Well, I wanted to write a month or so ago soon after I changed the oil in my wife’s car—and dumped three of four fresh quarts down the fill chute until I realized I had never put the plug back in the pan..... But I knew I’d soon top that one. So here it is.
After an on-again, off-again resto, I am finally to the point where the mach is almost finished—and am planning to have it inspected on Saturday. One of the last things I needed to do was install the seatbelts. Well, as they probably look like most you might find in the junkyard—old and ugly. And I was debating how I was going to freshen them up. Either I could send ‘em off to snake-oyyl (and shell out $500), OR, I could surf the old forum - which I did. I’m surprised there was not too much info on the subject..... But I did find a post from MikeO that recommended cooking your belts in Rit dye.
So, that’s what I did - buckles, belts, hardware, plastic, everything. I figured, MikeO did it, and the Rit dye directions said “boil water - soak for 30 minutes”. Well....GOOOOOOOHLEAAAAAAAAAa!!!!! What was I thinking!?! Two of my rear lap belt buckles now look like they’ve been through WWIII - warped and narley and bent and twisted and utterly unuseable. Fortunately, that’s all I ruined—I cranked down the heat and soaked the rest. My wife had a good time giving me the business—until I threatened to spill the cauldron of dye in her kitchen...And double fortunately, I had another pair of the two belts I ruined. Anyway, Rit dye works wonders. The belts look great, and I’ve still got my $500! If you decide to take that route, just don’t follow the directions on the Rit box EXACTLY... Good luck.
70 Mach 1 (351C 4V 4-speed) I've been restoring since '96. 95% complete. Also have a '68 HT (289 2-speed) that I restored between '97-98 and is FOR SALE! The VMF has proven to be an invaluable resource for information, humor and excellent advice.