Interior and Upholstery S197 Seat Conversion Project

Davedacarpainter · Sep 23, 2017

A seatbelt set will cost roughly $400-$500, it's worth the effort.

I think the NHRA requires race car seatbelt to be replaced every three years. They wear out too.

Mustang5L5 · Sep 23, 2017

Problem is I can't tell if the fox belts work. When you yank hard they don't lock, but if you do it while braking they do. With new cars, a good yank gets them to lock all the time.

NIKwoaC · Sep 23, 2017

Mustang5L5 said:
Problem is I can't tell if the fox belts work. When you yank hard they don't lock, but if you do it while braking they do. With new cars, a good yank gets them to lock all the time.

Modern cars have seatbelt retractors that are "dual sensitive", meaning they have mechanisms that react to both webbing withdrawal rate (yanking on the web) and vehicle deceleration/acceleration/rollover. Sometimes referred to as web sensitivity and vehicle sensitivity. I can't speak for all Fox seatbelts, but I have disassembled retractors from two '86 cars and they were both "vehicle sense" only.

So it doesn't surprise me that your belts don't lock when you yank on them, they probably don't have web sensitivity.

General karthief · Sep 24, 2017

I've wundered about fitting newer setbelts in a fox, can't bolt up much different?
But then I'm probably worth more dead, after all, I'm try'm hard to spend their inheritance

NIKwoaC · Sep 24, 2017

karthief said:
I've wundered about fitting newer setbelts in a fox, can't bolt up much different?
But then I'm probably worth more dead, after all, I'm try'm hard to spend their inheritance

I've looked into it a little, the main problem is that most modern belts have pyro pretensioners in either the retractor and/or buckle, which obviously would be useless in our cars and it drives the cost of them way up. Plus there are other subtleties about belts that are designed to be used in modern airbag-equipped cars that make them less than ideal to use in our old stuff.

Really your best bet is to work with one of the aftermarket custom seatbelt suppliers. A lot of them sell direct fit Fox belts, or you can have them build you a custom system with more modern components. This is something that's been on my own wish list for a while, just need to pull the trigger.

Mustang5L5 · Sep 24, 2017

karthief said:
I've wundered about fitting newer setbelts in a fox, can't bolt up much different?
But then I'm probably worth more dead, after all, I'm try'm hard to spend their inheritance

I tried with 94 belts. Couldn't make it work without major re hacking

My current black belts are in great shape, I just wish there was a rebuilder I could send them to to go through them. I would guess waaaaaay too much liability?

NIKwoaC · Sep 24, 2017

Mustang5L5 said:
I tried with 94 belts. Couldn't make it work without major re hacking

My current black belts are in great shape, I just wish there was a rebuilder I could send them to to go through them. I would guess waaaaaay too much liability?

Look into seat belts plus or seat belt planet, I believe both offer rebuild services.

jrp27540 · Mar 14, 2018

Well, as usual, life had different priorities and its been a while since I have made progress of completing this project. I have, however, been able to complete the seat conversion build. I did cheat a bit on the back seats. It was going to take a lot more time than I had to make the S197 rear seat molds fit, so I ended up taking the rear seats to a local upholstery shop and had them re-cover the stock rear seats with the S197 covers. The shop had to make alterations to the materials to make it fit, but all in all, they turned out OK. I need to adjust the backs a bit still, but other than that...this job is done!

stanglx2002 · Mar 14, 2018

Thank you for updating this even if it is a little on the long side. I just finished installing the front seats as well, but was scratching my head on the back seat as well. The only other person that I found that did the back seat did the same as you, and sent it to the upholstery store as well.

I was planning on doing the same thing, but are curious how much did it cost you to have them do the back seat?

jrp27540 · Mar 14, 2018

stanglx2002 said:
Thank you for updating this even if it is a little on the long side. I just finished installing the front seats as well, but was scratching my head on the back seat as well. The only other person that I found that did the back seat did the same as you, and sent it to the upholstery store as well.

I was planning on doing the same thing, but are curious how much did it cost you to have them do the back seat?

It costed around $300. The only part they were able to reuse was the middle strip; they had to purchase and replace all the rest. Considering what little I gave for the seats, I am still ahead with what I invested in the back seats.

Mustang5L5 · Mar 14, 2018

That back seat came out amazing. The color scheme looks great as well. Any more pics of the front and rear seats?

I need to find a shop to recover my 87-89 rear seat from my 99-94 rear seat material.

95BlueStallion · Mar 14, 2018

I personally like the stock rear seat recovered. I am not a fan of bottom portion on the S197 and S550 seats. Your passengers sit so low they cant see anything but the back of the front seats and plastic side panels. Job well done! Would like to see more pics when you get time.

jrp27540 · Mar 14, 2018

Thanks everyone. Give me a day or so and I'll upload more pics.

jrp27540 · Mar 14, 2018

Actually...I did take a few pics the other day that I forget about... Again, the backs need alignment a bit...but these will give a better view of the entire set. I'll get a few more from other angles and better lighting this weekend.

95BlueStallion · Mar 14, 2018

I might just have to do that with a black set. I really like it.

Mustang5L5 · Mar 14, 2018

That looks damn good.

jrp27540 · Mar 14, 2018

Mustang5L5 said:
That looks damn good.

Thanks! I totally lucked out. Considering I only gave $250 for the entire set and about $400 in parts and recovering the backs...I'm giddy at the budget friendly results... And the power seat and lumbar work as well! Win win.

Davedacarpainter · Mar 18, 2018

That's very nice, I still like the red as well.

Good job man, nice work. The lumbar thing and power seats would be pretty sweet.

jrp27540 · Mar 25, 2018

Davedacarpainter said:
That's very nice, I still like the red as well.

Good job man, nice work. The lumbar thing and power seats would be pretty sweet.

Thanks!

Mustang5L5 · Dec 12, 2019

ANy update? That interior scheme looks great

Interior and Upholstery S197 Seat Conversion Project

Chicks can make things hard if they’re inspired...

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

中國製造

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

中國製造

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

中國製造

Active Member

Attachments

CT Material here

Active Member

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

My assy trans to myself

Active Member

Active Member

Attachments

My assy trans to myself

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Active Member

Chicks can make things hard if they’re inspired...

Active Member

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency