<VV> Shoulder belts - seat belt life

[Robert Marlow]

craig nicol wrote:
> 4) The retractor and belt were about 25 years old and at the end of their
> design life.
>   

Bob now writes:

That seat belts have a "life" is something I have long been aware of, 
going back to the time that I heard an engineer describe an old seat 
belt as being ready to "snap like a piece of bamboo."  And, of course, 
racing sanctioning bodies have age requirements for seat belts.

But when I bought my Rampside earlier this year, it had no seat belts at 
all, being a 1963 model that no prior owner felt compelled to update.  
Unwilling to drive it without belts, I researched the available new 
belts, and it appeared that my best source was a street rod supplier in 
an adjacent state.  The FC models use an uncommon belt length, and this 
particular supplier not only offered new belts in a nice selection of 
colors but also was willing to work with me on lengths.

However, there was the interim to be considered.  I wanted to drive the 
truck right away, not wait until the new belts arrived.  So I rummaged 
through the barn and found a set of factory seat belts that I had 
scavenged from a '64 Greenbrier years ago.  Probably decades ago.  In 
they went.

I suspect that if stressed by the forces of a collision, these 
45-year-old belts would break like that piece of bamboo.  But this did 
not bother me very much, because as Jay Leno accurately noted about the 
Rampside, "YOU are the airbag."

Still, at many shows and events, I see Corvairs with their 
factory-original belts.  These owners should consider new belts.  Either 
generic aftermarket belts like the street rodders use, or restored belts 
such as those sold by the oddly-named Ssnake Oyl Products.

--Bob