[alfa] GTV seat belts

[Vangelis Kokkevis <vkokkevis@xxxxxxxxx>]

Spiro,
  I bought 3-point retractable seatbelts for my 73 gtv
from highwood a year or so ago.  They definitely feel
a lot safer than the original lap belts and are far
more convenient for every day driving than the 6 point
harness I have installed for the occasional track
outings.  

The only problem I have is that because of the
geometry of the attachment points, the reel tends to
tilt forwards and sometimes the belt locks (on the
passenger side more often) and cannot extend until I
fiddle with it or twist the reel back to vertical.
What concerns me is that the reel mechanisms are not
symmetric (one side has a clear cover and the other a
black cover).  However, as the belt assemblies for
both driver and passenger are identical, when mounted
in the car, on one side the plastic cover ends up
facing forward and on the other it faces backwards.  I
asked Chris from Highwood (who has always been very
helpful) and he assured me that the belt manufacturer
supplies only one belt assembly so it should work on
both sides.  I'm not sure how to get around the
overeager locking mechanism.  For now it's just an
annoyance, but I hope it will work properly when it
needs to.  


Vangelis
Sunnyvale, CA
73 gtv
83 spider
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided