Seatbelt conversion?

[RegalLimited89]

I have an '89 Regal and I love it. One thing about it though is the seatbelt in the door. It really bugs me. I saw a later Cutlass Supreme yesterday that had a seatbelt behind the seat, and one of those convertable-like seatbelt guides. Maybe this is a dumb question...but is it possible to convert to that kind of seatbelt? Is that a Cutlass thing, or a later w-body thing?

[jeremy]

I know that my '97 cutty has the normal seat belt with the guide on the headrest....I don't know why you would waste the time or the energy to convert it to that style.... :?

[GnatGoSplat]

Sure it's possible, but why?

Once you get used to the seatbelt in the doors, it starts to seem a lot more convenient than the annoying seatbelt on the B-pillar.

 

For one thing, people don't have to duck and lift the seatbelt to get in the back seat. That stupid seatbelt also tends to come out of the guide loop. I accidentally broke the guide loop once on my friend's Monte Z34 when I tried to get the seatbelt back in it. Good thing the guide loop only cost $5 or so.

[RegalLimited89]

Thanks, Guys. I guess I'll try to live with it for awhile and maybe it will grow on me.

[MaroonRegal]

I second that...I have the guide loop style, and it pisses me off. Shawn's right, the belt comes out of the loop. Also, I somehow broke my passenger guide loop in that near-deer miss a few months back. Shawn...how did you fix your friend's Monte? Seems like the remnants of the guide are pretty friendly with the headrest...

[cutlsp]

Thanks, Guys. I guess I'll try to live with it for awhile and maybe it will grow on me.

why live with it the owners manual if you read it states that the front seats have automatic seat belts which means you don't have to unbuckle the seat beat if your in a hurry to get into some place which works really well for me since i'm normally running late all the time

[GnatGoSplat]

I didn't fix it, he fixed it. I think all he had to do was pull the headrest completely out and then the remains of the guide loop came right out and he slipped the new one in and put the headrest back in.

 

There might be some kind of latch or button or something to get the headrest out. I do remember he said the headrest had to come out.

[RegalLimited89]

Thanks, Guys. I guess I'll try to live with it for awhile and maybe it will grow on me.

why live with it the owners manual if you read it states that the front seats have automatic seat belts which means you don't have to unbuckle the seat beat if your in a hurry to get into some place which works really well for me since i'm normally running late all the time

 

How're they automatic?

[MaroonRegal]

Thanks, Shawn.

 

EDIT: spelled the wrong Shawn.

[cutlsp]

Thanks, Guys. I guess I'll try to live with it for awhile and maybe it will grow on me.

why live with it the owners manual if you read it states that the front seats have automatic seat belts which means you don't have to unbuckle the seat beat if your in a hurry to get into some place which works really well for me since i'm normally running late all the time

 

How're they automatic?

simple you just open the door leaving the seat belt buckled and get out

[GnatGoSplat]

How're they automatic?

simple you just open the door leaving the seat belt buckled and get out

 

Yeah, they were GM's version of a "passive restraint". When you open the door, a solenoid disconnects the seatbelt so you can leave it buckled in and still open the door.

 

Some companies were using motorized seatbelts, other companies were using airbags. This was GM's way of delaying airbags until 1994.

[MaroonRegal]

I'm gonna say they're better than the "active restraints." aka Attack seatbelts...I hate the seat belts in the Eclipse. They're like "You wanna start the car, do ya? Well..not until I choke you...bitch."

[digitaloutsider]

I'm gonna say they're better than the "active restraints." aka Attack seatbelts...I hate the seat belts in the Eclipse. They're like "You wanna start the car, do ya? Well..not until I choke you...bitch."

 

[cutlsp]

I'm gonna say they're better than the "active restraints." aka Attack seatbelts...I hate the seat belts in the Eclipse. They're like "You wanna start the car, do ya? Well..not until I choke you...bitch."

my suburban is that way :?

[White93z34]

[MommyTaz022200]

I'm gonna say they're better than the "active restraints." aka Attack seatbelts...I hate the seat belts in the Eclipse. They're like "You wanna start the car, do ya? Well..not until I choke you...bitch."

my suburban is that way :?

 

My Escort is that way too. Also in the winter the motor becomes real slow and it takes awhile for the dumb belt to let me out. Sometime the fuse blows (common in the winter) and then it won't move. I like the "door" belts alot better.

[93CutlassSupreme]

How're they automatic?

simple you just open the door leaving the seat belt buckled and get out

 

Yeah, they were GM's version of a "passive restraint". When you open the door, a solenoid disconnects the seatbelt so you can leave it buckled in and still open the door.

 

Some companies were using motorized seatbelts, other companies were using airbags. This was GM's way of delaying airbags until 1994.

 

it's hard as hell to get out when you do that

[supreme_style21]

Thanks, Guys. I guess I'll try to live with it for awhile and maybe it will grow on me.

why live with it the owners manual if you read it states that the front seats have automatic seat belts which means you don't have to unbuckle the seat beat if your in a hurry to get into some place which works really well for me since i'm normally running late all the time

 

How're they automatic?

 

They're supposed to be considered that. Never really work that way. At least I never found the special 'motion' you're supposed to use when getting into it with it belted in. I always ended up getting tangled up in it and it just pissed me off.

I really liked them in the door though.. seemed to be a lot easier to find when Trooper Smith comes up behind you. With the pillar mounted ones, I gotta lean to the side and dig around to find it.. makes it a little more obvious.

[Brian P]

This is the first Cutlass I've had with B pillar mounted belts. Personally I like it better, keeps the shoulder belt lower, and I havent had a problem with the belts coming out of the guides. Screw the rear passengers.

 

The worst in the world is a sedan with the door mounted belts (sister's '93 Cutlass sedan) The shoulder belt is about 2-3" away from my shoulder!! (I sit all the way back, but not reclining it) that'll feel like a bitch if I ever get into a frontal collision with that thing. BAM!

[mihela816]

If you get broadsided, you WILL hit the pillar. Believe me, I know. I always thought that if the door ever came open in a crash, you would fly out since the seatbelt is attached to it.

[Brian P]

That's another plus of the B-pillar mounted belts that I forgot to mention.

[supreme_style21]

If you get broadsided, you WILL hit the pillar. Believe me, I know. I always thought that if the door ever came open in a crash, you would fly out since the seatbelt is attached to it.

 

Thats another thing.. ever try jerk open the door with the seatbelt latched? Opens about 3 inches then the seatbelt locks.. gotta shut the door and open it slowly. I always thought the door would come open in an accident, but I think that seatbelt would hold the thing shut. Unless of course, you roll it and the door digs into the ground, then you're screwed.

[GnatGoSplat]

If you get broadsided, you WILL hit the pillar. Believe me, I know. I always thought that if the door ever came open in a crash, you would fly out since the seatbelt is attached to it.

 

That's probably why W-bodies have a huge striker, what is it, 1/2" or 3/4" thick? My truck just has a little U-shaped thing that's about 1/4" thick.

For a 2dr, I like the seatbelts attached directly to the seat best.

 

W-bodies, at least the first gen coupes especially, are designed terribly for safety anyway. The manual claims the seats have inertia locking seatbacks, but neither one in any W-body I own actually works. During a panic braking situation, both seats fly forward and the driver's seatback tries to push me right through the shoulder belt. Worst design, ever. The electric locking seats in the 1972 Cadillac I had were a much better design. That's probably why airbags are required to give these cars even a barely passable NHTSA frontal crash test rating.