My US spec '90 Sov has working active restraint/seatbelts. (The mouse trap things that try to strangle you when you get into the car)

I am pondering the possibility of changing these to the normal/passive seatbelts found on later XJ40s

The drivers for the change would be :

1. I don't like the belt system. I can trust myself to remember to put my seatbelt on. I always have. I also frequently forget to put the separate lap belt on because I feel the shoulder strap and think that I am all done.

2. Although my system is working right now, I know they are fragile and at some point they will likely fail. I know there is a dealer lifetime warranty on these parts, but I also know that parts supply to facilitate the free warranty repair are difficult to get.

So.... the question would be what parts do I need for the conversion ? I'm thinking the belts and the mounts, plus the cant rail trims. The only issue I have is that my car has the unusual grey (LDY Saville Grey) interior. The seatbelts are grey. The cant rail trims are grey.

Any inputs/info would be appreciated from folks that have done this conversion in the past.

 

The 1988 and 1993/94 sedans have the regular seat belts. I think the buckles/latches are different from the 3.6 car to the later 4.0 cars so if you get a salvage yard car for parts be sure to get EVERYTHING from the vehicle before you begin the swap.

There should already be a threaded hole in the B/C pillar for the shoulder strap but the interior trim will not have the correct fittings for mounting/covering.

There are a few posts from years ago that described the successful swap and I think even a few with pics.

bob gauff

 

Thanks Bob. I found a good post and pics on JL.org

Now the search begins for the belts from an LDY Saville Grey car

 

This is a few months old, but I thought that I would point out that you can (and perhaps should) have your belts "re-webbed" by vendors online. This means that you can source belts in the wrong color and have them changed to match. This will have the side-benefit of leaving you with new, non-age-and-wear-degraded belt webbing.