Type 44 seat belt swapping problem

[DeWitt Harrison]

Hi Taka.

Thanks your this information. It does look pretty hopeless to
switch to a Procon-Ten styled b-pillar trim, etc.

After additional family album research, I have found a ray
of hope that there is a plastic cover for the seat belt
shackle style that I now have. I don't know why I didn't see
it before but in the drawing which lists my seat belt p/ns,
there is also a cover shown which has a different p/n than
 on my original covers. Perhaps there was a seat belt
upgrade prior to the major Type 44 facelift in 1989.
We will soon see.

Best regards,

DeWitt
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Taka Mizutani
  To: LL - NY
  Cc: DeWitt Harrison ; Quattro List
  Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 4:41 PM
  Subject: Re: Type 44 seat belt swapping problem


  The facelifted type 44 (new dash, door panels and slight exterior changes)
was the
  start of Procon-Ten. That would be '89 for US cars- when they changed the
model
  names to Audi 100 and 200 (which was, I'm sure you know, the designation
for the
  car in Europe the entire time).

  Procon-Ten's restraint system would be extremely labor intensive to
retrofit to a car
  that was not originally equipped that way- you need Procon-Ten compatible
transmission
  bellhousing, seat belts, steering column and probably a bunch of other
mounts.

  You might be better off ordering a belt for a '87 to make sure that you
don't end up with
  Audi 100 parts.

  I am surprised that they would get you the wrong belts- time to take them
back to the
  dealer for an exchange.

  Taka



    On 9/19/06, DeWitt Harrison < six-rs at comcast.net> wrote:
    >
    > Some years back, I acquired new factory front seat belts
    > for my '88 5kcs. Just recently, I installed them only to
    > find that they are somewhat different than the originals.
    > The upper b-pillar mounting shackle, the piece of
    > hardware the belt slides through, was shaped differently.
    > For example, the plastic over-molding was too fat to
    > pass through the access slot in the b-pillar trim panel
    > without a little modification. Additionally, the small
    > plastic trim cover that covers the exposed metal part
    > on the 5k's seat belt shackle doesn't fit quite correctly.
    >
    > I suspect my new seat belt set are upgraded parts to
    > be compatible with later model type 44s such as the
    > '89-'91 200s or the V8s. Investigating the upper b-pillar
    > seat belt attachment point arrangement of the newer
    > cars showed that the seat belt emerges from behind
    > the b-pillar trim panel much higher on the pillar
    > via a more streamlined looking height adjustment
    > mechanism than that of my 5kcs.
    >
    > My thought was to obtain b-pillar trim parts and
    > mounting hardware from a newer car and do a conversion.
    > A q-lister who is parting out a V8 tried to help me out
    > but the Procon belt tensioning cables foiled his attempt
    > to remove stuff. I've also noticed in the family album
    > that there seems to have been various stages of evolution
    > in the front seat belt system. I'm feeling I may be better
    > off trying to make a conversion to a belt system closer in
    > model year to my own. Perhaps a '89 200.
    >
    > What was the first model year that Audi made front
    > seat belt tensioning part of the Procon system in the
    > type 44 cars? This and any other helpful type 44 seat
    > belt wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
    >
    > DeWitt Harrison
    > '88 5kcstq