Gsmblue Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Now for an interesting fact I discovered on Darth, if you have a crew cab, the rear of the cab (back wall and corners) are the same pieces as a standard cab. The corner trim is also the same. There is a blank filler inserted where the seat belt would come through and there is a threaded hole under the rear trim with a rubber plug in it. At the top corner, behind the trim is a mount for a seat belt retractor, it has the hole stamped in it, but it was never tapped. An extra set of front shoulder belts can be installed there by tapping the hole with a 7/16-20 tap. This brings the rear seat outboard belts up to modern standards for securing a child seat. You have to use 1980-1986 belts, as the retractor was moved to near the bottom of the pillar/corner in 1987. The retractor has to be mounted in the correct orientation in order for it to function properly. I noticed this on Elyza when I was sorting the trim out. I am sorely tempted to do this "mod" as it is a clear safety upgrade. Thanks for the info on having to stick with the 80-86 belt retractors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARIAT 85 Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 YES, the seat belts are different from a bench seat to Captain's chairs. The plastic sleeve is shorter for the bench seats and has a curve in it. The plastic seat belt sleeves for the Captain's chairs are much longer and straighter, as they would be seen from outside the seats. I think the seat belt extender is intended to be used with a bench seat to make the seat belt longer to go around a child seat. Or if a person is exceptionally large. It would look silly to use those to make the seat belts longer for use with Captain's chairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Now for an interesting fact I discovered on Darth, if you have a crew cab, the rear of the cab (back wall and corners) are the same pieces as a standard cab. The corner trim is also the same. There is a blank filler inserted where the seat belt would come through and there is a threaded hole under the rear trim with a rubber plug in it. At the top corner, behind the trim is a mount for a seat belt retractor, it has the hole stamped in it, but it was never tapped. An extra set of front shoulder belts can be installed there by tapping the hole with a 7/16-20 tap. This brings the rear seat outboard belts up to modern standards for securing a child seat. You have to use 1980-1986 belts, as the retractor was moved to near the bottom of the pillar/corner in 1987. The retractor has to be mounted in the correct orientation in order for it to function properly. I noticed this on Elyza when I was sorting the trim out. I am sorely tempted to do this "mod" as it is a clear safety upgrade. Thanks for the info on having to stick with the 80-86 belt retractors. I may still have a pair of shoulder belts left over from Darth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRittaler Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 Well, I need to know the answer to this as I'm planning to bolt captain's chairs in Big Blue, which has a bench. Unfortunately I can't answer the question of length, but I can say the part numbers are different, and I'd bet the length is different. Here's what I'm seeing on our page at Documentation/Interior/Seat Belts. So something is different with bench vs captain's chairs vs buckets. And I'll bet it is length. https://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/file/n110894/611a72-1_orig.jpghttps://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/file/n110894/611a72-2_orig.jpg I am planning on checking out some pick and pulls in my area here soon (though they're usually pretty skimpy on bullnose) so I decided to have a look at the part numbers. My truck is an 85 supercab and from what I can tell the only difference in part numbers in my case is the first 4 characters and only because I have red belts. This seems strange to me. were red interiors with captains chairs not a thing in the pickups? or does the E6TZ superceed the E4TZ? When I do get to the junkyard I'm going to try and grab a set of belts from a truck and a set from a Bronco. That way I can compare the length and maybe unwind them if say the bronco is longer. I'm still mulling all this around. Maybe the belts in an Econoline are longer, I'll have to check them out too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Well, I need to know the answer to this as I'm planning to bolt captain's chairs in Big Blue, which has a bench. Unfortunately I can't answer the question of length, but I can say the part numbers are different, and I'd bet the length is different. Here's what I'm seeing on our page at Documentation/Interior/Seat Belts. So something is different with bench vs captain's chairs vs buckets. And I'll bet it is length. https://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/file/n110894/611a72-1_orig.jpghttps://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/file/n110894/611a72-2_orig.jpg I am planning on checking out some pick and pulls in my area here soon (though they're usually pretty skimpy on bullnose) so I decided to have a look at the part numbers. My truck is an 85 supercab and from what I can tell the only difference in part numbers in my case is the first 4 characters and only because I have red belts. This seems strange to me. were red interiors with captains chairs not a thing in the pickups? or does the E6TZ superceed the E4TZ? When I do get to the junkyard I'm going to try and grab a set of belts from a truck and a set from a Bronco. That way I can compare the length and maybe unwind them if say the bronco is longer. I'm still mulling all this around. Maybe the belts in an Econoline are longer, I'll have to check them out too. First, the part number prefix of E4TZ decodes this way: E = the decade of the 1980's 4 adds to the decade, so 1984 T = Truck Z = Replacement part So no, the difference is not due to the belts being red. If you look in the table there's a letter, and that represents the color. So E6TZ 18611A72-D is a black belt for a Supercab with captain's chairs. And a star means they are no longer available - in Ford stock, although there may still be floating around out there. As for length, the belts for a Bronco with captain's chairs should be the same length since the floor pan and B-pillars are the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRittaler Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 First, the part number prefix of E4TZ decodes this way: E = the decade of the 1980's 4 adds to the decade, so 1984 T = Truck Z = Replacement part So no, the difference is not due to the belts being red. If you look in the table there's a letter, and that represents the color. So E6TZ 18611A72-D is a black belt for a Supercab with captain's chairs. And a star means they are no longer available - in Ford stock, although there may still be floating around out there. As for length, the belts for a Bronco with captain's chairs should be the same length since the floor pan and B-pillars are the same. Thank you for the clarification. This to me then says the belts should be the same for supercabs between bench and captains, at least in terms of the retractable portion. Unless I'm misunderstanding something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Thank you for the clarification. This to me then says the belts should be the same for supercabs between bench and captains, at least in terms of the retractable portion. Unless I'm misunderstanding something. I don't know if the lengths on the retractable portions are the same, but I think they might be. But the inboard portion will be different, so the whole set gets a different part number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRittaler Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 I don't know if the lengths on the retractable portions are the same, but I think they might be. But the inboard portion will be different, so the whole set gets a different part number. I had a closer look at the diagrams on the seatbelts documentation page. It looks like Bronco belts will be longer. The diagram appears to show that the retractable portion mounts much lower than the trucks, but I'll have to look at one to be certain. I'm likely going to look for both a set from a truck and a set from a Bronco and worst case maybe I can disassembly the retraction mechanism and swap the belts. I've also emailed a local dealership to see if they happen to have any extenders (longshot, I know). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 I had a closer look at the diagrams on the seatbelts documentation page. It looks like Bronco belts will be longer. The diagram appears to show that the retractable portion mounts much lower than the trucks, but I'll have to look at one to be certain. I'm likely going to look for both a set from a truck and a set from a Bronco and worst case maybe I can disassembly the retraction mechanism and swap the belts. I've also emailed a local dealership to see if they happen to have any extenders (longshot, I know). By golly, you are right! I'll really be interested in what you find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRittaler Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 By golly, you are right! I'll really be interested in what you find. The hard part will be finding exampled of each truck to nab parts from. They are few and far between in my neck of the woods. There's one bullnose bronco at a local scrap yard, assuming it hasn't been crushed. I haven't looked for actual trucks lately. I'll be checking today and might try to get out there this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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