86Z

iTrader: (4)

besides installing the older rocker trim on the floor, what did you do about the old seatbelt retractor?

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Are you asking about the gap thats left over???

And by older rocker trim Im assuming you mean the 82 rocker trim that didnt have the lower retractor??

If you are asking what I think you are...then you have three solutions in my opinion.

A) You leave it be and just accept the gap.

B) Take that cover from your stock reciever. Put the drivers side on the passenger side, and visa versa. Use the little bolt access hole that normally has a cover on it, to pass the lower part of the 4th gen belt through. (My personal choice)

C) Make something totally one off to hide it all.

Is that what you were asking?? Wish I had pictures of how I did option B on my 87... I keep meaning to take pictures and all.

J.

86Z

iTrader: (4)

yes thats what i was asking, the 82's didnt have the medium grey trim, i have the old retractor covers on just loose, i tried to epoxy them to the rest of the trim, that did not work neither.

JRods Firebird

Yeah would like to see pics of that if possible. But I though switching them didnt work or maybe Im losing it.

compuwiz1937

iTrader: (17)

I just left mine as is, looks fine. I don't see the point of putting the 4th gen seat belts in and then putting the ugly bottom retractor back on.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Because its better than leaving the ugly hole that you can see carpet and wires through...atleast in my opinion. The "ugly" cover isnt the reason I switched to 4th gen belts anyway. I switched because the thirdgen belts suck. Its not like you are putting the "retractor" back in. Its just more of a vanity cover.

They work if you switch sides because that little flap that opens up to expose the bolt points to the rear in the stock form. When you switch them, that opening is to the front, allowing the lower mount of the belt to point forward and come through it. The place where they mate up to the rocker cover has the same profile on both sides.

It takes a bit of messing with to get them to sit the way they should. Just gotta be creative. I didnt glue mine. When I do my 86 Ill do a write up on it. Not gonna be for awhile due to the crappy weather...but Ill do one.

J.

ssean92

iTrader: (10)

ck out my cardoain site, I am going to use a longer screw to put it back in the same spot.

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

ssean92, I have a suggestion for your installation. The metal bracket that you have the seatbelt mount bolted to is actually just a 90* bracket that's bolted into the unibody. You can remove that bracket and bolt your seatbelt loop in place of it (it will be vertical instead of horizontal. The 82 cars originally had them installed this way (with no retractors) and I have to believe that the 90* bracket was added in 83 due to the addition of the bottom retractor. Eliminating that bracket can make for a cleaner installation and is also the way they are designed to be mounted in 4th gens.

ssean92

iTrader: (10)

I am lost on what you are talking about?????? how can you eliminate the mounting bracket with out loosing the mounting point

Mongoose

iTrader: (2)

I did the same thing with mine, the bracket you are using is removeable. just remove the bolts holding it in place and then use the lower bolthole to mount your 4th gen belts. I also used the retractor cover to make the install look OEM. I drilled out the rivets holding it to the retractor assembly and then fabbed up a couple of small brackets that hold the cover to the sill plate. Granted, if I ever have to remove either of them will be a little more involved but I think the finished product is well worth a few extra minutes in disassembly/reassembly time.

ssean92

iTrader: (10)

that's what I was going to do, great minds think alike

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

Just curious, I'm pretty sure you can't buy the 82 sill plates in repro yet can you? Any leads on a good used set.

I'm looking at mine and trying to figure out a way to do it, I like the idea of not using the retractor covers but I don't like the ugly gaps either.

Since it's been a while someone posted in this thread has anyone come up with new creative ways around this delimma?

I've got a few of the 83-92 sill plates in my stash, I may try to cut one up and use that piece to either make a "cover" over that gap or glue a piece in there all together and try to blend it.

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

i'd just suggest hunting and searching the classifieds for anyone parting out an 82 that probably won't realize the sill plates are anything special. You could also handle the sill plate the way ssean92 did in the picture above, only I would remove the hard plastic cover on the bottom of the seatbelt because it serves no purpose and only restricts the motion of the belt. Your seatbelt would come out of the cover just like it did with a retractor inside... only there is a solid mount underneath instead of the retractor.

I never ended up replying to ssean92 back in 2007, so I'll do it now... the 90 degree mounting bracket is held to the body with the same type of bolt that holds the seatbelt in (plus one additional smaller bolt to prevent it from spinning), so the metal tab on the seatbelt can be bolted where there 90 degree bracket currently bolts into the body.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

ok, here's what I started on....

I took a old sill plate and cut out two pieces to make a "cover" to cover up the hole.

I had to knock the nibs off the sill plate so the plate will sit flush, I still need to take a dremel to the back side of the plate so it will sit on the sill plate a little tighter and not have a hard edge.

Then I'm going to take a few screws and countersink them on each end to secure it. When I'm done it'll look like a factory piece and you won't even notice it.

I was going to just use the retractor cover, but I like this a lot better

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Are you going to cut a slot or hole for the belt to stick up through? Or just run the lower part of the belt on the outside of the sill plate?

If you arent going to pass the belt through, I wouldnt use screws. Get yourself some good glue. Gorilla Glue works wonders...it wont fall off thats for sure. Then you wont have screws to look at, and it'll look even more factory.

Good idea by the way!

J.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

Thanks!

I decided to cut a slot to allow the belt to pass through like the stock 82 did, this was the only way to make it look right.

I took my sander and beveled the edges so it would like like it was a factory part, I also smoothed the slot area too.

Instead of screws I'm going to glue it to the factory sill, slap some dye on the whole assembly and I'll be ready to go





Here's a picture of a 82 sill plate another member posted

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

WOW dude!! That looks really good! You've inspired me!

Wanna cut another section of the sill plates you sacrificed and make some slots and sell em to me?? haha.

You could make a few bucks since you can probably make a quite a few sets of covers out of a set of sill covers.

Good job on cutting the slot and hole..and great thinking!!

J.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

lol Thanks, I don't know if I want to get in the business selling covers. But it really isn't hard to do, I used a cut-off wheel and the plastic sands really easy.

I'm going to dye the part tomorrow, I'll post pictures of how it came out

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Def post some pictures after you get them installed.

What did you use to make the nice rounded ends of the slot? Did you just cut a rectangle, then finish it off with a small drum sander on a dremel or something?

Im gonna start looking for a set of sill covers now... I was going to use my old lower retractor covers to cover the opening, but this is much simpler and cleaner I think.

Thanks again for the idea!

J.

stage20

iTrader: (3)

88transamfreak..... that is a badass mod!
very nice.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

I used a 3/4" wood spade bit to kit the holes on each and then used my cut-off wheel to "join" the two holes.

I've got a 2" disc air sander to smooth the straight lines in the opening and used a piece of 80 grit to smooth the rounded part by hand.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

Thanks!

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Sweet thanks for the tips! Right after I posted, I thought about using a hole saw then connecting them.

Cant wait to get some time and some spare pieces to do this!

J.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

OK, here's what I ended up with

I started with black sill plates, but since my interior is graphite I masked off the lower section and sprayed the upper part to match my interior.

Overall I'm happy with them, when I get my carpet in next week, I'll post some more pictures of them installed.

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

WOW! Those came out great! They really look just like my 82 sills aside from the overlap. You matched the design perfectly

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

Thanks! I thought about making bevel for both pieces to lock together and not have a lip, but that would have took some precise work with a dremel to make it look right. But in the end I just decided to sand the edge down a bit.

BrOdBaNd

iTrader: (8)

I wish someone would make some for me...

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

I think they look perfect the way they are!!!!

Sure you could have spent a ton of time making the piece seamless, and blending it in. But the beauty of your idea is its SIMPLE!!! And QUICK!!!

Major kudos to you again man... Ive had 4th gen belts for quite a few years now...and stewed over how to make the covers work ever since. And kept keeping my eyes peeled for 82 plates. This idea never crossed my mind.

I can not wait to do this!!! What glue did you end up using?

J.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

I used some two-part epoxy I bought from Wally World, it was the version that has the 60 second set time.

I spent 10 minutes staring at that epoxy and a jar of gorilla glue....the epoxy won.

It looks to be a strong enough bond. But I may put some rivits in the lower sides where you wouldn't see them, then dye over them. I'm paranoid like that.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

I'm not trying to start a business, I really don't have time. I'll cut you a set of cover plates like the ones in my picture for $25 shipped usps / pair if you don't have the means to make them.

BrOdBaNd

iTrader: (8)

Ok... Btw, I have one of those 82 sill plates for the passenger side if anyone is interested. Not cracks, very nice.

86Z

iTrader: (4)

Dude, awesome job, i still have not fixed mine yet, now i know what i'm going to do!.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

Thanks!

Here's a quick picture of what they look like with the seatbelts going through them. I'll need to play with the angle of the belt a bit...but it doesn't look too bad.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Nice! They look awesome just as I thought they would! Good stuff! I cant wait to put mine on now. haha. Almost as excited about that as I am about my Tick master cylinder. haha.

J.

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

I HIGHLY recommend removing the hard plastic cover from the bottom of the 4th gen seatbelt with that sill plate. I did the same exact thing with mine and it ended up breaking off the bottom part of the sill plate where it is slit. The plastic isn't strong enough to resist the forces that the plastic sleeve exert on it during normal use... that design was meant to just have the fabric belt pass through it. You can cut the couple of stitches through the plastic sleeve and it slides right off.

88TransAmFreak

iTrader: (15)

Thanks, I may go ahead and do that to mine.

If anyone is interested, I have a couple of these plates made if anyone wants a set. Just shoot me a PM.

It will save the trouble of having to locate a scrap plate and the tools needed to cut and make them yourselves.

I'm not trying to start a business, I just have a few leftover from the plates I hacked up. Once they are gone, they are gone.

cyberleader

I'd like to thank JeremyNYR and Mongoose for pointing out that that bracket is removeable. I was in the middle of installing 4th gen seat belts in my 91 and when I saw that bracket under the retractor I was at a loss for how to deal with it. Gonna try to finish the job with some 4th gen sill plates. Actually all the information in this tread was really, really helpful, thanks everybody, long live TGO!!!

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

glad i could help :-) this is a really great mod if you can finish it off properly. The 4th gen belts look great and will be safer than using older more worn belts.

The_Wraith

I had 4thgen belts when I had 4thgen door panels. They look like complete crap and are not even worth it unless your going to do those custom door sills like posted above (nice work btw)