The local hardware store is underrated as a source for car parts. Although, I tried finding a clamp at the hardware store for my F-type, and they didn't have it. Had to order them online and used a zip tie in the mean time.
Photography by Tim Suddard
Old seat belts rarely retract as they should, right? After a recent five-hour trip in our old Ford ramp truck, we decided to finally fix ours.
Upon our return from that Targa 66 event, we first called National Parts Depot to see what they had to repair this annoying situation. Others certainly had to be tired of limp seat belts getting caught in the door jamb but, apparently, this was not the case. Other than some aftermarket belts that didn’t look stock, NPD didn’t have any answers for broken Ford truck seat belts.
Maybe we could fix it ourselves? We took the retracting mechanism apart and quickly found the problem: The simple spring assembly rides in a clear plastic tube with a notch on one end to catch the spring end.
This tube on our driver-side belt had completely disintegrated. The passenger-side still worked properly, though, so we took it apart to get a better of what this tube should really look like.
The plastic tube had started to disintegrate, but it was still together enough so that we could see what it looked like. The tube was about 3 inches long, had an outside diameter of 1 inch and a rather odd inside diameter of 37/64 inch.
We took the damaged tube to our local Ace Hardware store. For about $3, we found the cure: a piece of sprinkler connecting pipe with the same OD and enough thickness so we could drill the inside diameter to the correct size.
We found a drill bit the correct size, and after cutting the pipe down to the correct length, we drilled out the center of the soft plastic pipe.
After measuring the notch on the old tube, we then recreated it on the new pipe as it is needed to hold the spring in place. From there, we could easily reassemble the parts. Once we got the tension correct on the bolt holding the assembly together, it retracted perfectly.
While we had the passenger side also part, we bought another piece of sprinkler pipe and fixed that side in half the time as we had already done it once. All it took was a few bucks.
The local hardware store is underrated as a source for car parts. Although, I tried finding a clamp at the hardware store for my F-type, and they didn't have it. Had to order them online and used a zip tie in the mean time.
In reply to J.A. Ackley :
I'm always in the hardware store searching for random things to make work and every once in a while someone will ask what I'm working on and i'm like, its just too much to explain!
I bought a brake cylinder hone to clean up the lifter bores on my MGB engine. I went to my local Mom & Pop HW store to search for a piece of ferrous pipe of the same inside diameter as the lifter bores to test and break in the hone. I explained what I was doing to a store employee, who not only helped me but was very enthusiastic about the project! Unfortunately, the store closed a couple years ago after being in business for 82 years.
In reply to StuntmanMike :
I could waste so much time and money wandering the hardware store.
So many things I don't necessarily need, but, boy, they do look neat.
More content like this! And you did film this so you could upload it to Youtube, right?
Yes, I'd like to see a video because my '72 Elan's driver side belt does not retract. My guess is the Elan probably has Ford seatbelts(?).
In reply to J.A. Ackley :
Ah, so you did end up using a hardware store item: the zip tie! See, not all was in vain 
lol
A lot of times, on cars that are a bit newer than your ramp truck, a good cleaning of the belt itself will do the trick. The mechanism gets gummed up with dirt and sweat and makes the retractor stick.
There's nothing better than being in a big box hardware store on this kind of mission and some bluevest walk up and says "Is there something I can help you with?" and you give them the most confident "no" you'll ever utter.
Noddaz said:More content like this! And you did film this so you could upload it to Youtube, right?
why doesn't my car run like that? 407-495-3579 301-761-1729
I agree! Love the DIY fixes!
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