Hi all,
Long time member, but haven't done much with the car in many years except drive it. Thinking about making it a full-time, secondary car (as opposed to weekend/sunny day driver), so have started a long list of niggly things that I haven't done in 15 years of ownership.
Recently, I ordered some universal retractable seat belts; I saw a lot of posts on this topic, so thought I'd show/describe what I did. I had some static 3-point converted seatbelts - the original owner took the Hickok clasps, and put different belts on to make 3-pointers. My wife hated them, so they made the top of the list.
I mounted the spool in the spot where the belts were currently mounted, and therefore needed to buy "belt-movement" ones so they would operate in any orientation. Most belts mount with the spool's axis pointing front/back, and can use either belt-movement or car-movement mechanisms. I was able to use another hole that had a plastic plug to mount the other end of that belt. I attached the "pillar loop" to the same spot where the 3-point shoulder belt was already bolted. The one thing I did do, is "flip" the pillar loop around so that the belt is fed a little higher up... normally the pillar loop "hangs" from the bolt, so with it pointing up instead, the belt is close to the top of the seat and easier to reach. To flip the loop, I had to pull out and remove the entire length of belt from the spool (making sure to retain the spring tension), remove the pillar loop, turn it around, then slide it back on. Then re-attach the belt to the spool. I also shortened the receiver end from 16" down to 10"; before I sewed the belts back together, I also flipped the mounting bracket so the angle was correct. Lastly, in order to make it easier to grab the belt, I used the belt slack adjusters that came with my belts to stop the belt from retracting all the way into the spool each time. By leaving them loose on the seat, they are much easier to buckle than having to reach over your shoulder each time.
BTW, I still have the original Hickok hardware if anyone is looking to go back to original-style lap belts.
Hope this was useful.