Beginning to fray after 45 years, new original style seatbelts were no longer available for my vehicle, so I started looking for used ones online without much luck. Then I thought of having them re-webbed and found Ssnake-Oyl. The main page of their website has an entire paragraph dedicated to quality, saying they use the highest quality products to restore the belts to factory appearance. They claim to have original patterns, and that they can usually supply missing parts. They also mention a thorough quality control inspection prior to shipping. This seemed like a pricey but good option ($242 for two belts) - I was willing to pay extra to keep the car as original in appearance as possible.
Despite being one of the most common vehicles ever made, they did not have webbing that matched the original pattern - or anything similar to it. I was mailed a black swatch for approval. Disappointed, I still went ahead - the old belts were so frayed they seemed dangerous. A few months went by (months, plural). I got the belts back and took them out of the box to install in the car. Immediately I noticed one of the rivets had fallen off. They also did not look like the originals - they were much larger in diameter, had obvious tool marks, were very shiny, and the metal had a very thin, cheap appearance. Concerned that other rivets might also be bad, I gave each of them a gentle pull. Ultimately 2 of the 8 failed - a 25% failure rate seemed unacceptable so I contacted Ssnake-Oyl about getting them repaired. I asked that they use something of higher quality, but I was told that was the only rivet they used. When mailing the belts back for repair, I included a note stating that given the price, the quality of the rivets was unacceptable and that I wanted them to obtain and use a higher quality part. The belts were mailed back to me the second time fixed, but with the same chintzy rivets.
One of the two belts was also missing a plastic cover piece - this was not replaced, or even addressed. The webbing was also not cut particularly straight - the loose ends could be seen at the buckles where the originals were hidden.
Sso in Ssummary:
* Original factory appearance? No
* Supply missing part? No
* Original pattern web? No
* Highest Quality Products? No
* Quality inspection? Not effective if performed
* Wait time? Months
* Price? Very high
As the name "Ssnake-Oyl" would suggest, they are selling a product made with ordinary parts that does not exactly live up to inflated promises of greatness.
Wanting to drive the car while the belts were being worked on for so long, I eventually found some at a local junk yard. Although mildly worn, at least they were original looking, and in better shape than my originals. Looking back on the process, I should have gone to the junk yard first. It was cheaper, faster, and the belts look like originals because they are originals. Maybe other people have had better experiences with this company, but my experience solidly earned Ssnake-Oyl Products the Yelp rating "Meh, I've experienced better." read more
