NJTman

FWIW,

If you're going to reuse the existing seat belts, you can contact this company, and they're excellent at making things work. You could keep the ones on the seat, and just change out the male ends on your original belts, just like I did. Save you lots of modifications.....

www.seatbeltplanet.com

I sent them the junkyard dakota belt clip (male side that goes on the belt) along with my original seat belt in it's retractor. They replaced the belt with a new unit that wasn't all tattered after 20 years, installed the new belt clip from the dakota, and sent it back to me in pristine rebuilt condition. I then bolted the Dakota female receptor to the floor in the original spot and i was done.

There are thousands of the dakota trucks in boneyards, and the latching mechanism is much better than our oem 1st gens are, as they've redesigned that parts that snap off in your hands, or leave you stuck in the seat as it won't unclip.

And yes... I was stuck in the seat the last time I used the original belt receiver, ..

Here's how I went about it..
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ight=seat+belt

jimbo486

Thanks for the tips, T. I had considered buying belts for an '03 truck to match the receivers at some point in the future. Sounds like a restore of the originals with new buckles and latches could be more cost effective. I'll keep that in mind.

Well, I think I've got everything finalized. After more time than actual work, they're bolted in place. Good news is that all 3 motors under the driver seat work flawlessly. Granted, I'll probably never use them. My initial idea to use the factory bench seat floor brackets didn't work so I had to come up with a "Plan B." They put the seat bottoms at an awkward decline to the rear and in turn, left very little room between the steering wheel and bottom cushion. Both seats are in their rear-most positions and the driver seat is in it's lowest position. I'm sitting a little bit closer and higher compared to the bench seat, but it's still a comfortable position. The seat backs are reclined very slightly and I'm not sitting straight up. If they're reclined too far, the headrests smash against the rear window when someone is sitting in them so I keep them just one position forward from there.

Just a few small details to iron out... Need to get some spacers cut to take place of the numerous fender washers at the 4 corners of the seat rails which you'll see in the pictures below. And lastly, I'm determined to figure out why the passenger seat appears to sit higher by about 1" or more than the driver seat. I'll toy around with the spacers and confirm that the seats are equally spaced on both sides. While the seats are out, I'll take more detailed pictures along with painting all the brackets. All of the bolts will be replaced with Grade 8's of better/proper lengths. Might be overkill but I don't mind at all.

Finally, some pictures.

NJTman

Your welcome.


Do you have louvers in your hood ??????


And....


How long have you had that truck in Cali ? I thought they don't rust out there.... ?


One thing about these trucks that I've come to realize is that the carpet / padding is the ultimate culprit for these cabs rotting away. Water gets under them, and NEVER leaves. I have removable foam mats in my rig, and they get pulled once a month to make sure there's no water, and I clean them at the same time.

I'll never do carpet in a truck again.... Way too much damage caused by them.

jimbo486

Sorry for not replying sooner, T. This thread got lost among all the others.

Yes, there are louvers stamped in the hood. The truck has been a CA truck all of its life. With the exception of about 6 years spent in Payson, AZ when my grandfather moved from here back in 2002. I acquired the truck in Dec. 2007. They don't tend to rust that badly out here but the drip rail has seen better days. I'm hoping to take care of that soon. My driver side floor pan has some superficial rust that I need to address. I plan to remove and seal up the kick panel vent to eliminate that as one of the possible reasons for water intrusion. Hopefully, that's the only reason. I know the cowls tend to fill up with debris and hold water as well and that some of that water can find its way into the cab. I have a list of small wants and needs to accomplish before I send it off for body work and paint.