280Sl upper seat belt mount cover?

[GM]

Alfred,
Truth be told, my original Kangol static 3-point belts are safe in a box in my garage!
My wife wouldn't drive in the car without inertial belts that she feels safer in, so guess what I have installed?
Attached are pics of my installation, with no visible changes to the original interior, and everything reversible. To your question, the B-pillar anchor slot is installed "up" which provides about 2-3" more height to help clear the top of the seat.
Hat tip to Steve Freifeld for his recommendations and assistance in this installation.

[neelyrc]

My Kangol belts were factory installed.  Chassis number 007749. Delivered to me at Sindelfingen on February 12, 1969.  My data card block 43 includes a “-“ and no number.  My car was a tourist delivery for the USA.  I am speculating but I think the belts were a part of the USA spec and were therefore not indicated separately on the data card. 

To function properly the bracket must be turned upward when in use. This puts the belt at exactly the elevation of the top of the seat back so that the belt extends directly across the shoulder.  A photo is attached.  The Kangol label is visible in the photo. This is the only label on the fabric belt itself.  Both pieces of the belt include this label.  The metal latch also includes a Kangol label as shown in the second photo.

[Pawel66]

I see no plastic covers and a metal hanger, correct?

[MikeSimon]

Gary: Would it be possible to post a picture of the retractor spool hiding under the rear floor covers? My original MB installation instructions 91.18 for retractable belts have me cut a hole in the B pillar cover

[GM]

Photos credit: Steve Freifeld
I have additional install detail photos if you need them

[Iconic]

mrfatboy and Alfred,
Here are some comments that I hope help you out:
I've sold one and still have one, both are 1970 280 SLs that were both built in August of 1969.
Vins: 012160 and 012287.
Both have 3 point static Kangol belts with Kangol tags dated 1969 and words in English (Kangol is an English company you probably know that).
Both are US delivered cars.
Both have a dash (-) in the "43" box on their respective data cards.
On the 012160 car the metal piece bolted to the B pillar used to hang down naturally.
On the 012287 car the metal piece bolted to the B pillar stays up for some reason, and this position makes more sense to me so that the belt approaches the seat from a higher point so the belt doesn’t have to go up and over the seat.
I have the plastic part that holds the metal U shaped chrome end of the belt that is shown on thelews car, but I have never been satisfied on how it fits and functions. John’s, thelews’, car shows the metal piece rotated down and the plastic piece looks nice on there, but when I have mine in that position, and I pull the belt taught, the plastic part has a tendency to fall off. When it is rotated up, it looks funny to me, but does not fall off. I believe Alfred stated that it should be "up" from the Mercedes documentation. So, it doesn't look right to me, but works that way !!
Very interesting topic ! Thanks.
Mark

[neelyrc]

I see no plastic covers and a metal hanger, correct?

There are no plastic covers.

There is a  metal clasp very near the attachment to the "B" pillar that the belt is threaded through.  You can see it in my post #26 above.  If you rotate the attachment bracket downward, you could possibly use this as a hanger for the "U" -shaped metal latch on the other end of the belt.  Pretty useless IMHO and I have never used it for this or for anything else.  See picture below.

[mrfatboy]

Here is pic of my belt setup and some docs. Notice the circled illustration on the right.

I do rotate the bracket 180 degrees to the 12 o’clock position when the belt is in use.

[66andBlue]

....
On the 012160 car the metal piece bolted to the B pillar used to hang down naturally.
On the 012287 car the metal piece bolted to the B pillar stays up for some reason, and this position makes more sense to me so that the belt approaches the seat from a higher point so the belt doesn’t have to go up and over the seat.
I have the plastic part that holds the metal U shaped chrome end of the belt that is shown on thelews car, but I have never been satisfied on how it fits and functions. John’s, thelews’, car shows the metal piece rotated down and the plastic piece looks nice on there, but when I have mine in that position, and I pull the belt taught, the plastic part has a tendency to fall off. When it is rotated up, it looks funny to me, but does not fall off. I believe Alfred stated that it should be "up" from the Mercedes documentation. So, it doesn't look right to me, but works that way !!
Very interesting topic ! Thanks.
Mark

Thanks Mark.
The "metal piece" (we need to find a name for it!) should hang down when the belt is not in use and should not stand up. During use it should be turned up to provide more clearance over the seat and also distribute the forward pressure more evenly around the bolt head in the event of a head-on crash.
The reason why one stands up is most likely because it is tightened too much. There should be a bushing and a wave washer to allow rotation. I have also seen another type of bolt with a thicker head and a shoulder that allows rotation but I believe that this one should go onto the tunnel attachment point. Picture #1.

I am also attaching a picture of the two types of hangers that are discussed here, metal vs snap-on plastic cap, to be clear. Picture #2

The $60K question: where and when was the plastic hanger used and where and when the metal one?
My guess is that the plastic one was used when the the "metal piece" did not require rotation for use, that is, in sedans.

[Shvegel]

I propose we call the end of the belt an "anchor".

Thank you all for the replies!