New buttons for the seat belt buckle from Saab 900 and 9000
There is always something to do. Saab classics age gracefully, at best. Some parts, like the buttons for the seat belt buckle, become unsightly over the years and with repeated use. The buttons on the belt buckles not only wear out, they also get dirty.
The intensity with which this happens depends on the previous owner. There are vehicles that have a beautiful patina after 2 or 3 decades. And others that are, in parts, far from beautiful.
The buttons are unsightly and unhygienic
An extreme case is the Anna project (Link). The leather and carpets could be effectively cleaned after years of neglect. The door panel on the driver's side was exchanged for a new part, the steering wheel was reupholstered and the shift knob was replaced. The interior is now neat, a touch of pleasant patina has set in. Almost everything is good.
Except for the buttons on the seat belt buckles.
They were a lot more dirty black than red 7 years ago when the Saab came to me.
Clean? Not so easy. Because the buttons don't bear the predicate colourfast. With the use of various cleaners, the color changed more and more into a dingy pink, which is beyond the desired original condition. Since the button belongs on the list of trivialities, they were no longer an issue. I took the odd pink for granted. They continued to fulfill their function.
Button for belt buckles as replicas
Saab and Volvo specialist Skandix (Link) has new buttons in the program as replicas. They are an opportunity to improve the interior after years. At €15,11 each, they're not necessarily free, but I'm happy with any part that's replicated for classic Saabs.
Delivery is quick as always. Ordered on Thursday, the package will be there on Saturday.
I take the opportunity to tinker with the Saab in the late afternoon. The exchange is quick and can be done in just a few minutes, even for inexperienced users. A small, flat screwdriver is all you need to remove the old buttons. The new belt buckle buttons are inserted, click into place audibly and the job is done.
The principle was recognized after the first buckle, the other buckles follow every minute. The reproduction corresponds 100% to the original, the fit is perfect. The buttons also fit in the classic Saab 900, but unfortunately not for the successor models.
I am satisfied with the result. The buttons lit up inside, just like 22 years ago when the Saab was new. More importantly, the last memory of the unpopular and neglected history of the Anna project has disappeared from the interior. It's almost good now, except for the sky. The cover should also be renewed and is on the list for autumn.
One cannot praise it enough, such engagement.
It is often the little things that make classics unsightly, cost comfort and function.
Without replicas, much more would have to be built and tinkered. And unfortunately that happens too. Hardly any old Volvo is still on the road with the chic and actually indestructible three-point belts of the first and not yet automatic generation.
Does anyone know
Belt buckles as big and heavy as children's heads, the light gray belts as wide as the harness for a parachute, on the back seat by children or incompetent passengers twisted again and again into Gordian knots and artfully braided ...
They are as far away from the comfort and user-friendliness of younger systems as a fakir's nail board from a heated and ventilated car seat.
But when applied correctly and tightly, it is safer than the amen in church. They are (time) witnesses of a short phase of automobile construction, in which, particularly in Sweden, occupant protection was practiced for buyers of their own brand using the simplest means (belts, headrests and rigid bodies). Without assistance and airbags, without comfort and without worrying too much about the “opponents” (occupants of other brands, pedestrians and cyclists) ...
But I digress. I am grateful for any replica and have already bought some from Skandix. If not newly available, used parts are often weighed in gold. It is unbelievable what you can and must pay for old plastic.
After all, many parts for classic cars are also TÜV-relevant. The seat belt system in the interior and the lighting at the rear in any case. Faded “glasses” and cracks in the plastic of taillights are very popular. The more we get new, be it Saab or Volvo, the better and cheaper we move classics.
The price also seems fair to me. Especially since Orio itself also has simple plastic parts for younger models in its range many times over and obviously no longer feels responsible for all parts ...
It's also pretty cool that Skandix fills gaps here, but it's also sad that they have to.
I wouldn't have thought of anything like that, they still look good on me, but the door handles inside don't look so nice anymore, despite regular and careful care. You have little chance against soft paint.
So when reproducing parts, I would never have seriously thought about buckle buttons. But great that there is.
Thanks Tom, thanks Skandix. That is sustainability practiced. Next I would like the rubber nipples of the air vents in the dashboard. I built it yesterday in the workshop from a truck anti-slip mat. Somewhere in the depths of the warehouse is also a 3D printer, if someone has already dealt with this topic in connection with the reproduction of old parts, it might be worth a report. Stay healthy, greetings from Idsteiner Land.