Automatic to Manual Belt swap

[audioxpert09]

Hello I am kind of new to festiva swapping and I was wondering if anyone has advise and/or pictures on the manual belt swap. I only have a set of manual belts... What is different with the headliner/pillar cover. I have read in many threads that there are differences but nobody says WHAT those differences are. Any advise or help will be appreciated. Thank you!

[audioxpert09]

has anyone done this with out the trim pieces and headliner??

[SimonTuffGuy]

I have a set of manual belts in my car... It bolts in like the stock ones did. Unfortunately, I don't have any interior pieces (headliner, pillar covers, etc) yet... I'm searching for a mint 88-89 headliner that'll go in place and the covers for the A, B & C pillars.

You can do it without... And you can use the healiner from a 90+, there's just a gap from where the automatic seatbelt trim panel went that's not covered... It's not TOO ugly, but it's not that pretty either.

Just remove the trim panels, remove the bolts and retainers, unclip the wiring harness and the automatic belt will pull out. In fact, I still have a set in my basement from my first Festiva when I pulled them out... The manual belt has 2 holes it can be put in... I used the lower of the 2 because I'm shorter and it made the belt lay better on my shoulder. You'll have to make some sort of bracket for where the belt retracts into... I've seen just a small piece of metal hold it in... I think the PO of mine has it zip tied in... lol

I'm going for a set of harnesses once I get my cage/bar and seats.

[audioxpert09]

nice thanks for the info!

[audioxpert09]

does anyone have any pictures of it?

[stefan]

^- pictures of anything in specific? im converting mine, and im going the whole way 100% - new carpet, seats, pillar moldings, headliner, center console, and the belts obviously.

[audioxpert09]

can i see the pillar moldings and headliner?

[Damkid]

when i brought a festiva back accross the border they said some cars can come into canada, and some can't, so i asked about it, i guess one of the reasons is because canada (at least Ontario) passed a law against having automatic seatbelts in ANY car

So whoever is looking to convert to manual belts, find a car in ontario, and chances are it has manual belts, i know i had never seen the automatic belts til the spring meet last year

[stefan]

^-- none of the festivas shipped to canada had auto seatbelts

here is a pic of the vinyl headliner



you can also see the b-pillar moldings on the left side

here it is installed along with a&b pillar moldings

[audioxpert09]

What holds the headliner in place that sits over the door?

[mattswabb]

What holds the headliner in place that sits over the door?

It is pulled tight and glued underneath. The rubber moulding holds it also.

Here's a pic of mine. I did the swap but I had everythig from a parts car.

[stefan]

What holds the headliner in place that sits over the door?

for the long stretches in the openings theres moulded plastic strips that clip onto the edge under the rubber gasket.

[Sleeper]

I have 2 parts cars....I should check and see if they have good headliners......It's very hard to find good headliners these days!!!