seat belt colour

andrewh · Post by **andrewh** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 10:38 am

ok chaps, I am just ordering a set of seatbelts for my 62 FHC and was wondering what the view on colour was? the trim is dark blue and belts were never fitted from new. Default is clearly black , but Lee suggested maybe grey and I was wondering about whether dark blue was an option , certainly I can order them in any of these colours but does anyone know if there were options from new? thanks

Post by **Heuer** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 11:28 am

Original seat belts were grey Britax. Black seat belts came in in the mid/late 1960's I believe and other colours much later. Something to do with Britax not being able to develop a dye that could be proven to not weaken the webbing or some such. I have dark blue in my OTS and it works well with the dark blue leather. Standard grey in my FHC (although that has a grey interior) and should be the preferred option if you want to b e period correct.

andrewh · Post by **andrewh** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 11:39 am

thank you David. I had bought a set from a well known supplier of Jaguar specific parts but they are not quite right apparently so will have a set made instead. I rather like the idea of dark blue, if you have a photo of your two options, I know I am pushing my luck with your goodwill, I would love to see how they compare. I think you have my e mail if you don't want to bother posting here. ummh, decisions decisions!

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 12:02 pm

Depending on how picky you are about 'not quite right' you may struggle to get absolutely correct belts for a 62. The webbing was dimensionally slightly different and the texture and weave of the silvery-grey original webbing are no longer available AFAIK.

If that turns out to be accurate and no Jag supplier sells 'perfect' belts, your choice will end up being what level of innacuracy you're comfortable with.

Post by **Heuer** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 12:42 pm

Jerry Mouton took these pictures of an original Jaguar set:

More info and copies of the original fitting instructions here: http://moutons.org/Jaguar/Seatbelts/

Here are some pictures of my seats although flash photography tends to make the blue belts look more vivid than they really are:

Let me know if you need better pictures.

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 4:53 pm

I have that very set from Jerry, or had...

I used them on my stolen S2 but not before I had them remade in modern red to match your re-dyed seats David. You can see why I nicknamed the car 'Secondhand Rose' as she was made up of all sorts when converting her back from Mustang V8 and Recaro vinyl interior...

Modern weave is smoother and less 'bobbly', especially the edges. It's fractionally narrower too and is a bit loose in original width buckles. When I had them Re-webbed I retained the original webbing just in case. There's probably enough to make a set of lap belts for any early Jag. I was going to use them in the D but probably wouldn't get on many circuits without a 4 or 5-point harness, so I got that instead.

Pete

Post by **1954Etype** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:12 pm

One of the issues with the webbing is that they use inertia reel material. This is thinner than the original material used on the statics. Result is that the static retainers don't grip as well as they should and the belt is always coming loose.

Post by **Heuer** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 6:45 pm

Static seatbelts can use 'pebble' webbing (still available) rather than the smooth webbing required by inertia's. Modern webbing is 48mm wide (1 57/64") whereas the good old imperial stuff was 2" wide and no longer available. Quickfit Safetybelt Services can supply pebble weave in grey, silver, blue, black and red: http://www.quickfitsbs.com/components_colours.php

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 7:30 pm

I can not recommend fixed belts in a FHC . You will find that you are perpetually having to slip the belt off your shoulder at T junctions etc . The inertia reel belts made for an MGBGT ( available from people like the MGB Hive at quite modest cost in a variety of colours ) are much more comfortable and the reels are adjustable to cope with a variety of fitting attitudes . The only snag is that you may have to make up mounting brackets for one side ( I can go into the details but won't bore everyone )

Gfhug · Post by **Gfhug** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 8:56 pm

That's an interesting comment, Christopher, about the static belts slipping off, not had that experience so far, although much fewer miles than you.

Inertias do appeal, but the hassle of making up a good, safe bracket is something I'm not ready for yet. Seem to remember from previous posts on the subject that getting the geometry correct takes some trial and error. An OTS I drove had inertias and the stalk was too long such that the belt was held level across my waist rather than wrapping around to a position slightly behind. The MGBGT set seems to come with a long stalk.

Happy to be corrected on these points, and even happier if there is a good fitting set available that saves making one up.

Geoff

andrewh · Post by **andrewh** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 9:33 pm

Wow! As always such a rich seam of information in this forum. Fantastic.
I think I will go for grey simply as it's more correct, and will try to get the coarse weave. Will report back on that. Thanks chaps for making the effort on this post.

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 10:41 pm

Geoff : it's nothing to do with them slipping off . It's just that if you have the seat in a rearward position, in order to lean forward sufficiently at T junctions I found I had to slip the top half of the belt off to enable me to lean forward sufficiently to see . This is eliminated with inertia belts. Also , my wife finds the reels far more comfortable than the fixed belts which tended to have the fixed buckle ( on a stalk in this case ) not on the hip but somewhat out in the air, possibly because the fixed part was too long and therefore came too far forward

Gfhug · Post by **Gfhug** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 9:28 am

Christopher, I agree with your point about having to lean forward to see, I too have the seat at the most rearward position, also pulling the straps tight can mean it's easier to undo them first save too much damage to hands between the seat and prop-shaft tunnel.

The 30cm stalk on these is too long, IMO, http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-RB7355SA
I notice they do a 15cm stalk.

Are these the ones you have?

Geoff

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 3:10 pm

The fixed ones I abandoned had a much longer than 30cm stalk . But I have never looked back since changing to reels . Mine certainly are very close to those Securon ones although I cannot see the name on them- I will have a look and edit this post shortly

EDit ; the new stalks are 30 cms and are an ideal length . I cannot see if they are securon, but I can say definitely 1. that they have the knob on them so that you can adjust the pendulum to work in any orientation 2. That they came from the MGBHive and 3. That they were a good deal cheaper at ? 35 each + Vat and carriage, and that MGBHive still seem to sell them at that price

Shame that my trim needs a good dusting !

Gfhug · Post by **Gfhug** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 5:02 pm

Thanks Christopher. Those photos are very useful and have given me the wish to pursue the idea of inertias further.

On the grounds I seem to have hijacked this thread:

Measuring for my slim (thin!) body a stalk length of 27-28 cm would seem to be ideal, maybe the 30cm would fit, will do a few more checks.

However my next point of concern is how well does the stalk fit between seat and tunnel? My static web belt only just slides between the seat hinge cover and the tunnel, anything thicker than the web material wouldn't go in between.
Do you feel like posting any photos to help? :?

Edited to add: Your interior looks the same as mine (dark blue), but I've learned something that the luggage upstand should have 'spikes' to go through the catch, mine doesn't. It has usefully helped answer a question I had posted elsewhere. This forum is a mine of useful information.

Thanks
Geoff

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 9:38 pm

Gfhug wrote: I've learned something that the luggage upstand should have 'spikes' to go through the catch, mine doesn't. It has usefully helped answer a question I had posted elsewhere.

Not really Geoff. Those are rubber buffers seen from behind (and inserted permanently into the stop brackets) not spikes to locate the folding panel.

Sounds like you have just invented a new hi-performance tub cross-brace, if you can get some made in billet aluminium and find a good ad agency :-)

Pete

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 11:16 pm

Geoff : I'll take a pic or two of the stalks tomorrow and post them. At 30 cms they come with just enough spare length to allow the seat to be moved forward for the shorter driver

Gfhug · Post by **Gfhug** » Sat Nov 29, 2014 9:42 am

Pete, thanks for that explanation on the 'spikes' or rather rubber buffers, which are missing on mine. Will look for suitable replacement.

Not sure about your hi-performance tube cross brace comment? Or are you being far too subtle for this Bear of Little Brain?

Geoff

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:25 am

It was a joke. OTS cars rely on a rear bulkhead for a bit of extra torsional stiffness, FHC have the roof. I strategically-fixed steel panel solidly fixed between the wheel arches wouldn't hurt but a clip-in wooden board is a joke.

Pete

Gfhug · Post by **Gfhug** » Sat Nov 29, 2014 6:39 pm

Pete, the problem was it sounded a bit too subtle to come from America, hence my confusion

Thanks for the information though.
BTW is your E Type restoration book totally out of print? I did buy your other book for guidance before buying my S2, very useful.

Geoff

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