Chuck W.

I put red seat belts in my 993 cab that I bought during a group buy a few years back and really liked the look. When I sold the cab I kept the red seat belts and put them in the turbo. I have wanted to add red seat belts in the rear but they are costly. I also wanted to add red seat belt to my Boxster S. It is Guards Red so the red belts would be a nice touch.

Searching the web I found http://www.gotbelts.com/ . The sell 29 colors of seat belt webbing by the yard. They also sell the small seat belt stop buttons.

I had an extra set of 993 seat belts and started playing with them. They are like window shades. You pull them all the way out and they are simply pulled through the center of the roller and held in place with a small plastic dowel. Once I pulled it out I held it open with a small plastic clamp.

I measured the webbing out and found that there was nine feet of webbing on each belt. I ordered 6 yards of red seat belt webbing and two stop buttons. Total cost shipped was $48.84.

I received the webbing and buttons today and my daughter and I began the transformation. We bought heavy duty red nylon thread and heavy duty needles for her sewing machine. We tested several stitched on the black seat belts that we cut from the roller.

Tomorrow we’ll sew one end for the plastic dowel to slide into and the other end for the metal bracket that attached to the car. At first I was concerned that our sewing job may not be strong enough to ensure that the belts would hold in a crash. However, we will put several heavy rows of stitching similar to what the factory does. If you don’t have a sewing machine or someone that can sew it for you, or you want the peace of mind of having a professional do it, I am sure an upholstery shop or shoe repair shop would do it for a nominal charge.

I ordered red seat belts. They are a shade darker than the ones in my 993 that were bought from PEProducts. I’ll take a piece by the Porsche dealer tomorrow and compare it to the OEM red ones. I am guessing that I’ll buy their “Flame Red” ones for the Boxster.

The first photo is the red seat belt webbing they sent me. The second photo is the plastic drowling pulled part way out. And the third photo is the seatbelt assembly with the belt pulled out and clamped off.

I'll post more tomorrow when we finish and I have gone to the Porsche dealer to compare colors.

EDITED Total cost with parts and labor was under $70 for the fronts.

larpy

I am not going to sugar coat this...."Building" a seat belt is simply a bad idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Putting looks in front of safety is not wise.

Augustus Davies

..you own a turbo and a boxter s and you think new belts are 'costly'

you need your head examined...

Chuck W.

So, you two aren't in.... OK.

Canyon56

I guess at first glance I might be hesitant. But doing a bit of quick "Google" research, it looks like webbing replacement is pretty common. In fact, there's a lot out there about webbing degradation and that it should be replaced as a safety measure after 10-15 years or so. Apparently UV is a big issue.

"Dupont ran tests on their material used in seat belts at their test facility in Florida, they found that after seven days of non-stop exposure to sunlight the webbing lost 60% of its strength."

Seeing what Chuck's doing, the only concern is to be sure the stitching is 'industrial strength' and equally as strong as factory. I guess I'd just have an upholsterer/restoration person who's done seat belts before do the sewing.

p.s., all those color choices are pretty cool.

Akerlie

I know that parachute riggers will do "certified" sewing, the largest problem i see is that they would not be able to DOT/E mark the belts which the belts are required to be over here.

jaa1

I can't believe he's being flamed.., what a genius idea!!!

I would not want to spend $600+ on rear seat belts if it could be done for cheaper either!

I really appreciate your sharing, please do let us know how it turns out...

Canyon56

I agree. As I mentioned earlier it looks like webbing replacement is very common (and might even be a safety thing to do anyway when webbing gets old.)

There are several vendors and some of them list a federal Certificate of Compliance, and have test data and reports, etc.. I don't think it's a big deal providing the stitching is sound. One vendor I found will do the stitching for you.

shadow993

Good stuff. Did you ask if the could swap your mechanic to a new belt? Looking at the websit, you can get all new stuff for $80.

Good point on age and sun damage . I would be willing to bet our 12-14 year old car seat belt wouldn't pass a dot test today.

RutgersU

So you are still alive. Why did you run off after posting that you bought the turbo S when everyone asked for pics?
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-turb...-for-sale.html

ltc

There are several harness manufacturers who will rewet your 5,6, or 7 point harnesses for a fee which is lower than buying a new set. This is normally done every 5 years.

It's been discussed in the racing/DE forum in the past, but no one has done a DIY that I remember.

swmic

Nice job Chuck!

Macca

Chuck. It brilliant! Ive already gone onto the site and ordered the sample colour pac for $10 usd inc freight so I can see the options. Frankly if the webbing is as thick as factory Ill order them and create an underground elf empire that will expertly stitch them just like the magic Germay sewing machines and also transpose the original tags so the inspection man will know no difference.

Frankly if they are as well made as the fcatory webbing and triple stitched at the joints for strength then is see no issue to panic for the doomsayers. Cant see why new nylon webbing is weaker than 16 year old UV treated webbing that I have in my 1994 C2. Ive had my *** slung in stuff for life or death thats not nearly as well maintained or well stored as my seat belts.

Fact one is in a case of a major accident there are so many other likely factors the webbing age probably amounts to little.

Fact is that the rest of us ROW guys learn from the movies at least one of your largest states aow driving a motor cycles without helmets.

Not thats REALLY insane. Trust me I ride motorcycles!

Cheers
M

larpy

I like the idea of replacing old webbing. It does become week over time. My concern is the self stitching and the "heavy duty" threading. I have spent the last 15 years of my career as a critical accident investigator. I have investigated 100s of fatality and serious bodily injury crashes. The force brought into some of these crashes has been extreme. The damage I have witnessed to factory seat belts with factory stitching has also been extreme. I have looked at seat belts that have stretched and factory stitching that has torn/stretched. I have never witnessed a factory belt come apart. In all fairness I have never found a "homemade" but the point I am trying to make is there is a considerable amount of engineering and testing that goes into seat belts. The webbing, thread, and stitching are equally important. Thoughts of building your own for looks without knowing if the thread you have is appropriate or without having the proper knowledge about the stitching scares me. Getting the stitching to look the same is not enough. JMHO

Chuck W.

Larpy brings up a very good point. I have heard that during violent traffic collisions that the seat belt stretch. I can see this putting a lot of pressure on the sewed joints.

I suppose if you had the right machine and thread it wouldn't be an issue. I don't. I'll scrap the idea of sewing my own (there goes my father / daughter project) and hunt out a pro with the right thread and machine. The DIY continues. I am glad I posted before I finished. Thanks for pointing out the obvious; I had tunnel vision.

See, I haven't lost my head.