The front seat belts on my 82 Firebird don't recoil correctly and won't lock when you snap them. I got a used set last week but they are different. I think they changed the seat belt type in 83. Has anyone out there ever put the 83 onward style belts into an 82?. The problem is going to be at the sill plate where the most differences are.


Any Help Appreciated,
Gerry Holian
82 Pontiac Firebird 2.8 V6
Location: Ireland.

 

I'd like an answer to this question as well..I too have an 82 and the seatbelts no longer work right either. I found a few belts that match my interior at the junkyards, but if there is some modification needed I'd like to know.

 

The problem is going to be at the Sill Plate, that may have to be changed to accomodate the new belt type. There may be other changes. I wonder can the originals be fixed to get them to recoil correctly as it's hard to get ones that match the interior. Anyboy ever try fix an original set?.

Gerry Holian.

 

go to the dealership...they had a recall on 82 and 83 i believe with the seat belts not retracting and the part its suppost to lock into...i just got a brand new set of belts for free from the dealership no i just need to find the rear lap belt then im good.. but go to the dealership or call them.....

recalls

 

The car is 21 years old, will that not be out of warenty? or does that matter for recalls.

 

I went to a pointiac dealership and was told there were no recalls for my car and that it was too old. I just think they didn't want to do it because I had heard of the recall.

 

well since its a safety recall i supose they would have to do it....but im not sure i know they did it for my car

 

I put 89 (I think or 88) Iroc Seatbelts in my 82. Had the same questions as you did cause I noticed where it bolts to the sill side on the floor is different. Here is what I did. Hit the local yards and took out the sills from an 83 and newer and also there is a metal tab (look like and "L" shape)that the seatbelts bolt to. This tab bolts to where the original seatbelt bolt goes. All that needs to be done is drill a hole for the 10mm bolt and that's it. Hope this helps.

 

There's a guy on fl-thirdgen.org named black 84z or something like that. He can find about any part you need. I got my belts from him and was pretty happy about the whole deal. Sometimes you can take the assembly out of the roof and wd-40 the ratchet mechanism, but to be honest, I've seen more broken ones than operating ones.

 

Thanks Guys for your input. My two options are to get 82 style belts that work or change the door sill plate to accomodate the newer style belts. I was looking at the belt mechanism and it doesn't seem like there is anything I can do to fix it.

Gerry,

 

4th gen seatbelts are alot like the 82 to 83 belts that they only use a retractor on the top part and not one on the bottom. Actually when I converted to 4th gen belts, I had to goto the junkyard and find the 82 - 83 door sill plates to make the conversion look better. Very hard to find in good condition. Just another option if the color matches.

 

Been looking in the archives for any post regarding putting 4th gen belts into a 3th gen (My 82 has the seat belt recoil mechanism in roof only). I can't see anything there. Just want to see if there are any problems I should know about before I try and get a set from somewhere. Anyone any input?

 

If you're going to put in 4th gen belts, they bolt right in. Since you have an 82, you don't have to take off a bracket at the bottom like I had to. I Just cut the plastic piece off the bottom part of the 4th gen belt, then slid through the slot on the 82 & 83 door sill and bolt the bottom part and you're ready to go.