Seat Belt Retractors

Kurt Halverson

PCS Northland Chapter President
Hello Everyone!
The seat belts in my '77 Lifeliner are extended all the way out, and the retractors will not take up the slack. Does anyone know if there is a way that these can be fixed? If not, does anyone know if these are the same units from a similar non-commercial Cadillac?
Thank you!
Kurt
 
Should be, but they are not. I have no idea what Miller Meteor used, however, I do know that the retractor side of the seat belt / shoulder harness isn't the same as the standard Cadillac. It uses a 2 part system, where the shoulder harness has a "keyhole" slot that it goes into, much like what was uses in the late 1960's cars with shoulder harness's. Once you get past the windshield / dashboard, the body builders spec'd the rest of the vehicle, and where they sourced the parts from can be anyones guess. It has already been documented that Miller Meteor used handle pulls from a Lincoln.
 
Should be, but they are not. I have no idea what Miller Meteor used, however, I do know that the retractor side of the seat belt / shoulder harness isn't the same as the standard Cadillac. It uses a 2 part system, where the shoulder harness has a "keyhole" slot that it goes into, much like what was uses in the late 1960's cars with shoulder harness's. Once you get past the windshield / dashboard, the body builders spec'd the rest of the vehicle, and where they sourced the parts from can be anyones guess. It has already been documented that Miller Meteor used handle pulls from a Lincoln.

Paul, even though the belts are not the same, wouldnt the retractors be the same? I dont know, but I assume all retractors work the same way regardless of the manufacturer. (Yea, I know what they say about Assuming something), I know doing a search on the internet there various companys that rebuild the retractors, or you may be able to get a rebuild kit.
 
both sets?? or just the drivers side. if they used the two piece set up like they had in the 71 up not the standard caddy one it may be hard to get that male end. but I would make the attempt to see what if anything is blocking it. all kinds of stuff can get inside the covering and block the return. they are not a serviceable as far as the guts go. but a good cleaning and lub the moving parts may cure the problem. a lot of times the swinging hammer that is to lock them in a accident gets rusted in place and blocks the return. like every othere safety device it's mainly the illusion of being safe that keeps you so.
 
The belt on a 77 M-M is the same one piece assembly just like on a standard Cadillac. I had to replace the drivers side belt unit on my 77 M-M a few years ago that did the same thing that Kurt's has done on his Lifeliner. I used a driver side seat belt unit from a early 1980's Cadillac limo.
 
My 77 Lifeliner did NOT have a two piece system either. Also the downsized chassis used stock door lowers and many other stock parts. Considering the belts in my car were not friendly for us more girth challenged folks I suspect they were stock and some length was "lost" in reaching the higher mounting point.
 
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