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MG MGA - Coupe seats

I bought a coupe five years ago and let it sit up for that period of time and recently decided it was time to clean it up and start driving. The PO had almost destroyed the drivers seatback - and the steering wheel - levering himself in and out (he was somewhat portly) and so I welded up the damage to the drivers seatback frame and reupholstered the seats. Then I sat down in the car and was surprised at how uncomfortable the seats were.

The seatbacks, both the one I repaired and the passenger seat which I only upholstered, sit very vertical compared to my roadster's seats which tilt back somewhat. I put a seatback from my roadster into the coupe and it "sits" just like the roadster.

So, I suppose my question is: is this the way coupe seats came and are suppose to be?; or has some PO (I think there were two)really screwed up the seat back frames? I simply made the broken drivers seatback frame look like the passenger seatback frame, since it was all in one piece and, I presumed, correct. So, I guess if my reference frame was incorrect, now both are incorrect. I have not been in or around any other coupes (to my knowledge there are no others here in South Texas) and so have no experience or comparisons to draw from.

J.T. Watson

I don't know how important authenticity is, but I saw an MGA Coupé at the British Invasion (Stowe, VT) a couple of years ago that was fitted with a pair of Fiero leather seats. I had to look twice and this was only confirmed when the owner came by and I was able to ask him. But they looked very similar.

The owner said they were vastly more comfortable than the orig. Coupé seats. He got them from Mr. Mikes at http://www.mrmikes.com, and that ingress and egress was also improved.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A. Clark

J.T. Watson,
When I did my coupe I fabricated two wedges from steel, that support the seat rails the entire length, that reaised the front of the seat 1.25". This made the seat slope back and much more comfortable. It also closed the distance between your legs and the steering wheel so you can't raise it too much. Hope this helps and have a good day!

John
John Progess

Were the plywood tack strips replaced and are they the correct thickness? Is there an excess buildup of seat covering material on the underside? It doesn't take much to wedge the seat back up too high where the bottom rail contacts the seat base.
John DeWolf

I did replace the tack strips but was sure to keep their height below the level of the stops built into the frame base which ride on the base rail. I removed all of the previous upholstry materials and rebuilt the seats ala chapter nine of Malcome Green's book.

Jon
J.T. Watson

JT

Other than your comfort issues, how do the seats look? I'm about to reupholster mine and was also going to use Malcom Green's photo primer as a guide.

Regards,
M.D.
'57 coupe
M. D.

Hi, i have only wedged as per John Progress indicated the driver side seat to make it more confortable and was able to fit in the car with this minor modification and changed the steering wheel for a smaller diameter one.

Looks ok and no one noticed yet the wedges.

Cheeers,

Jean Marc
Jean Marc

This thread was discussed between 19/02/2006 and 23/02/2006

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