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MG MGB Technical - Fitting MGF seats

One of my friends believes that MGF seats are narrow enough to fit in an MGB. He understands they have been fitted in midgets.

Has anyone out there done this? What problems did you have?

I am not to bothered about getting the runners in the same place.

Thanks
David
David Witham

David

Don't know about MGF seats, but ZR/R25 seats have to be adjusted

http://www.upgrades4mgs.co.uk/

Jason
Jay Smith

Get your tape measure and go find an MGF seat to measure. I always thought they were too wide. Mazda MX-5 (Miata) seats will fit.
Mike Howlett

Hi.
I have been told a while ago they are to wide.

Colin
Colin Lanning

I had the same cunning plan, but they wouldn't quite fit (by no more than the adjuster knob). They did fit in our Midget though, who would have though a Midget was a sahde wider than a B between tunnel & sill.
Paul Walbran

I think in the site mentioned above, the ZR seat covers and foams were fitted to the existing frames with a modified headrest mount.

The website also shows MGF seats fitted, but it is in fact the seat back frame fitted to the old B seat base frame. There's not much detail on how this was done.

The other two well known seats are Mazda MX5 and Fiero also shown on that site, and another one that seems to fit in but I've not yet actually seen finished are the new MINI front seats.
Hendrick Smit

I fitted Saab 9000 Seats to my B. They are very comfortabele but the LH seat cannot be set as far forward as the original ones.

Cutting back the frame of the Saab seats and discharging all that electric stuff (seat positioning motor, seat lift motor, all with gears and the Memory blackbox, i welded the frames to the lower MG frames. The motor for adjusting the back rest was kept as the seat heater was. If someone wants to try it, you will have to change them left to right side, due to the loxodrome knop that must point to the middle in the MGB.
When i compare these seats and the comfort they offer compared to the std. ones in the GTV8, i know why Saab cars are that expensive!

Ralph
Ralph

Thanks Paul. Having seen MGF seats in a Midget (a tight fit) but never in a B I was sure there would be a reason.

While the B cabin is wider door card to door card the step of the sill and the width of the tunnel must make the actual floors a bit narrower.
David Witham

Oddly enough, the Midget tunnel is a tad wider than the B (1/2" as I recall), and I seem to think where the F seats didn't quite make it was at the rear where the chassis rail blends to the inner sill and narrowas the floor space.

Thinking about it, the B is only 6" wider than the Midget overall, yet the sills and doors are around 4"-5" a side thicker than the Midget. I suppose that accounts for the slightly wider floor and tunnel.
Paul Walbran

Does anyone know why the modern Classic Seats offered by Moss are specified only for MGB 1968 on? There should be more room in the early cars with narrow gearbox tunnel?

Tore
Tore

Well, this thread convinced me that this was worth looking into in more depth, so I have just bought two MGF seats, and picked up two B seat frames.

I took the cover off one of the MGF seats.

The seat cushion fits onto the B frame. It will need to be cut in width at the rear to fit between the pivots of the frame, and it will need the plastic rails cutting off on the three other sides so that it will clip onto the frame. This doesn't look difficult.

I have pulled the back rest cover over the back frame of the B seat. It certainly goes over it, but of course there is nothing to fix it to, and nothing inside the side cushions, so it's not going to stay like that.

So, I'm now working on how to fit the F back frame onto the B lower frame.

The tubular part is of almost the same width, but not the same shape. The B frame is curved in top view, and the F frame is flat, with projecting "wings" in the side cushions, and with a wire and spring lumbar support in front of the frame, so they don't start at the same place at the base.

Since I want to continue to be able to flip the seat backs forward to get access to the rear of the car, I'm going to use the B pivot and adjusting mechanism, and graft the upper part of the F frame to it.

Half an hour with a hacksaw has left me with the two parts which now need to go together. The frame part of the F back without the pivot, and the pivot part of the B frame without the frame. The F frame will have to fit behind the pivot, whereas the B frame was in front, but the different shape means that the surface of the cusion will be in about the same place.

I have some more cutting to do to get this to fit well, and then some welding and it should be done.

I'll keep you posted.

David

David Balkwill

Very interesting David, I think I might explore the same direction.
Paul Walbran

How do you post photos on here? It's a bit far for you to pop round and have a look Paul!
David Balkwill

This thread was discussed between 27/05/2008 and 06/06/2008

MG MGB Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGB Technical BBS is active now.