For back in the day those were high quality, Kilippan brand, a Swedish company I believe, the mounts are as ALFA intended so the belts would swivel and not lock in one strained position relative the webbing.

 

When old timers took a look at them when I brought the car around to meets and shows, they called them "VW-style." But when I occasionally searched "VW style klippan" I didn't see things that looked like mine. I have seen them associated with old BMWs, though. My old 74 had retractable belts with buckles that looked like cheap versions of the old GM click-button style. Those came apart a year or two after I bought the car. I replaced them with generic Autozone buckles that worked with the... whatever you call the other part of the belt. Hasp?

Anyway, these Klippans have been with the car since the beginning and, while they seem strong enough when I tug on them, I'm pretty sure their structural integrity isn't what it was when new.

 

Do you have the center-hoop style? BMW 1600/2002 series had the hoop-style for a couple of years, the inside of the hoop is stamped with car maker name intended at the time of manufacture, Klippan belts came with a small white label/tag sewn tho webbing at the mount.

 

Yup, that's what I have. Unfortunately the attached photo shows the sad state of my tags, along with the rest of the mess. The clamps work fine, so with a refreshed webbing they should look like new. It'd be nice if they could somehow save or recreate the tags, but I'm not expecting it.

I didn't know about a stamping inside the hoop. I'll have to go downstairs soon and have a look. During my steering wheel restore project, I discovered those have a date of manufacture stamped on the opposite side of one of the spokes. The wheel that came with the car when I bought it was not original (they had black plastic wheels in '71, and I have that one hanging on my garage wall) and is stamped 7/72. The restored one came out of my old '74 and was almost certainly original to that car. It's stamped 4/73.

 

Those look like my medium grey belts. Plus some big knots to take up slack as I think they came from a Super. I might have these guys make new. They use your ends and buckle?

 

I might have these guys make new. They use your ends and buckle?

That's the advertised service, and what I'm expecting.

I think it was the early 00's when the lifetime of seat belt webbing first came to my attention. Probably here, or on the earlier Alfa mailing list. Back then (again from memory) seat belts passing 20 years old needed to be replaced because the material had deteriorated to the point it wasn't safe anymore.

It's an S2 Spider, so safe is quite relative. But I've been wondering if I was strapping pasta across my waist ever since. Now it'll be fixed.

What startled me was when I brought my old belts into the post office they got close to my face as I got out of the car. After all those years, they still smelled like seat belts!