Bob:
I am 6' and my wife is 5'-1" and we have a 67 BGT that we both drive.
We had the same problem and this is what I did to solve it.
I obtained a pair of 69 seats with the headrests and adjustable backs
(we wanted the comfort for long travel). They are about 1" narrower in
the seat width than the early B,. but this solution would also have
worked with the early seats.
I removed the seats and fabricated two new wooden seat rail bases that
TAPER (ramp up) from 1/4" in the rear to 1&1/2" in the front. They are
the same length as the metal mounting rails. This raises the seat as it
moves forward for the short person, giving better driving position. The
wood bases were cut on my table saw from a piece of 2"x8" pressure
treated (well cured and dry) pine that I had on hand.
The new bases are nominal 1&3/8" wide. MOUNT the base rails directly on
the bases by drilling a few holes and BOLT the rails to the base.
Countersink holes for nuts and use washers so the finish mount is flush
on the bottom of of the wood base. Also if needed, grind down the bolt
heads slightly (outboard track only) so they will not interfere with
track travel and seat catch.
IMPORTANT! Mount the metal tracks flush to the LEFT (outboard) on the
wooden bases. This moves the seat over 1/2" to the left when installed
in the car. This also means you will have to REVERSE the track on the
inboard mount (this is doable if you also remove and REVERSE the inboard
rail mount on the seat frame) Now drill new mounting holes 1/2" to the
right of the original mounting holes (outboard side only) for the floor
bolts and get some longer bolts for the front holes (reversing tracks on
the inboard eliminates the need to move the mounting holes -- just use
the regular holes). Use a strong washer under the heads when
installing and grind down the hex head to half its depth (on the outboard
track with the seat catch only) to insure free track travel.
I then removed the STOP COLLAR (the bolt with the collar on the seat
mounted track with the seat catch. I discovered this stop often
interferes with track travel and in my mind is unecessary. Clean the
tracks well and lube the grooves with a good spray lubricant (silicone
won't last)..wipe off any excess.
Before installation, mount everything on the seat and measure the
distance between mount holes (inboard - outboard) -- they should be
12-1/2", both front and back
This will probably gain 2-3" of travel to the front...my wife now has
more than enough adjustment. I also did this to the passenger seat so
they look the same (mounted on ramp bases)
Hope this helps. Phil Bacon 67 BGT, 72 TR6
On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 20:42:57 -0600 "engl" <engl@cableregina.com> writes:
> In spring I bought a '65 MGB for my wife (yes ... really!). She's a
> bit on
> the short side (5'2") and cannot reach the pedals. The front seat
> seems to
> be as far forward as it will go as the seat frame hits the
> transmission
> tunnel. She's OK (just barely) driving the car with a pillow behind
> her
> back, but I was wondering if there is some adjustment I can make to
> make the
> car more comfortable for her. At this point my thought is to make a
> padded
> seat back cover for her, but would prefer a simpler solution if one
> is
> available.
>
> Bob
>
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