Drivers seat a bit too low?

[yo55er]

Being physically challenged [I'm often called "little legs"] I find the drivers seat in my F just a wee bit low. The piece where my bum rests could do with being higher. I've tried a piece of 30mm hard foam in that area, but whilst it gives me the lift I want, on a long trip I'm sure it will be very uncomfortable. Has any other Forum member encountered this problem and come up with a satisfactory solution?
Dave Hughes
Liverpool

[artful.codger]

I know there is a kit available to lower the seat height by fitting (presumably) longer springs to the seat. I wonder if yours has had the mod done in the past.Have you checked it against other F's?

[yo55er]

Hi Rick.
Thanks for the quick info. No I haven't, but you have given me food for thought. I just assumed the seats were all the same, I have never heard that they could be modified. My club secretary has an F, so I will contact him and do as you suggest.
Ta
Dave

[Rich in Vancouver]

Now that's an uncommon MGF problem Dave!
I just fitted the seat lowering kit to my F as I couldn't see traffic signals without bending down.
It is easy to tell if you have the spring kit fitted. Just reach under the seat base toward the sides.
If you feel coil springs suspending the diaphragm you have the kit. If there are just straight pieces of steel wire holding the diaphragm it is stock.
You could have adapter mounting brackets made up to raise the seat. Unfortunately, unlike the old MGB you can't just make up a simple spacer due to the way the seats bolt to the floor, but it would be a fairly simple task for anyone with metal fabricating skills.

[yo55er]

Thanks Rich.
Just been out to check and I have no coil springs hanging down, so I assume it must be the bog standard seat. Now I think back, the guy I bought the car from was a big and so was his wife, so it's taken a fair bit of weight. I reckon I will have to put up with a cushion, it's the cheaper option.
However, thanks for your help and advice.
Dave Hughes
Liverpool

[minxy]

Being vertically challenged myself I just got a wedge cushion but you do loose the side support so cornering can be a bit hairy, am looking at getting the seat modified in the long term. (I'm 4'11...)

[talkingcars]

Hi minxy and welcome to the forum, pop an introduction up.

Have either of you tried another MGF to see if you own seat is worn?

Also worth considering changing your steering column for 1 with height adjustment if you don't already have that.

[Rob Bell]

I agree, really unusual to find this problem - the standard seat is more frequently regarded as being too high! As suggested, try other Fs to see whether your car has an unusually low seating position - and if so, then changing the seats may offer some relief. Plan B would be to modify the seat - but this isn't a simple case of placing some spacers under the seat runners I am afraid

[yo55er]

Firstly thanks for forum members contributions to my and other readers seat problems. My poor misses has disability problems and a side effect of this is trying to get comfortable especially when sitting down watching telly and again in bed. She has umpteen cushions lying around which she uses to ease her pain and one of these is a cushion which looks like a very small pillow, similar to the ones you see in baby's prams. I recovered this and it is now in the hollow were my bum sits in the drivers seat and it has been very effective so far. No discomfort even on longish journey's, so I offer this snippet to fellow readers as a remedy to maybe ease their predicaments.
Cheers
Dave

[Tipper]

Early Fs (pre 2000ish) have higher seats than later Fs (after 2000ish) and TFs (2002 on) .

Depending on the age of your F, have you thought about using early seats? Simple bolt fitting with no modifications required.

[yo55er]

Now that's a thought Tipper. Thanks.
Dave

[Reckless Rat]

If you're removing the seats, don't forget to disconnect the battery and wait 30 minutes before disconnecting the seat belt pre-tensioner connections.

[Rob Bell]

Having changed from Mk1 to Mk2 seats (TF alcantara items in my case), I don't actually think that there is a huge amount of difference in seat height - but the Mk1 seat is differently shaped and may, in fact, prove to be a little more comfortable. Worth a shot - especially as Mk1 seats tend to go for very little money...

Shame you're so far away, otherwise you could have tried the tired old Mk1 seats I have sitting the garage out for size.

[pedals]

My wife is having this problem. As we only got the car today I haven't had much chance to get to grips with it. However, a quick inspection shows that the seat squab on the drivers side is lower than the passenger side. I presume this is because it has had more wear and therefore the foam has become compressed. Feeling under the seat, there seems to be a gap between the sprung membrane and the seat padding. Has anyone tried fitting a thin piece of dense upholstery foam in this gap to see if the seat base height is improved?

[MartinW]

Generally on MGBs I have found that new foams and rubber diaphragms can raise the height by as much as 1-2" owing to stretch and compression of the old foam. Perhaps refurbishing the seats might help.

[pedals]

Quick fix made just to test it out for the wife. It can be done without the need to remove the drivers seat. I pushed the seat as far forward as possible and tilted the seat back as far forward as I could. I tried inserting the foam between the membrane and cushion but there is too much friction. In the end I slid in 2 pieces of hardboard (smooth sides innermost). Then slid the foam between the two. When in position I removed the hardboard sheets, bottom then top. Seems to be ok. Not much difference in comfort but better for height

[Barred]

Now that's lateral thinking Pedals. All my six foot three is in my legs (OK waist) so I find the TF seating position a bit odd but it is just a quirky part of owning an MG.