In a message dated 10/17/98 11:00:41 PM Central Daylight Time,
windedarse@hotmail.com writes:
<< I plan to purchase an MG around Feb. and was wandering, in order to get
a car with a back seat, from what I can tell I would need an MGB GT.
Does this model come as a convertible?
All the photos I can find show it as a hardtop.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Rick >>
Rick,
The GT is the hard top and comes with a tiny back seat. You CAN put this same
seat into a roadster (convertable). The seat would be suitable for a kid big
enough to use a seat belt.
I installed one on my '73 B when my daughter was born a couple of years ago.
She hasn't used it yet because she still uses a car seat. With the top up,
there is a bit of room back there. When the top is down, the room is gone
because that's where the top is stored on a newer B. I need to get the
earlier, removable top frame (referred to as the "tinker toy top") next time a
new top is in order. This top stores in the trunk (boot) when it's down. This
would give some room when the top down too. My sons used to ride in this area
when they were in the 5 to 10 year old range. They just sat on the carpet, so
the seat should be a bit of an improvement. Of couse a seat belt would be
recommended.
I had the seat re-upholstered to match my front seats. While doing this we
gave a matching radius to the top of the back of the seat to match the curve
of the roadster body. The GT seat is straight in this area because there is no
radius (or even a panel) there. It's not absolutely necessary to do this, just
a nice touch.
By the way, I have an aquaintance who told me her folks had a B when she was
little. She tells a story of how once mom, dad and her where going for a ride
and cars kept honking and waiving at them. Mom and dad finally realized that
she had left the "back seat" area and had climbed out onto the luggage rack
(at highway speed, no less). They were so scared by this that they sold the
car soon after. Make sure you are very careful about when the top is down!!!
Obviously, she wasn't strapped in. I haven't told that story to my wife...
R. Johnson - Dallas
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