Does anyone have a good source for aftermarket seat belts for a '74 240D? Lap seat belts would be fine, although the shoulder strap belts could work too. I just bought this car to get around town and I need to get my kids' car seats fastened back there. Thanks.

There are generic lap belts at pretty much any car parts store for about $15 each. They actually work really well for kids car seats. They don't retract, so they actually hold car seats more securely than retractable belts. It is an easy swap into a w115. Just pull up the seat bottom and you get access to all the belt hardware.

My wife has a modern car with all the "latch" anchor systems in it, but I believe just using the cheap lap belts in my 220d is equally good.

__________________
1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

Only if the seat is then fitted properly in the belts - I think the major benefit to ISO fix is that it is hard for any moron not to fit the seat adequately. I have seen some very loose child seats fitted to conventional three point seat belts. You really need to put your whole adult weight into the car seat before you tighten the seat belts on the car - otherwise your child in its child seat is just like a big swing ball...

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

You might check with some of your better autoparts suppliers - NAPA, CarQuest etc....
I got some vintage style lap & shoulder belts from J C Whitney, for a '60 Fintail 220S several years ago. At the time J C Whitney listed several styles of vintage & modern aftermarket seat-belts.
However, every Mercedes built since the late '60s, that I've seen or owned, had at least lap-belts in the rear. Are yours missing, damaged or worn-out? If not, perhaps they've just slipped under the rear seat-cushion.
There IS an issue that seat-belts should probably be replaced every 10 -15 years or so, due to deterioration of the fabric from UV & weather exposure. But if that's your concern, then you'd want to replace ALL your belts - a different can-o-worms!

Happy Motoring, Mark

__________________
DrDKW

Thanks for the replies. The rear belts in his car are broken, I like the sounds of replacing with some generic lap belts from O'Reilly's. And yes, I know of what you speak about getting those tight on a car seat. Full bodyweight.