MG MGB and MGB GT Tech Talk
I need to reduce the height of my seat so I do not have to look over the windshield. I am 6'4" and weigh around 290lbs, so I can't scrunch down too much. Can I take the seat rails off and somehow attach the seats to the floor. Has anyone had this problem or know how to lower the seats another way. Thanks for ANY help in advance.
Yes, that has been a problem for many. Do a search and I think you will find many threads on this subject. I think some folks have tried taking it off the rails, but not sure how that would work. When we were rebuilding our car, we took about 1" or so off the foam for the seats and that seemed to be the most common solution. Since then, Kelvin Dodd, who works at Moss had a post with a discussion about this subject and this is a solution he offered: "I haven't tried this yet, but one way to get the seat bottom to be more comfortable/lower would be to take off the diaphragm/strapping and carefully run a hole saw about 1" into the foam directly below the butt area, then tear out the core samples. This should reduce the stiffness of the foam in this area giving a sort of "Dunlopillo" effect. (this was the brand name of the egg crate type foam used on many saloons of the time period)." He felt that this would give better support to the thigh area. Sorry, but I just copied his comments and not the link, but you could probably search for it and find the whole post. FWIW, it isn't only tall people who have that problem, Steve. Joe is probably 5'9 or 10" and had that problem, too. Of course, since I am barely 5'1", I have to sit on a pillow to see over the wipers, but that isn't a huge issue. Also, we have attached a block of wood so I can use the clutch. Which also reminds me of another thread from a guy who was over 6 feet who had an issue with his knees hitting the dash. I think he figured out how to get the seat back another inch or two. Good Luck!
Barb
Steve,
Try this, take the seat off and attach a few links of chain between the hooks that hold the straps/diaphragm and the rails then reinstall. This way you can adjust the height some with a non-destructive method.
I seen Arnold do it in a movie. He just tore out the drives seat and went for it. Should work for you.
I replaced the diaphragm with nylon straps, adjusted the length so that they just were above the floor. Worked great
Steve, Larry and Peter have good ideas. That was if the foam really does settle overtime, you can make an adjustment to the chain or straps. Wish we had thought of that!
Barb
You can take the stop blocks of the rear of the seat rails and gain another inch or so or rearward travel which also helped me out.
Joe
