S1 seat belt retractor

[pmth95]

Discovered that neither of my retractors lock the seat belt when yanked hard (like on every other car i have owned).

1) Are the bolts holding the retractors on the engine side under the plastic cover or are they behind the bulkhead trim?

2) What is a good source for new seat belts?

 

 

[CarBuff]

Can't help with specifics on the S1.

 

If you cannot find new seatbelts from the usual parts suspects like SJ or JAE etc, ask at a provider of handicap vans. These vehicles often have custom-made belt setups.

[CarBuff]

Another possible thing to try,  is to see if ExoticAutoSalvage has a set of Lotus belts and retractors (they are in the NW USA)

Slava81 on eBay.

Don't rely only on the website, best to contact them.

https://exoticsalvage.com/lotus/

[drdoom]

Slava81 is a good source for used parts, happy to deal with him. Another solution is to hire an upholstery pro to re-web the units unless you have reason to think them deficient. 

Cheers

[LOTUSMAN33]

They are Kangol Euroflex belts and come up on eBay every now and then. 👍🏻

[pmth95]

So the single bolt holding the retractor is visible on the picture, deep inside the plastic cover...duh!

As soon as I loosen the bolt the retractor starts working again (locking when yanked)

As soon as I tighten the bolt the retractor stops working.

I wonder if it is because the car has the front lifted up on jacks and this puts the retractors at an angle. I'll keep investigating, might be a while still before I can get the car level again.

 

Thanks for the inputs on the potential sources.

[NG5]

Don't know if it's exactly the same but these look very similar 

https://www.johnrichardssurplus.co.uk/bedford-vauxhall-inertia-seat-belt-kit-91056835-2540-99-830-7448.html

[pmth95]

So i did a little google research and there is effectively two types of seat belt retractors. 

1) weighted pendulum: this will lock if weight is moved forward in a collision

2) centrifugal clutch: this will lock when seat belt is yanked hard  

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/seatbelt3.htm

The Kangol retractors in my S1 are the weighted pendulum type. This explains why seat belt doesn’t lock when yanked. 

[pmth95]

58 minutes ago, NG5 said:

Don't know if it's exactly the same but these look very similar 

https://www.johnrichardssurplus.co.uk/bedford-vauxhall-inertia-seat-belt-kit-91056835-2540-99-830-7448.html

Yes these do look like the ones i have