MG Sports Cars

Another "pressing" topic I've been contemplating is that of seats, since I am 6'5"

My pastor owns a stock B, and while I fit, let's just say that I am cramped. The main problem is knee/dash interference. I also prefer a shade more recline than his seat would give me.

Without seeing or sitting in examples with Miata or Fiero seats, I have no idea if they will work either. But I am interested in which you guys believe might provide the most legroom relief.

If it comes down to it, I believe I could build a seat that would work. I'm just as sure that it would be rather crude and uncomfortable, however.

At any rate, opinions and pointers are welcome.

We need to get you to a British V8 meet so that you can ride-in and possibly drive a variety of cars.

Seats are largely a topic of personal preference, and of body proportions too... I'm 6'2" and I have relatively long legs and a not particularly long torso, and I'm not very heavily built (at ~185#). I personally prefer the comfort of Fiero seats over Miata seats, but I'm not very motivated to install either in place of the stock seats in my 71 GT. (My GT is a little bit personalized however: I threw out the seat adjusters and bolted the seats in directly to the floor in a position further rearward than the adjusters would go...) Excellent upholstery kits are available for Fiero seats, and I think the shape of the Fiero headrest looks closer to "period" than the Miata headrest, especially when installed in chrome-bumper MGB convertibles. Neither (Fiero or Miata) headrest is optimal in terms of how they work with dual/wide shoulder belts.

I rather like the beautifully-made leather-upholstered "MGOC" seats that Larry Shimp installed in his GT - they're quite comfortable - although from a purely aesthetic point of view the backrests seem a little too tall to me.

For grins I experimented with an E30 BMW seat this summer (that I bought at a junkyard for $20), and I was able to make it fit in every respect except that it conflicted with my rollcage side bars. The BMW seat is wonderfully made and looks fantastic in black leather, but again I think the backrest seems a bit too tall aesthetically once it's installed. Also, by the time I removed the mounting sliders, height adjustment features, control knobs, etc. (to get it low enough) the seat cushions were bottoming out on the floorboards, so it wasn't so comfortable after all.

One of these days I'll probably install a "period" looking race seat...

Have a look at Jim Blackwood's gallery page to see the very nice seats he made by combining stock MG bottom cushions with Mercury Marauder backrests.