82 Avanti seatbelt question

[Avanti82]

In my 82 the receiving belt attachement strap for both front seats appears to be too long. What happens is when you sit in either seat and fasten the seat belt the belt ends up centered in your lap and the shoulder harness is draped over my left shoulder and not across my chest as in a normal car belt. The buckle should be located well over to my right hip and not in my stomach. I have never seen the belt with the receivng buckle this long, was this a custom belt made for a 300 lb customer.

EDIT: I just measured the two belt straps located in the center at the console and they measured 20 inches long. It looks like the belts would need to be around 4 to 5 inches to work correctly.

Thanks
Steve

[sweetolbob]

Steve

The previous owner of my 83 had replaced the belts with non-OEM style belts and it left me with the same problem. I junked them and bought a new set. That solved the problem.

Just for yucks, fish down below the carpet and see if the belt attachment is the type that will allow you to adjust the length, mine was but the rest of the system was cr@p. In fact, it's probably a good time to remove the bolts and add anti-sieze to them. Some of mine were very difficult to remove and my have become impossible in a short time.

Bob

,

[Rerun]

Steve,

I had the same problem with my '78 Avanti. I took the anchor end belts to a local auto upholstery shop. He shortened them by 8-1/2", and re-stitched them like new. Charged me $5

Jim Bradley
Lewistown PA
'78 Avanti II

[Avanti82]

Jim and Bob,

Thanks for your answers. The belts are in very good shape so pulling them and shortening sounds like a plan. This was a very strange problem to have and I sure do appreciate the responses.

Steve