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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - MG TF Seats fitting advice

Okay so I bought the half leather Alcantara seats for my beloved 1974 Mirage Grey Midge. Much better but would love to hear from anyone who has fitted these and how they did that. I am presuming a certain amount of drilling using the runners from the new seats ? I am also assuming that the side facing runner fixing hole aligns with the seat belt nut ?

My weekend job is lining up !

Phil
P E Dorrell

Swap them over so backrest control is against the centre tunnel. You can still adjust the backrest that way with your finger tips. Also, the driver gets the seat in best condition. I cut off all the brackets on the bottom runners, welded a 3mm thick strip near the back approximately where the rear mounting holes are in the floor. At the front I welded a 1" square tube of 2mm thick (all metal bought from B&Q) so the space in between was the same (centre to centre between the strips) as the distance between front and back mountings in the floor. You need the front higher than the back by at least 1". Some keep the original front fixings on the runners but they will end up quite far forward so extra holes will be needed in the floor. I preferred the way I described so I could retain the original fixing positions.

The Alcantera type are TF (I think) and some have said slightly narrower than F seats.

The backrests are quite deep so if you have a roll bar you might find it difficult to adjust if you have long legs. I'm lucky in that I am 6' tall but my legs are quite short. I have also found the standard steering wheel makes getting out slightly harder so I am thinking of fitting a slightly smaller one.

One thing you will notice is that the car is a lot faster with MGF/TF seats. I kid you not. And so comfortable that long journeys are no longer a chore.

Good luck. Enjoy

Rob
Rob aka MG Moneypit

"I cut off all the brackets on the bottom runners, welded a 3mm thick strip near the back approximately where the rear mounting holes are in the floor. At the front I welded a 1" square tube of 2mm thick (all metal bought from B&Q) so the space in between was the same (centre to centre between the strips) as the distance between front and back mountings in the floor. You need the front higher than the back by at least 1". Some keep the original front fixings on the runners but they will end up quite far forward so extra holes will be needed in the floor. I preferred the way I described so I could retain the original fixing positions."

Have you got a picture of that description Rob?
Lawrence Slater

Thanks Rob I appreciate that. That was one of my options to create my own cross-piece and use this to be the bar that I attach using the original holes. I was not aware that I have to heighten the back though. Can I get away without doing that as the seats seem to be pretty tight against the roll-bar as it is ?

Cheers.

Phil
P E Dorrell

Phil. You don't need the backs higher. I cut off the rear mounts and did as Rob did, welded a strip across the bottom of the runners and drilled them so I could use the original mounting holes. At the front I kept the F mounting lugs and drilled fresh holes. The F seats put you a bit closer to the wheel, but as Rob says, they are very comfortable especially on long journeys. I have a 12 inch steering wheel so getting in and out is not a problem.

Bernie.
b higginson

Similar, we have the front of the runners an inch higher than the rear. Tried it initially at the same level but not as comfortable.
Paul Walbran

Lawrence, sorry don't have pics but when I did it I searched the archive for images. Arie posted some which show what I did.

Phil, as Bernie said you need the fronts higher than backs. 1 inch higher at the front is ok for me as my legs rest on top of the seats quite comfortably. If you have longer legs than me, raising the front a little higher might be more comfortable but the gap between seat and steering wheel gets smaller.

The bar at the back I welded to the underside of the runners so I suppose this does raise the back by a little but that gets lost in the carpet and underlay whan you clamp the seats to the floor.

Mine cost £35 for a pair off eBay Buy-It-Now. Cheapest performance mod ever (hope no insurance agents are reading this!!!!!)

Rob
Rob aka MG Moneypit

OK thanks Rob. I have Aries' Pics. I'm just collecting versions, prior to getting around to installing the MGF seats into the midget I've been butchering. I bought mine off ebay too. £49.15 inc postage. Cloth, in fantastic condition.

I don't know if I'm even going to like them yet. Bought them on a whim as they were cheap and all here rave about them.
Lawrence Slater

I drilled out some rivets and threw away all the seat adjusting stuff. Bolted seats directly to the floor, using cross car brackets with the front 1.5 inches higher. There is now a lot of space in mine, but less for a bar. Tops are squashy though.
Rob Armstrong

This thread was discussed between 14/03/2014 and 17/03/2014

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.