Gargoyle_Runner

In my everlasting attempt at restoring my interior, the cracked seat belt receivers and my OCD got the best of me. I've not had much luck finding, at least the drivers side, receiver that isn't all busted up at the top. I tried fabric glue which as expected didn't hold for long. Then I used zip ties which looked like zip ties. Then it came to me. Shrink tube. I figured out that 1 1/2" tubing would fit snuggly over the receiver. I ordered 4' of grey tubing so I could mess up once or twice. Little heat gun action and a nice easy fix.




This is what I started with.










And that's what I ended up with.

DKirk

Awesome, I've been looking for a solution to this problem for a long time! Where did you find 1.5" heat shrink tubing, EBay? I see the seller FlexRLLC has it but not in my required brown/tan color.

Gargoyle_Runner

There is a local hardware store here in Bellingham that has everything. They carry shrink tube up to 3". I took one of the receivers in to test sizes. They unfortunately didn't have grey though. But at least I knew the size I needed. After searching online I found a website http://www.electriduct.com/ which had the size and color. The product is just what I was looking for. It seems pretty tough so I would expect it to last a while. It was a couple bucks a foot however the shipping was steep. I wish I would've had the patience to call them and haggle for a better shipping rate. I am happy with the product though.

bswarm

Cool. I cut the plastic sheath off my belts when I did my bench to bucket swap to get rid of the middle belt, but now the belts are hard to reach for. Your trick may work out great.

Gargoyle_Runner

You could even take some thin plastic from an old container or something and cut it to fit inside the shrink tube to increase the rigidity. The shrink tube will still give a decent finish look.

DKirk

I just ordered three one foot brown sections from these folks, and the total price was $10.90 using US Postal for shipping. Sorta pricey but WAY cheaper than dealing with factory seat belts.

Again, THANKS for the tip!

Gargoyle_Runner

Awesome. Let me know what you think of the finished product.

DKirk

I just had my seat refinished and the old seat belts don't look as good as the seat:



1986 Seat Refinish

Gargoyle_Runner

Nice job on the seat. That's next on my list.

RAD4Runner

hah! Did the heat-shrink approach on mine, a year ago. Works well
However, I still need to rig the passenger side so seat it does not snag/drag it when sliding back.

DKirk

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Gargoyle_Runner

hah! Did the heat-shrink approach on mine, a year ago. Works well
However, I still need to rig the passenger side so seat it does not snag/drag it when sliding back.




That is annoying isn't it. Short of pinning it to the console I can't think of anything.

RAD4Runner

yep. Already have an idea. Will tie with a shockcord around the actual girth of the console, underneath the facade. Just been to busy to take care of it. Will post pics when done.

grumpin

Nice! Great idea!