I have removed seat belts on several old Oldsmobiles over the years, including the '73 Custom Cruiser I once owned. It was always a bit of a pain in the neck, but usually after enough grunting and whatnot, they finally came loose.

Now I want to replace the carpet in my '73 Delta 88, and the seat belt bolts in this car are in there tighter than I've ever encountered. I've sprayed with PB Blaster, but they just won't budge. It's difficult to get a good turn on them because the Torx opening is not all that deep and because the socket wrench wants to twist away depending on how long an extension is being used.

Any ever resort to an angle grinder to just cut the head of the bolt off? I don't mind drilling out the screw left behind and even tapping new thread is needed. I can't get to the other side of the outboard belt bolts because they're enclosed in the frame.

Thanks.

 

Have you tried with a cheater or breaker bar yet? It's undoubtedly a tight fit but grinding, drilling and tapping would be a PITA.

 

Looks like you wont be using a torx bit.

You may have to heat them from the back side and use vise grips.

 

I kicked myself for not thinking of this. I have two of them.

50% success. I have the two transmission-hump bolts out. One came out with just the breaker bar and the torx bit. The other loosened slightly with the torx bit before the bit started to round out the inside of the bolt. But after a lot of heavy lifting, I was able to get a pipe wrench around it and loosen it.

But the two outboard belts/bots? No dice. In both cases, the torx bit just rounded out the inside of the bolt. So I think it's now down to grinding them out.

 

There is no way to get at the back sides of the outboard bolts because they're encased in the frame. I can try heating them, but that's more of a last resort. I don't want anything catching fire unless it has to.

 

Unfortunately the Torx recesses are toast. If you have a welder, weld a nut to the top of the bolt. Use an impact wrench to break them free. Alternately, use a cutoff wheel to cut flats into the head and put a wrench on it. I've found that an impact wrench works wonders on seized fasteners like this. Use wet rags to protect the surroundings if you plan to weld.

 

I do not have a welder. I do have an impact wrench, and I tried that. Nothing. Just a lot of vibrating but no loosening.

I think I'll be trying cutting the flats in the heads and using a wrench. But one thing I might try before this is removing the belt housing (I know I'll have to cut some plastic to remove them, but I have others I can use) and getting a pipe wrench around the heads of the bolts. The issue is just getting the area around the bolt flat enough.

 

This is a case where an air or electric impact gun comes in handy. Plenty of penetrating oil on the threads from underneath and then the impact's hammer action "should" break these ornery fasteners loose. Course looks like you're a little past that now.

I had to do this job on the 93 F150 a few months ago when the driver's seat belt buckle would no longer latch and I switched it out with the rarely-if-ever-used center passenger's buckle. A 1/2 drive Torx bit and a big breaker bar wouldn't touch it but me Campbell Hausfeld air impact, set at highest torque, convinced the bolts to come out.

Bolts got a light coat of never-seez on reinstallation, though it's doubtful they ever come out again.

 

Those suckers are always a pain to loosen.

 

Yes. The factory bolts use thread locker. One option is to drill a small hole in the floorpan reinforcement from the underside to allow you to spray penetrating oil directly on the threads.

 

Use the small vice grip on it

 

OK, the seat belts are out. I bought an angle grinder yesterday and ground the heads off of the two outer bolts. (I was able to remove the inner bolts, on the transmission tunnel, using a breaker bar). I will have to drill out the bolts so I can thread new ones, but at least the seat belts are out, and I can proceed with replacing the carpet.

The problem with trying to use vice-grips is leverage. You can get the vice-grips or a pipe wrench like I had to do with one of the bolts to grab the bolt head. But try to put any force into turning it. It's is impossible. Who was it that said "give me a long-enough lever and I can move the world?" That's the key, and that's why the breaker bar worked. But even that wasn't enough with one of the outer bolts. I could get the breaker bar to move, but all I was doing was twisting the threads on the torx bit I was trying to use. In the case of the one inner bolt where I needed the pipe wrench, the pipe wrench itself wouldn't have been enough to turn it. I was able to turn it about 1/4 turn with the torx bit and breaker bar, and then the bolt wouldn't move anymore, and I couldn't keep the torx bit from popping out. But I was able to get the pipe wrench on it (it helps to have the seats out!) and turn it.

I am leaving the rear seat belts in place. There is no reason to remove them, and they would be even worse than the fronts because the bolts are down deep. I tried the torx bit and no luck.

Those two rubber mats on the driver foot area and right rear footwell I put there to replace the carpet underlayment, which had deteriorated. That wire snaking across the middle is the left rear speaker. A previous owner mounted speakers behind the rear seat. The wire was originally running along the door sill, and I will put it back there. From what I can see, the only way to get at the speakers is to remove the rear seat back, and that requires removing the outboard rear seat belts. This suggests that those belts have been removed before, but God help me trying to do it now. Fortunately, I have no need to get at those speakers.




As almost always happens when taking the passenger compartment apart this much, interesting things were found. In this case, I did find a broadcast card up under the front seat on the right side, and I found a carpet tag under the carpet giving the manufacturer, date of manufacture, and color. I also found a screwdriver that looks like it was last used by Benjamin Franklin. I also found about $1.25 in change, and I guarantee you that those coins had more purchasing power when they were lost than they do now!

I know that Lansing-built cars like this one won't have a build sheet, but broadcast cards do seem to be findable.





The broadcast card was stapled to the seat, and it's the area around the staple that deteriorates and gets rust stains like this one has. But we can make out a few things. The date in the upper left 6/28 is consistent with this car being a late model-year build. The cowl tag build date is 06D, fourth week of June. The date of manufacture on the carpet tag, 6/11/73, also fits with this. It also indicates that this is the original carpet.

A little google searching reveals that Barwick Mills was a major carpet supplier through the '60s and '70s but ran into internal problems after that and went out of business in the 1980s.

https://www.floordaily.net/flooring-...cally-signific

The 3BN67 next to the date is same thing that it says on the cowl tag. 3 = Oldsmobile, BN = Delta 88 Royale (I think B = B-body and N = D-88 Royale), and 67 = convertible body style.

As I've said elsewhere, this car is very low optioned. On this card, I can see A65 at the far left in box 1, C90 in box 7, and what looks like Y60 in box 11 at the right. A65 also appears on the cowl tag. These codes don't always correspond to what you find in the dealer specs book. I don't know what A65 or Y60 is. C90 corresponds to courtesy lamps, which the car has, so it might be that. Anyone know about the others?

 

A65 notchback front seat w/ center armrest

C90 front door courtesy lamps

Y60 convenience group but doesn't say what's included. My guess is trunk and underhood lamps, maybe a visor vanity mirror.

 

Thanks. The car does have all of those