QuestionHi-
I am looking at a 1955 MG to purchase, but I am just too tall for it unless I remove the rear seat and replace the non stock seats with something that will allow me to move the seat as far back as the body will allow. It appears that there is not more than 17 inches of width available. Is that the width of a stock seat? My hope is that the stock seat will fold the back down onto the seat, that itself would be a benefit as the current seats only tilt as a unit.
I'd love to buy the car as it would be a lot of fun to drive, but I need to get my not slim 6"-3" body into it. Thanks for your help. Dave
AnswerHi Dave
The driver's seat in a 1953-55 TF is indeed 17 inches wide, and the backrest is 20 inches wide. The height of the seat is such that you can spread out a little in the centre of the car, but not a lot. The frame of the seat is welded, so the angle of the backrest is fixed and there is no reclining mechanism. This results in a very upright driving position with the steering wheel in your chest.
I solved the problem by tipping the entire seat to the rear.
Remove the driver's seat from the car, leaving the tip-forward mechanism bolted to the floorboard. Remove the 5 countersunk set screws holding each runner to the bottom of the seat. Obtain some longer countersunk set screws. The originals were 2BA but you can tap out the captive nuts with a 5mm tap and use modern metric screws. Obtain a packet of 5mm washers. Loosely attach the runners to the rearmost holes with no washers. Next hole, add 2 washers, next hole 4 washers, then 6, then 8. Finally, tighten all the screws.
When you re-fit the seat into the car it will be tipped backward by the thickness of 8 washers. This may not sound much, but it makes a BIG difference.
Finally, note that there is a clamp behind the steering wheel. Make sure it is set so that the wheel is as far away from you as possible.
