I have a lot of trouble with my retractable seat belts not working. What I mean is, they don't let the belt come out unless they are on the right angle, which always changes depending on where the car is parked.

I figure this is not normal and is due to wear in the mechanism.

Has anyone experienced this before?

What are the benefits of retractable vs non-retractable? Can you get new original style belts?

Ryan

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

If you like having your face on the front of your head, stick with the retractables.

It sounds like your belts have weak lock springs, go to the Klippan.com.au website for belt options.

You can get period belts from the US but they are not ADR approved.

I have heard about a place in Perth that does period belts.
I have been thinking along the same lines

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ook!
69 mini k
'Kids don't recognise a Saab from a Volvo but they always recognise a Mini,'

This is actually they way they are designed to work. They need to be near upright to allow the belt to release. PITA, yes, but that is how they are. It seems 'worse' the more belt you have out too.

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I know that is how they are meant to work, but they play up like this even if you are on the slightest slope. They never used to be like this, they have gradually gotten worse. I have tried adjusting the position etc but that doesn't help. It is too the point where I don't take passengers because the passenger side plays up all the time. Drivers side is mostly ok.

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

Fair enough then. Personally, I prefer retractables as they don't knock about all the interior painted surfaces as bad.

If you want to stick with period seat belts, try these guys

http://www.seatbeltsolutions.com.au/

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I prefer non-retractors - I like to strap myself in tight

Me too, Theres a reason race harnesses aren't retractable. But at the end of the day they are attached to a roll cage.

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Simplify and add lightness

First of all you might have reels out of another model of car and it is designed to be at a slightly different angle. There are different models of retractor designed to operate at different angles depending different positions they are fitted in.

They are designed to be free within a certain range of degrees otherwise they lock.

A label on the retractor (if still there) usually gives 2 angles eg 90-90 or 39-90 or 99-90 etc. etc. A correct aftermarket one for a mini usually would be 90-90 because of the way to mounts ie straight up and down.

If a 90 degree retractor is mounted at a slight angle it will lock more easily in certain directions. This could be why the passenger side seems worse as the car slopes that way more.

They may also just be worn out.

I have a set of Klippans (from MiniKing) and they operate perfectly. Only issue was occasionaly when they were new they would lock themselves when the door was closed because the door pocket hit the belt and would sort of give them a little "tug" and make them lock but that seems to have stopped as they relaxed a little over time.

The original 3 point belts are safe ONLY if they are adjusted firm across the chest. Like wearing a harness. Thats why those switch extensions were so popular in Minis. You cant reach anything otherwise.

If you get original style belts to be safe you would need new webbing.

IMO leave the original belts for concourse cars.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

Keep in mind the ADR's on the mini, if it came out with retractables from factory (which i think was 76 on) they need them fitted to be legal.

I'd agree with the other guys on the wear/weak spring issue considering they lock so easily.

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

Yup, Ideally I'd like to have a set of retractables. They just make so much sense. The only reason I was thinking of getting static belts was because my current set is such a pain.

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

I'd upgrade to webbing-grabber belts. In an accident, they grab the webbing as it enters the reel, rather than just stopping the reel from moving. If they just stop the reel, there's about 6 inches of slack that needs to be taken up. This means you're restrained tighter and in a mini this might mean hitting the windscreen or not.

It's as common misconception that basic retractors are somehow magically more safe than the old statics.

If the statics are adjusted correctly, they're just as good. The issue is people are lazy and don't pull them tight, or if it's a different person in the car etc Yes they are less convenient if you are wanting to move around.

However as above, you'd be amazed how much belt pays out when both static and retractor belts are activated - the belt tightens around the reel and you get several cm's movement. As mentioned above, that's the purpose of webbing grabbers.

Yes, well said.

My old man really drummed the whole "adjust them firmly" thing into us. He was an Engineer at BMC and represented Leyland on various safety committees when they were developing the design rules for seatbelts and anchorage points in the 60's and 70's.

We would be in big trouble as kids if he caught us wearing loose seat belts.

The fact that people were so lazy in adjusting seatbelts correctly prompted the development of retractables.

So please, your safety, if you have static belts in your mini make sure they are correctly adjusted.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

if i currently had NO seat belts available and had to make a purchase of some kind anyway - which type would you guys recommend? and from where?