Man George, what would I give for a nice double latch like that instead of two floppy cable-mounted things always getting in the way of the seat or the adjuster levers

Closer inspection, with a pencil light, showed a small piece of metal keeping the spring from extending. Probably a part of the latch mechanism rather than debris, but nonetheless its removal with small very long-nose pliers has put the latch back in operation again. When I tested the latch, I did have a small moment of doubt, wondering if the metal I removed might have disabled the release button, but all is well. No spares or NOS needed.

Thanks Mur, and yes, Ian, I tried pressing, jiggling, poking and prodding, to no avail.

Have you tried pressing down on the release button??  Sometimes I've found similar latches to "hang up" and doing a "release" can reset them..

 

Good luck, Ian

That is not the original latch for that car, though I think the belts are original.  Marcel May have what you need.  Will look into it for you.

Picture looks like it's gonna be sideways for some reason, but the question is, can the latch be made to work? Got out of the car at the last check-point of the ABFM rally, and when I got back in the car, my seatbelt wouldn't latch. If no one else is in the car, I can use the passenger side, but my winning (yes First Place) navigator Jeff Zurschmeide was in that seat. Gave a ride to vacationing Nick Upton, who said it can't be fixed. Anyone want to step up to that challenge? 1979 Canadian car originally. (Or failing a fix, anybody got a look-alike replacement?)