58 Seat Belts

[John R.]

I have a set of what appear to be original seat belts in my 58. The hardware appears to have all the correct numbers. The finish on the buckles is worn off and the webbing is black in color. I want to restore the belts but an exhaustive search of the archives has left me in a quandry. The TIM and Judging Guide states that all 58 buckles were finished with blue hammertone paint and had grey webbing. I understand that the grey webbing is not reproduced and virtually impossible to find. Noland's book and posts in the archives indicate that around the first of April of 1958, belts began to appear with webbing and buckles which matched the interior colors. My 58, which was produced near the end of April, is red with a red interior. There is a significant number of points (20 originality and 18 condition) allocated to seat belts on the judging sheets. Does anyone who has either judged 58 interiors or had a 58 judged have any recommendation for the direction I should take on my seat belts?

[Paul M.]

Re: 58 Seat Belts

Do them in Hammertone blue. The webbing should be the same. It is still available from the people who restore seat belts. If you need more, e-mail me and I'll give you the names.

I had a 58 #7307 which was a May car and the seatbelts werte hammertone blue.

[Mike Geary]

Re: 58 Seat Belts

Hmmmm. As a former '58 owner, s/n 2397, my distinct recollection is that the buckle lifts are indeed hammertone blue. There's a pretty good spray bomb paint from Hammerite. However, the correct color for the webbing was/is GRAY, regardless of interior color (red, black or silver/blue).

[John R.]

Re: 58 Seat Belts

Thanks for confirming what is in the judging guide. If anyone knows who can restore my belts with the correct webbing I would be very appreciative of that information.