 code for factory installed seat belts is B1.  Do you by any chance have pictures of the data plates from those 63s?  My 63 does not have the B1 stamped into the data plate (fact: I’ve never seen a B1 stamp on a 63 data plate) so I have to assume that mine were installed later, but they were not the factory belts that you pictured.  Why the original purchaser of the car didn’t have the factory belts installed, I don’t know. In the link that you posted, the picture from the Accessory Brochure was mine.  I’m curious if the belts in the box are dated?  And, are the belts unique to Buick, or are they universal for GM for 1963, or are they something that Buick/GM bought from an out side manufacturer and repackaged as GM?

Ed,

 

I have pictures of the data plates and neither of them have the B1. The belts must have been added later from or by a dealer. From my limited experiences and what I have seen I don't think GM had a universal belt. As I said previously, my 1963 Pontiacs had factory/dealer belts and they were different than the Buick belts. They were the same style as the ones you gave the link to. The buckles were not chromed though. They had more of a matte silver finish like aluminum has. They also had a different anchoring method. The belts were not anchored directly to the floor. There were black eye bolts that screwed into the floor that the belts clipped onto. I have the window sticker from 2 of my Pontiacs. I will dig those out and see if they show the seat belts listed. So obviously, Pontiac and Buick were different. I cannot speak for the other GM models. I am sure Tom M. could speak to what Oldsmobile used. If you zoom in on picture of the tags on those boxed belts you can see they are dated.

 

Bill

[Riviera63]

Fortunately, for Pontiac owners someone had the foresight to save the factory paperwork from Pontiac before it was destroyed. It is now under the care of the Pontiac Historical Society. For a small fee you can send them the VIN number of your car and they will send you copies of all of the original build sheets, manifests etc. for your car. For another fee you can have an exact replica of the window sticker reproduced. When I sold this particular car I sent all of that info with the new owner except for one copy of the window sticker and a copy of the shipping manifest. The window sticker shows that this car did have seat belts installed from the factory. It was included in the Standard Catalog of GTO by John Gunnell. If you know Pontiacs his name will be familiar. He lives only a short distance from me. He included the 1963 Tempest i his book as 1963 Tempest was the test bed for the 1964 GTO. Through 1964 the mid-size Pontiacs were all Tempests the LeMans and GTO designations were add-on packages to the Tempest. So the correct designation for the 1964 GTO was actually 1964 Tempest GTO. In 1965 Pontiac separated the Tempest, LeMans and GTO into their own individual lines. The last pictures are of the 1963 Pontiac Tempest Lemans that I sold to purchase my 1963 Riviera. You can see the different tail light configurations between the Tempest and the Tempest with the LeMans package.

 

Bill

 

 

[1965rivgs]

On 2/11/2023 at 3:13 PM, Riviera63 said:

Hi Tom,

 

Any chance there are any 63 belts in that bunch? Thanks.

 

Bill

Hi Bill,

  No, no `63 belts.

Tom

[Riviera63]

4 hours ago, 1965rivgs said:

Hi Bill,

  No, no `63 belts.

Tom

Darn, thanks for letting me know. I sent a bunch to Ssnake-Oil Products to be evaluated for refurbishment. Still hoping to find some that are better than what I sent.

 

Bill

 

[1965rivgs]

15 hours ago, Riviera63 said:

Darn, thanks for letting me know. I sent a bunch to Ssnake-Oil Products to be evaluated for refurbishment. Still hoping to find some that are better than what I sent.

 

Bill

 

Bring your banker for the evaluation.

Tom

[abandg]

Bill. I found the 63 belts. I will try to get some pictures today. Gene.

Edited February 14, 2023 by abandg
mispelling (see edit history)

[Riviera63]

1 hour ago, 1965rivgs said:

Bring your banker for the evaluation.

Tom

I have been steeling myself for that for some time now. 

 

Bill

[Riviera63]

53 minutes ago, abandg said:

Bill. I found the 63 belts. I will try to get some pictures today. Gene.

I am anxious to see what you have. Thanks.

 

Bill

[Craig Balzer]

On 2/13/2023 at 5:25 PM, Riviera63 said:

I sent a bunch to Ssnake-Oil Products to be evaluated for refurbishment

I sent my 65 seat belts the Ssnake Oyl.

they are magicians

 

BEFORE

/

/

/

/

 

and AFTERs

/

/

 

 

 

 

[Riviera63]

32 minutes ago, Craig Balzer said:

I sent my 65 seat belts the Ssnake Oyl.

they are magicians

 

BEFORE

/

/

/

/

 

and AFTERs

/

/

 

 

 

 

Craig,

 

Thank you for that. I feel much better about the chances of ending up with the 4 sets I want/need. Time will tell.

 

Bill

[Dundee]

2 hours ago, Craig Balzer said:

I sent my 65 seat belts the Ssnake Oyl.

they are magicians

 

BEFORE

/

/

/

/

 

and AFTERs

/

/

 

 

 

 

Beautiful work 

[XframeFX]

On 2/11/2023 at 7:11 AM, R8RS said:

Tom - do you have a set with retractors in black?  For the 64?

I've been on the lookout for 1965 Seatbelt retractor bases for a few years now. About as rare as a 1966 Nailhead Spreadbore Intake that's on my List as well.

Since red was not a 1965 interior colour, not interested in 58 year old retractors. I can order new Lapbelts w/retractors in red from The Parts Place. But I require non rusted bases with the "hook".

 

Positive testimonials on Ssnake-Oyl services. But, can they re-produce these 1-year only Bases for 1st Generation Riviera Owners who'd want them?

Maybe I should've bid on a '65 Riv at B-J Westworld!

 

During Barrett-Jackson week, I came so close to purchasing 1965 seatbelt retractor bases at Desert Valley Boneyard, I brought them to the counter in my rental to have them remove those crusty retractors before paying for them. He used his impact wrench on the counter when there was a vise behind him! 1st one OK. Then the socket jumped out with the 2nd and sent the retractor flying and shattered the plastic for the base. No longer wanted them so he back-handed the pieces into the garbage bin at the end of the counter after I snapped this picture. I actually had them in my rental car before this, Argh!

65

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2023 by XframeFX (see edit history)

[abandg]

Are these what you need. 

[RivNut]

2 hours ago, XframeFX said:

I've been on the lookout for 1965 Seatbelt retractor bases for a few years now. About as rare as a 1966 Nailhead Spreadbore Intake that's on my List as well.

Since red was not a 1965 interior colour, not interested in 58 year old retractors. I can order new Lapbelts w/retractors in red from The Parts Place. But I require non rusted bases with the "hook".

 

Would be nice for these 1-year only Bases re-produced!

 

While at Barrett-Jackson, I came so close to purchasing 1965 seatbelt retractor bases. At Desert Valley Boneyard, I brought them to the counter in my rental to have them remove those crusty retractors before paying for them. He used his impact wrench on the counter when there was a vise behind him! 1st one OK. Then the socket jumped out with the 2nd and sent the retractor flying and shattered the plastic for the base. No longer wanted them so he back-handed the pieces into the garbage bin at the end of the counter after I snapped this picture. I actually had them in my rental car before this, Argh!

65

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In reference to your comment about a nailhead spreadbore. Check out FB group The Mighty Nailhead.  A guy named Jarrod Hermann in Detroit. He’s having problems unloading one.

Edited February 16, 2023 by RivNut
Spelling (see edit history)

[XframeFX]

3 hours ago, abandg said:

Are these what you need?

Scratching my scalp with your offerings Gene. Those are integral Bases/Retractors w/o the "Hook". I briefly considered Gen-3 Camaro Bases and even those can be separated from the Retractors.

 

What application are they from? What covers go with them? Available from aftermarket vendors? Elongated hole for the anchor bolt? What bolt goes with them?

Either way, will be a costly project to re-web in red. Maybe the Guts of the retractors from The-Parts-Place turn-key Lapbelt set can be swapped into those brackets. This way it will only cost me $329 USD or, $550 CAD.

However, The-Parts-Place have raised their price since this screen-shot. When prices go up, the item gets bumped to the bottom of my Priority List. Desert Valley Parts was going to charge me $25 for those Bases before being destroyed. I would've then splurged for that Red pair from The-Parts-Place. Again, ready-to-ship and turn-key.

 

Thanks for reaching out Gene. A learning here and more consideration.

[XframeFX]

16 hours ago, RivNut said:

In reference to your comment about a nailhead spreadbore. Check out FB group The Mighty Nailhead.  A guy named Jarrod Hermann in Detroit.

Thanks Ed. However, offline from FB

Mr. Hermann is not an ROA Member. So, no contact info.

However, I've rased my standard after a very recent discovery of aluminum square and spreadbore Naihead Intakes From T/A Performance. They produced a batch and now they're gone. Now what? Then there's that rare pancake air cleaner. See? Not to be negative, just not meant to be.

 

 

Edited February 16, 2023 by XframeFX (see edit history)

[abandg]

I pulled two belts open and took a picture of each label. I am not a seat belt expert but maybe somebody knows what year these retractors fit. Gene.

[XframeFX]

2 hours ago, abandg said:

maybe somebody knows what year these retractors fit.

Well, they are definitely GM. One label says "1968".

1st Gen Riviera outboard seatbelt anchors are different in that the anchor bolt is not vertical as in most other GM Bodies. So, these could work. Only question remaining would be a cover for the retractor.

[65RivProject]

My 65 has the original retractors, but I need the driver side cover (black). ...if someone has one that isn't broken?

[BulldogDriver]

I think James had some of these made. 
BestOfferCounts on eBay.

 

Ray

[XframeFX]

9 hours ago, 65RivProject said:

but I need the driver side cover (black). ...if someone has one that isn't broken?

What cover? The retractor or the anchor (with the "hook") it bolts to?

Retractor covers are reproduced. Hopefully that is what you need.

 

Sad fact of the 1-year only 1st Gen retractor belts. If the plastic covers aren't shattered, the steel anchors are usually rusted through. Extremely rare after 58 years. You might have to purchase a 1965 Riviera to get those lap belts.

[65RivProject]

Thanks, it's the retractor cover I need. The base is good.  I haven't come across repop retractor covers yet, will have to keep looking.

[MrAG Riv]

4 hours ago, 65RivProject said:

Thanks, it's the retractor cover I need. The base is good.  I haven't come across repop retractor covers yet, will have to keep looking.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/233679503228?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=HlB0bNvxS8O&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=Rc_T_tzlQy6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY