Vintage racing harnesses on a budget

[ibmiked]

I am not sure if this has been posted elsewhere, but here goes. I recently had a great experience dealing with Bill Rich at www.vintageseatbelts.com. I was looking to add some period flair to my car by adding a set of Autoflug harnesses. Since originals are expensive, I was looking for an alternate route. After doing my homework here, I discovered that original Autoflugs not only came in black with orange/black tags, but also red with red/white tags, and blue with blue/white tags. I decided to stretch the bounds of correct, and went grey with red/white tags.

I sent Bill my rear retractors with buckles, and for about $400 plus shipping, he rebuilt my seatbelts into what I think is a nice blend of vintage and modern. Since my car is a backdate, I figure I'm not constrained to 100% authenticity, which is actually quite liberating. Anyone looking to have their seat belts rebuilt, I can't speak highly enough of Bill's work and prices.





Cheers,
-Mike

[denson]

I think they look cool and very unique. Good job

[mikeg]

I like everything about your setup. Is the rear retractor a modern or vintage
part? It looks like you retained your 3 pt belt also. Do the shoulder harness straps retract entirely out of the way, leaving the 3 pt for daily use?

I'm getting St seats from GTS and was thinking ahead about a harness. I was thinking about a roll bar, but the street/track safety issue swayed me toward a harness bar, however, I really like your approach. Good job.

By the way, great color scheme on your car.

[ibmiked]

I like everything about your setup. Is the rear retractor a modern or vintage
part? It looks like you retained your 3 pt belt also. Do the shoulder harness straps retract entirely out of the way, leaving the 3 pt for daily use?

I'm getting St seats from GTS and was thinking ahead about a harness. I was thinking about a roll bar, but the street/track safety issue swayed me toward a harness bar, however, I really like your approach. Good job.

By the way, great color scheme on your car.

Thanks Mike. The retractors are the newer style. My car was actually built in '88, so that's the year the retractors come from. The 3 Point belt is actually going to be removed entirely, as the receiving end of the buckle is now in the wrong place to receive the buckle from the 3 Point belt. I toyed with trying to use both, but in the end it's just too many seat belts.

My seats are from Stefan too, if you haven't already seen his work.

-M

[Neunelfer]

Those guys did my belts for my 914-6/GT project. Nice work!

[Ghost Chaser]

Great job Mike, as usual. Congratulations. You're turning backdating into something of an art form here. I look forward to seeing what you'll do next.
Cheers,
Rich

[ibmiked]

Thanks Rich, how about this as a topper?

Rebuilt/backdated gauges!



Now I'm almost done (yeah right). At the rate I'm going I won't ever save up enough for your Helgeb 'S'.

Be well,
-Mike

[Ghost Chaser]

nice touch, mike. those little silver discs make all the difference, don't they? great job. i'll see you on the e-mail.
cheers,
rich