1960s Removing rubber seat belt bracket cover for front seat belts - 68 Coupe Deville

[chrisbutnut]

I want to remove my front seat belts so I can clean them.  There is a rubber sleeve/cover that covers the end of the seat belts at the brackets where they bolt into the floor, just under and behind the rear seats.  One of the rubber covers is already torn.  I can't figure out how to remove these to expose the bolt that I need to take out to free the seat belts.  The rubber sleeve appears to be bolted down with the brackets.  It wraps around and underneath the seat belt brackets and I'm afraid if I try to pry it out from under the brackets I will further damage and tear it.

Any suggestions?  The photo below is of the cover that is already torn.  My seats were recovered and new carpet was installed, so I know these have been removed in the recent past.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

You do have to pry the end of the cover to free it from the metal end of the belts.   This is the only way to access the head of the bolts.

If the piece is hard, I would try heating it up with a Hair Drier.

Bruce.

[DeVille68]

as Bruce says, you need to lift up the rubber to get access to the bolt. Remove the bolt and then slide the belts through the rubber