Moving the seat back

[Stuart]

Today was a
snow day so I played in the garage.

My first
issue to address with the MiGi is that I am fat ??? otherwise know is the MiGi is
too small inside.So these are
the before and after photos for moving the seat back. It involved removing some
plywood and foam from the bottom of the seat back.I can post
photos and write it up if anyone wants to try the same thing.

Before photos

After photos

It mover it back 3″. Much better fit for me:-)

[Paul Mossberg]

Nice job!

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[Bob]

I sure could use that extra 3″ back from the steering wheel, at just 175 Lbs and 6′ tall.

Thought about cutting away at the shelf behind the seat if that could be done without weakening whatever structure there, maybe just reinforcing it differently afterward.

Just changing the seatback itself sounds much easier, if the padding could still be sufficient for 100 mile drives.

[Royal]

I was 5’11” and abt 212# with the short legs of one who was only 5’2″ when I got my MIGI.  I found that moving the steering column up (if your’s is mounted below the dash) made the seating position much more comfortable.  It involves cutting into your dash, but is not too difficult.  Also, moving the wheel close as possible to the dash made a big difference.  The steering wheel that I preferred was much too big (like Ed’s) even the Flat 4 banjo was too big for comfort. 

I am not trying to talk you out of moving the seat back back.   I did that also.  But, if that is not enough, there are other things which you can also do. 

[Bob]

Same steering wheel as Spechols, and it is under the dash.

Since I’ve got to look at all that because of my steering trouble I’ll see if it can be moved upward at all. I recall the shaft/rod exposed under the hood is a tight fit against the gas tank or side panel. I could be remembering wrong. Farther into the dash would help most, meaning cutting and welding the shaft/rod.

[Toller]

I have a similar problem being 6′ plus and 230   Right now I have the seats out and was trying to figure out how to make adjustments to seat height and set back for the back that would move me back from 3″ dish steering wheel. Removed 2″ spacers that had been put under fibreglass seat frame as line of sight with them in had my head looking over the top of the windscreen. Was considering moving back of seat from current location between seats and tub to on top of tub but would end up with 3″ space behind seat and tub and rear seat would be 3″ above top of tub. Only choice would then be to cut 3″ off of back seat. Has anyone come up with a solution? Also Spechols, how did you support the back of the seat in the tub?

David B Dixon
Port Perry ON CA
Sabine

[Royal]

Hey guys,  I believe that billnparts has moved his seat back and up somewhat because he is no small fella…..and he drives a lot, so it must be comfortable (for him).  I’ve been in Bills TDr – lotsa room.  As I recall, Schu has done some modifications to his seating position also. 

I went through a pretty thorough steering wheel search a while ago because I had access to a bunch of wheels available for a free test and I bought a few also.  (I live about 2 miles from an air-cooled VW junkyard.)  You might try turning your wheel around and mounting it backwards to see how it will affect things.  I decided that I wanted absolutely no dish whatsoever.  Most of our kits came with a flat wheel from Grant that is no longer made.  I also had to remove a spacer/adapter that the prior owner had installed.  It was pretty, but removing it ended up moving the wheel about 1-1/2″ closer to the dash which helped entry a lot.  Check out some of my pictures in gallery #18705.

If you can move the steering shaft up, it helps enormously.  HappyJack moved his steering shaft up pretty recently to improve his sight lines.  He also moved his seat base and back as well.  (HappyJack is a bit vertically challenged )  Now everything looks and works better.  (He also tried quite a few different wheels, including a couple that I had.)

But, the most important advice I could give you is to go to a couple of shows and sit in each of our cars.
  I had to sit in Ed’s, HappyJack’s, billnparts, Paul’s, Schu’s, Vicenc’s, and Wobby’s plus about 6 or so others trying to figure out what adjustments would allow me to be most comfortable and also allow me to be able to see the instruments and the road as well.  (In addition to being overweight, I have the problem of age hardening at 74+yo and I just don’t bend as well as I once did.)

Royal2016-01-24 03:13:12

[billnparts]

Yes, I’ve moved that seat back to mount up on the rear shelf. Just move it back to where you are comfortable then cut it down to keep the height reasonable. I moved it 4 times before it got to where it is now.

Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"

[Toller]

Royal, was looking for a steering wheel without dish offset but as I have signal light switch on steering column it has a bend in it that would prevent zero offset wheel from being used. As signal switch is brand new and appears to be made of aluminum I am reluctant to cut it and re-weld (fact that I have had little success in welding aluminum may also be influencing decision). So I am left with trying to adjust seating configuration to gain space between steering wheel and me

David B Dixon
Port Perry ON CA
Sabine

[Royal]

David, with regard to interference with the turn signal switch many of us have cut and or bent our VW switch levers to get them out of the way of the steering wheel.

……or, you could go with a dash mounted turn signal switch like original TD’s had.

[Stuart]

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I
wanted to keep the total height of the seatback and just move it backwards.

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I first measured where the shelf hit the seat back. So, I marked
4 vertical inches on the rear bottom seatback. The hardest part was removing all the old staples ??? that required
one beer.

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I
then measured and marked where the rear wheel wells inset into the rear shelf so
the seatback would fit around the rear wheel-wells.

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I simple cut off 4 ” with a skillsaw.

Then I just cut out the foam – about 3″ deep.

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Finally, I cut two small curves out of the seat back sides
with a handheld jigsaw and just fitted it back into place. The seatback sits on
the rear shelf and the foam padding and cover just hang down in front of the
rear shelf. The back is held up with a hinge on each side. I could replace the
hinges with adjustable seat back hardware from MG Magic but at $100 I will need
to be convinced it is needed. I will cover the gap between the seat bottom and seat
back with some scrap black carpet.

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Next I will look into moving the steering wheel but first I
will drive it for some more.

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[Royal]

Spechols, I believe that what you did was almost exactly what billnparts did a few years ago.

[Bob]

Thanks for showing how you did that. I forgot about the wheel wells. I’ve got the seatback adjuster brackets, doesn’t really do anything except hold onto the seat because it’s tight up against the wheel wells with little to no forward movement possible.

All this is making me anxious to get back to doing things with the car.

LRH2016-01-24 21:01:53

[edward ericson]

Toller: do not allow your turn signal switch to dictate where and how you sit in the car. Get a little butane torch and heat it up and bend it. If it breaks, epoxy it back on. Or do what I did: use an old pen–hollow it out and epoxy THAT on the turn signal nub. 

Or just lop it off and wire the signals to a three-way toggle switch on the dashboard.

Get that done, then buy you a new steering wheel with ZERO DISH. A three-inch dish wheel on these cars look wrong and works bad. The originals had flat wheels. Make one from a flat bit of aluminum plate and some wood or leather and foam. Or buy one. A used one will run you anywhere fro, $10 to $1,000, depending on provenance. New ones start at about $100.

Here is a previous thread on this august subject.

[John Simion]

I personally don’t see how that could be comfortable, at least in my own car.  There is a vertical drop below the package shelf and a second, smaller shelf below that that sticks out about 3″.  With nothing between the package shelf and the lower shelf but some padding, that sounds very uncomfortable for my lower back for more than a few minutes.  Maybe your car is built differently.

My problem is height — being 6′-4″ with a 35″ inseam.  I solved my problem by building new, lower seat bases and a much taller seatback.  The seatback hinges at the front of the lower shelf, thus allowing the seatback to lean waaaay back until it touches the package shelf.  Since the seatback extends below the hinges, there is proper support all the way down to the seatbase.  My seatback is also taller and serves as a head restraint in case of a rear-end collision.  The main problem I have now is that my leg sometimes touches the bottom of the dash when moving from accelerator to brake.  Not a major problem and there’s not much I can do about that, although I was able to carve back the inside of the dash by 1/4″ so my leg touches less often and when it does, it’s a flat surface rather than a right angle.  There is no way I could do any of this if my car was a British original.

Attached pictures show extent of recline, headrests, and manner of construction.  The original seatback is actually in the background of the first picture so you get an idea of how much taller my new seatback is.  This interior still isn’t the final product.  The car is headed back to the upholsterer for quite a bit more work:  Shoulder belts; add about 1-2″ of padding to the seat bases which will fill in the gap and add comfort and raise me up a little (I’m almost TOO low right now); put the rest of the screws in the seatback; sew the top; and reinstall the inside door panels and kick panels that I removed for other work.

johnsimion2016-01-24 15:48:44

[billnparts]

Yes, my seat bases were replaces with a couple pieces of angle iron. The corner of the shelf has extra padding behind the carpet. It’s right in the lumbar region of your lower back and I don’t find it uncomfortable at all. Just like blondes and brunettes, everyone has a different preference.

Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"

[secretagentcat]

Hey guys
Ive seen steering kits that let you remove the steering wheel with the pull of a pin. This may be an easier solution for getting in and out of the car for the big boys in the club. It works for the race car drivers.

[crash55]

I am adjusting my steering column length so my knuckles just clear the dash. also I will use the seat back adjuster from MGmagic. not to rub it in but I lost some weight and that made a lot of room, limit fast food to once a week lol

[John Simion]

From what I’ve observed, ALL the British cars seem to put the steering wheel too close to the driver.  I sat in a real TD, a Jag 120 and XKE, and a Midget, and in each case the steering wheel fit was too close for comfort, just like my replica before I started modifying it.  Yet each of the real British cars had plenty of legroom.  It seems like the British prefer long legs and short arms, whereas the Italians prefer long arms and short legs.

[Stuart]

Same is true for older Land Rovers. I plan to change that also – someday. Right now the TD is more fun.

[edward ericson]

I was shocked the first time I slid behind the wheel of Bridget. It felt all wrong, the steering wheel was way, way too close to my chest. Nothing like the way I adjust every other car I’ve driven in ever.

Then I got used to it.

Sometimes now, in the summer time, I slide behind the wheel of my pickup truck and that feels weird and wrong.

[Mike Schumacher]

I cut 1 and 3/4 inches  out of the column extender and raised the column to the bottom of the dash. seems comfortable enough. 5’11” 210 lbs. have the seat back just below the shelf.

[Author]

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