4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Will the third gen seat belts fit in the 4th gen receivers in the front? My receivers are cracked and ugly and finding third gen ones isn't an easy task.

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Dunno, but I'm sure year-one or Classic INdustries will have the third gen ones.

Might sell u some for the right price

91' bird 305 TBI T-5, trick flow 175 cc heads, 4.10 gears, lots of suspension upgrades......... 24mpg @ 2300rpm hwy 65mph ........ 8.63@ 85mph 1/8th on street tires... 8.000's soon

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

These have recently been reproduced and are now available.
Click links below to see color availability:

Third Gen Belts

Fourth Gen Belts

Hope this helps.

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Hi Ray,

I see your belts use a single retractor instead of the OEM dual retractor. In light of this change, can you describe what is different about these belts vs 4th gen belts. I was planning to use your 4th gen belts, but maybe your new 3rd gen belts would be better.

Thanks,

John

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Why spend big $$$ on 3rd gen new or used recievers when u can head to
your local parts yard and pull a pair of recievers and sleeves from almost
any late 70s to late 80s GM car for $10 bucks?

Others are better quality and are steel and chrome than the plastic junk
they put in our 3rd gens.

I got mine from a Olds. Simple bolt in..............

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Not my style, thanks. Also, I am not talking about just receivers, but rather the whole front belts.

John

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

2nd gen seat belts will fit (I have a 1980 set in my '84), 4th gen should fit as well but don't have the retractor on the floor.

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Hi John,

The Third and Fourth Gen seat belts we offer are a direct bolt-in replacement for your original belts. So, we would recommend that you use the Third Gen style belts if you are fitting them to a Third Gen Car. And, the Fourth Gen belts on a Fourth Gen car to ensure proper fit and operation.

I apologize if I might be missing your point. But, I'm not sure I fully understand the question. Is there a particular reason you want to use 4th gen belts on your 3rd Gen car or a perceived benefit of doing a swap?

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Thanks again Ray for taking your time to post here.

The reason for using the 4th gen seat belts was because they use the more modern single retractor. Also, we know from experience that if you use a 1982 door sill you get a very nice looking result. If you do not use a 1982 door sill, when you remove the lower retractor you end up with an ugly hole in your door sill.

See in this picture, the 83-92 sill plate is on top and the 82 on the bottom.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...e3628362ed.jpg

And in this picture you can what it looks like when a 4th gen seatbelt is swapped into a 3rd gen car with the 1982 sill plates. It is clean looking. I can't find a picture, but I am sure you can imagine how crappy it would look if 83-92 sill plates were used.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...97298ba9cb.jpg

So from this, I know I am safe using the 4th gen seat belts with 82 sills, from a looks point of view. My question for you is, with these new single retractor 3rd gen seat belts that you are selling, what does the area around sill penetration look like?

Will it look good with the 83-92 sills?

Will it look good with the 82 sills?

I hope that helps clarify what I am asking.

Have a good day,

John

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Hi John,

Thanks so much for the clarification. The pictures you supplied really helped illustrate your point.

The main difference between the reproduction single retractor Third and Fourth Gen seat belt sets is the plastic sleeve that surrounds the female (buckle) end. This would be the buckle part of the belt (with push button) that mounts near the center tunnel of the car and sticks up between the front bucket seat and the console (to the right of the driver, and left of the passenger). The reproduction Third Gen belt set has a plastic sleeve on this portion of the belt, while the reproduction Fourth Gen set does not.

Additionally, neither reproduction set has the short plastic surround that is shown in your image of the 1982 sill plate with the OE Fourth Gen belt sticking through it. So, it seems to me that if you wanted to go with the reproduction belts, you would still want to use the Third Gen set, because the portion of the belt going through the sill plate, would be nearly identical whether you use the Third or the Fourth Gen set. But with the Third Gen set, you will have the plastic sleeve that may eliminate the possibility of losing the buckle end between the seat and console when unclasped.


THIRD GEN SET :

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...cd8dc07892.png


FOURTH GEN SET:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...0f6e89186c.png

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Agreed Ray.

Also I was poking around your website and I see it looks like you sell 4th generation belts with the plastic sleeve on the door sill connection. However you only have them in Beige (G4457 and G4458). Is this a product you are discontinuing? This is exactly what I need, except I need them in black. Is there any hope of getting them in black?


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...f1c634620b.jpg

I feel the plastic sleeve is necessary for a clean installation with the 82 door sills.

Also, I will mention that there is a great community on the History/Restoration board that would be happy to provide any information possible to Classic Industries to ensure we keep getting high quality restoration parts. This forum has been waiting for the restoration community to expand the parts that are offered for our cars. THANK YOU.

John

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Hi John,

Unfortunately, that is a New Old Stock GM item left over from original GM service replacement inventory. No black available any more. At this time, a used set will probably be your best bet. Also, thank you for the comment regarding the community on the History/Restoration board. It's always very helpful to speak to the enthusiasts who are "hands on" any particular vehicle. We will remember that.

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Just a quick note for anyone wishing to replace their receivers (but not the retractors). The 4th Gen receivers will work fine, but you will want to trim the plastic sleeve at the bottom where they bolt to the floor. The 3rd Gen and 4th Gen bolt in at slightly different angles. By trimming the plastic, they will no longer stand up on their own, but once the seats are installed, they stay in place between the seat and console just fine.

I know not everyone wants to mod a 4th Gen receiver, but this post was meant for those who do want to.

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Thanks Ray,

We are very excited to see new products for our cars.

John

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Well I picked up a set of used 4th gen belts and as always, used parts disappoint. So I have ordered the Classic Industries 3rd gen belts. I will transfer the 4th gen shoulder belt lower plastic to the new repro belts. Hopefully that should get me exactly what I am looking for.

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Some more info on the Classic Industries reproduction seat belts can be found in this new thread.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/inte...ml#post5904839

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Thanks 1991_RS.. I've been wondering this for a long time. If I understand correctly, replacing the third gen receivers with forth gen ones will work. I wasn't sure if the buckle styles were compatible and would latch. There's an abundance of forth gen ones in junk yards all other locally where third gen ones are always cracked or too much for my little budget.

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Male reciever end with sleeve replacements can be found at your local
pic n pull yards from mostly any 70-80s GM vehicle.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...4240250948.jpg

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

I have done this swap. I used the belts out of a 95/96 Firebird. Then I got PASSENGER side (driver side won't work) receivers out of a Sunfire/Cavalier. I have a 4th gen center console and the Cavi receivers match the console perfectly. Topped it off with 82 Sill plates. Works like a champ, the sill plates cost me more than both seat belt sets.

Re: 4th gen/3rd gen seat belts
 

Do you have pictures of your setup? Also, what year Sunfire/Cavalier?