The first time I was at the junkyard I noticed two slightly different styles on the 70s Ford trucks. So I had to get photos from my brother to see which style was the correct one.
I found three pickups with a seat belts I wanted. Here is the one I worked on. Another pickup had no wheels or rims and was very low to the ground. What I could see looked like the nut was corroded on the bolt. The third pickup had the nut in a channel and difficult to remove.
I took tools on my second visit to the junkyard last week. I found my crescent wrench was too small and I also needed a star socket wrench. I borrowed the tools I needed from the junkyard owner. But the bolt's nut was under the cab and exposed to dirt and water. Therefore the nut was "frozen" on the bolt.
I went back to the junkyard office and an employee gave me a large crescent wrench and a bar to use as leverage. I still couldn't get the nut off. It is hard to get leverage laying on ones back.
The third time that day I went back to the office the junkyard dog was having a fit about me. The first time the dog was ok. The second time he barked a few times and made a fuss over me. The third time the owner had to intervene as the dog was going nuts over me. We had no idea why. During my third visit the owner was annoyed by his dog and me. I tried to get him or an employee do a quick check on my crescent wrench so I could size the nut. The owner complained I was wasting his time. One of his employees checked and told me the nut was an inch.
Another pickup with a similar seat belt had the nut under the cab in a channel. It appeared the only way to get the nut on or off was with a socket wrench. But the nut was square and all my sockets were either 6 or 12 point sockets.
I checked several pawn shops that had a good tool selection. They didn't have a 4 point socket nor had seen them in a long time. I checked with several of my neighbors who have a good tool selection. One had a 7/8 inch square socket and the other had a few more old square sockets with the largest being 15/32. I needed a 1 inch socket.
Today I visited the junkyard with the sockets I had in case the sizing was wrong and the sockets would work. They didn't. I also brought a 1 inch box wrench and a hammer to beat on the wrench. The nut wouldn't budge. My neighbor and I earlier had discussed Plan B which was to get a 1 inch square metal tube that I could slip over the nut and then sitting by the pickup I could use a pipe wrench and get some leverage to loosen the nut.
First I visited a second junkyard and they had a faded seat belt. They even went out and got the seat belt while I waited. It only cost me $20. Why didn't I think of visiting them earlier?
Here is the seat belt. The seat belt is black. However the part that is always out has faded to gray.
Now to remember to have Tammy take the seat belt with her on the train when she passes through North Dakota on Friday.
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