Seat Belt originality

[DickLewis]

Hello friends,

As I continue the restoration of my 1967 250 SL I have a question.  My car was an European Delivery car and of course it arrived in NY in August of 1967.  The seat belts that appear to be original in the car carry the label "American Equipment Safety Corp" on the inside of the retractable belt.  It also bears the date 1967-1.

Would this have been the seat belt that would have been installed by the dealer when it arrived in the US?  I am not familiar with this at all.  But it sure looks original to me.

THanks in advance for your comments.

Dick

[DaveB]

I believe that's correct, "Hickok American Safety Equipment" were the original US dealer installation, webbing colour matched to the interior.

[KevinC]

I too have the "Hickok" model as do a few other 230SL owners locally. Interestingly no matter what the interior color, we all have the khaki-colored belt material. Could 230SL's be different from 250's in this way?

[scoot]

My 67 250SL had the tan Hickok belts, which I subsequently replaced with Kangols.  But mine were not retractable belts and I don't think the others were either.

[KevinC]

Mine has chrome spring-loaded roller-retractors.

Scott, with Tan belts, what's your interior color?

[DickLewis]

Well that also answers another question as the color is sort of Khaki and I did not think it matched the interior very well which was Natural.  So from you guys these appear to have been original.  If that is the case I will definitely keep them.  THey are retractable and my restorer thinks I should definitely keep them.  Since they had the year 1967 on them I figured they might be right.

[scoot]

Mine has chrome spring-loaded roller-retractors.
Scott, with Tan belts, what's your interior color?

I didn't count the spring-loaded roller-tretractors as retracting belts.  I know what you mean, those are somewhat useful.
My interior color is bamboo.

[scoot]

... They are retractable and my restorer thinks ...

Do you mean they retract with the little chrome spring retractor add-ons, or that the belt itself goes into an inertial reel?

[KevinC]

Here's my set up below. It seemed with this car that previous owners had not messed with much so I am thinking this is how things were originally.

Here's the rub...the belts were quite stained and just didn't look great when I had my interior done. I sent them to SSnake Oyl in Texas and they reported that A) they didn't have a webbing material to match and that B) this type of larger weave material was not DOT approved (read: legal). What I ended up with is the same khaki color of the original belts done with DOT approved fabric. Ssnake Oyl sent back a combination of new belts with my original chrome hardware.

[KevinC]

My friend Bob also has a '67 230SL but with black interior. His belts look like mine did initially (including the fraying which is probably what the DOT doesn't like!)

[kampala]

Here's a photo of the belts on my later 250sl ...

[DickLewis]

I will try to take pics of my belts and get them out for you to see if I am that good.  Mine retract into a vinyl sleeve.  They are out of the car at the moment.  ANother question is since the color is so off would any of you consider dying the existing belt to match the interior leaving the original labels or is that just crazy?  As this restoration continues I keep going up the level.  Today I was at that local MB dealer and I have been looking for a new locking gas cap.  Would you believe that the classic car center in Irvine still has the original and it was LESS expensive than those offered by many of our retailers.  Now I must add that my dealer gives me wholesale.

[66andBlue]

This another one of those tricky "originality" issues. Those seat belts may be original as delivered but they are not original from the factory.
As a matter of fact owners could order a 230SL already with Mercedes seat belts - first lap belts and later 3-point Kangol belts. After 1965 every Pagoda had the receiver nuts welded into the tunnel, the B-pillar, and the rear parcel shelf to attach the 3-point belts.
Despite these factory provisions dealers here installed these Hickok belts using large ring bolts through the floor panel that restrict the rear movement of the seat.
See: http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=4912.msg31465#msg31465

[DickLewis]

Once again it is amazing the things you learn here.  I will keep the belts as they are actually in very good condition.  However, I may consider making them black since many pictures I have seen have all black belts and that color is just a lot easier to compliment any interior.

[scoot]

If you have a 67, there is nothing non-original about Kangol 3 point belts.   They are supposed to be black/charcoal.  I have had them re-done in blue, tan, and red in addition to charcoal.  Currently I only have red.  They are on ebay if you want to see pictures.  Just search for red kangol.
Scott

[Jordan]

The Hickok lap belts that were in my 230SL were blue.  The date stamp on the tag was 1966 if I recall correctly.  I replaced them 2 years ago with static 3 pt belts.  I have a '66 and the rear anchor points are on the floor.

[garymand]

The chrome winders were add-ons as original set belts in America did not come with the self winders until later.  These were pretty commonin the late 60's early 70's to tidy up the belts.  They worked in some cases, but they have no ratchet and can add slack when set up for big people and then used without adjustment for a little person.