[cplus]

In case this is useful to anyone else, here's some information on fabricating a buckle that can be used with the airbag deactivation bar. Since Tool Pants said some people had luck with 944 buckles, I called Parts Heaven and bought one. I guess they just the buckle off an old lap belt, at least that what it looked like when I got it. The cost was under $25, including shipping.

Using the images as a guide, I made a small notch in the tongue. The notch is 5mm, flairing to abou 8mm at the tip. But the buckle was a few mm too wide, so I filed it down to 22mm. Now the buckle would slide in the latch, but wouldn't actually lock into place. I made up a duplicate out of aluminum stock and found that the tongue would need to be about 38-40 mm long in order to lock, but the 944 buckle was shorter (probably 38 mm). So I filed back some of the plastic-covered base to make the tongue the correct length.

Once it was the correct width and length, the buckle slotted in with a solid "click." I started the car and the airbag light flashed for 60 seconds, then went off. Just as it should.

Here's a pic and an outline with some measurements.