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MG TD TF 1500 - Moving the Pedals of a 52 TD

My Grand Father had started to restore a 1952 MG TD about 30 years ago,
then stoped and left it sit in his garage.

He died a few years ago.
I am in High School right now, and I am 6 foot 4.
I can't fit in the car and drive it safely.

I was originaly planing to just let the car go
and get a MG B GT.

But the more and more I think about it
the TD is so cool I just really don't want to let it go.

I think if I moved the pedals farther back, I don't know say four to eight inches,
I could sit in their and drive it safely.

Is this possible. And if so how easy.
My dad thinks it is possible, but he doesn't want me to get the car because
he thinks it will be impractical (we do live in san francisco and it is a pretty easy
car to break into...) and to much work to fix up.

So is it possible.
Well I guess anything is possible,
but is it relatively easy.

Please give me as many details as possible.
Thank you.
Eric Crizer

Moving the pedals foreward would require moving the clutch pivot rod in the frame, moving the pedal box and, changing the lengths of the clutch linkage and moving the brake piping. All can be done, but not easily. Most tall people have more problems with head clearance than with pedal distance on the TD.
George B.

Hello. I agree that moving the pedals would be a major undertaking. Some TD's have a 1" or so extension between the brake and clutch pedal arm and pad- removing this would gain an inch. The accelerator rod could easily be shortened. What about modifying the seats? I think that would be easier. Good luck!
George Butz

Eric,

Relocating the pedals is way too complicated. I would
recommend expending that effort on moving the seats
rearward. This could entail moving seat rails and bracketry rearward as much as possible.

I have friends who are 6-2 or taller who drive TDs
and TFs, so don't give up yet.

One beneficial change you can make is to reposition
the actual pedal faces so that they are further apart.
I imagine your feet will be getting in each other's
way with the standard positioning.

And spring for a pair of Brooklands aeroscreens so you
can safly drive with the windscreen folded flat. It's
a blast.

Reed Yates

I am 6 ft 3in and have a TD. I have the seat as far back as it will go. The seat back is almost touching the body behind. The greatest problem I have is getting in ( it may be due to my being an infexible 50 year old) but moving the seat back helps this problem. I would work on the seat position rather than the pedals and ensure the floor foot cavity available on the LHD US models is fitted.

regards

Alan
Alan Clapham

Thank you for all the ideas.

As far as moving the seat back, I have looked and in
this car it seems that the seat bottoms will move, but
not the seat back, it seems to be fixed.

Do you have a newer or older TD?
I think we looked at moving the seat farther back
and it doesn't seem to be possible.

I will have to take a more serious look.

It may be possible that my Grand father changed the seats,
the interior does look pretty new...

I appreciate your ideas please keep them coming,
I will take a closer look at the car to see about other options.


Eric Crizer

Eric,

I think they used the same seat adjusters on your 52 as on my 53. If you adjust the seat to its farthest rearward position, you should fit. I'm 6'2" and I don't keep my seat all the way back.

Let me describe the parts. Maybe that will help. Right behind your shoulder, near the top of each end of the seat back, you should find a large chrome (or rusty) wingnut. (It may have been replaced at some time by a normal nut, so don't give up if you can't find a wingnut.) Loosen that wingnut on both sides, so that it frees up the slotted bar it tightens down onto. This will allow the seat-back to move forward and back at its top.

The bottom of the seat-back is attached to the seat bottoms by a hinge, so that when you use the lever under the seat, and push backward, the bottom and the back of the seat move backward together. Sit down in the driver's seat, with a friend in the passenger side, and use the lever under the drivers seat to release the seat bottom so it will slide, while your friend does the same on the passenger side. Push the seat bottoms back as far as they will go. Now get out and make sure the top of the seat-back is moved as far back as it will go. The seat-back should be right up close to the wingnut behind your shoulder. (The wingnut stays in one place, while the seat-back moves) You should see the slotted bar, which is attached to the seatback, sticking out behind the wingnut, so that the wingnut is sitting in the farthest forward position in the slot. Tighten the wingnuts.

This process may solve your problem. I,ve found that it is difficult to move my seat forward and back just from the driver's seat, like you would in a normal car. Since both the driver,s and passenger's seats are attached to the seat-back, it helps to move them both at once, especially if you need to get the seat all the way back, like you do. Also, it works much better if I loosen the wingnuts holding the seat-back before I try to move the seats.

If that process does not get the seats far enough back so that you fit, you might gain another inch or two by relocating the bolts that hold down the front end of the sliding seat rails. (Look for them hidden under the carpet.) if the hinge that attaches the seat-back to the seat-bottom is not right up against the wall behind the seat when the seat is in its farthest rearward position, measure the gap between the hinge and the wall, and you can gain that much additional legroom by drilling new holes for the seat-rail bolts behind the original ones. (You will need to put threaded inserts in the new holes. You also may need new bolts, as they may be rusty after nearly fifty years.)

Good luck, and don't be bashful about asking for more help here if you need it. We love these cars, and we would be happy to help you get yours back on the road.

As to the practicality of the car: Your dad is right. If you don't mind learning to work on the car yourself, you can make it fairly reliable, but I don't think you should plan on using a car this old as a daily driver/commuter car, at least not without a full-blown mechanical restoration.

Ted

Ted Preston

Eric:
Your grandfather saved that car just for you, so I would advise you to try to hold on to it...it is now a legacy in your family, and like all egacies, it takes some tlc!!!

I am 6 foot 4, and I vintage RACE a 1950 TD!!! I made two adjustments that will work for you: make sure you have the steering wheel adjusted backward (out of the column--toward your stomach), so it is right over your belt buckle--this way it will not rub your legs. The nut to loosen the steering adjustment is forward of the spiral-wound chrome covering on the steering column. Loosen the nut, pull the steering wheel back toward you, then tighten the nut.

Per the instructions in others' responses...make sure you have the seat bottom all the way back, and the seat back all the way back. You will not find anything close to a really comfortable driving position (like in modern sports cars), but you WILL be able to drive safely. I raced this way for a while before someone offered me seats from an MGA, which is what I have in the car now. Not original, but in vintage racing seating can be backfitted to suit!

Good Luck!

Jeff
Jeff Brown

You can get another couple of inches by unscrewing the hinge from the bottom of the driver's seat and repostioning it forward. This will also give a little more lumbar support.

Andy Moyce
52 TD
Andy Moyce

This thread was discussed between 17/10/2000 and 20/10/2000

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