MX 5 seats into Vitesse convertible

[MDofTW]

Hi all - wanted to introduce myself, and also ask a quick ( I hope!) question. I'm Stephen Smallwood, based in Herefordshire, and have a 2.0l mk4 Spit (acquired last summer) and recently a Mk 2 Vitesse convertible brought back from Eire. They both join an old Grey Fergy which lives with us too. I'm a bit new to all this, and not at all a diy-er (so don't get too technical with me!) but I do like these old things, and although I wouldnt take most things to bits myself, I have a pretty good idea of how it all works... or should!

Anyway, enough of me. Quick question concerns the front seats in the Vitesse: she has some horrible bucket jobs in at the moment, and I was thinking of putting in some MX5 ones....the question is whether any MX5 ones will fit, or does it have to be a particular year or Mk?

Thanks all in advance.  

[RogerD]

Hi Stephen, and welcome to the club/forum! You can find some info and pictures here: http://www.vitesse.no
http://www.vitesse.no/Garage%202008-2009.html
I think that Einar who made this excellent site is also a club member, he can probably give you more detailed information.
Best regards,
Roger.

[Einar]

Just send a PM or post a reply if you need more info. However, it was pretty straight forward – no major issues. The MX-5 seats are from the model/year 1989-98, but I also think later models seats will fit straight in. Here are the seats with red leather cover: http://vitesse.no/Garage%202012-2013.html

[Mark Hammond]

Hello Stephen, Welcome to the forum.  MG 'F' seats fit quite nicely too into a Vitesse........

Mark

[Matt306]

Mark I take it they will fit in a herald equally nicely? How did you do it?

[willows40]

MG F seats don't fit the convertibles as well as the Mazda ones.
Two different mx5 seat were available depending on year. Early ones had built in speakers in the headrest. Later ones had separate headrests. These are from mk1 mazdas. Think early mk2 mx5 seats are same as later mk1 ones

Cheers Andy

[Sheepy]

Mine was a 2002 model, it had integrated headrests in the seats. They were very comfortable!

[Mark Hammond]

Quoted from pigboy306

Mark I take it they will fit in a herald equally nicely? How did you do it?

I didn't, I just know that they fit.  Andy is correct about the convertibles though.  I'd forgotten about the wider B pillar.

Mark

[Einar]

Several threads in the forum cover/discuss replacement seats:
Sorry , link no longer available
Sorry , link no longer available
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Sorry , link no longer available

[mpbarrett]

I have MX5 seats in my Herald convertible. Very comfortable, much better than the originals. Mine are early ones with the built in head rests.
You will need to make up some brackets to fit them to the floor. In the TR world you can buy premade brackets but I don't think any one makes them for Heralds.

mike

[MDofTW]

Thank you all so much - looks like I'm after some MX5's then! Have received clearance from guess who for this, so I'll get onto it straight away. Let you know how it goes.

[don cook1]

Found this on the web somewhere. There are photos in this article PM me your email address and I'll send the whole thing to you.

Don

MAZDA MIATA SEATS

When I got my Spitfire, like many Spitfire seats, mine were in serious need of rebuilding. I checked prices for new foam and, after EMS left, I decided that there might be a less expensive option. Doing a search on the web, I discovered the most likely replacement candidate was from a Mazda Miata. Fortunately for me, my cousin Bob Smith from Okemos, Michigan has a Miata. This gave me an opportunity to try them out. The decision was made. These seat would go well in Li'l Brit. I checked some of the sites and discovered that there are many ways of installing them in the Spit. My main concerns were:

    1) Would I sit too high and end up looking over the windscreen,
    2) Would I be able to adjust them fore and aft so as to be comfortable,
    3) Would I eventually be able to install a roll bar,
    4) Would there be room for the top to still operate,
    5) Would there be clearance for the hardtop to still fit,
    6) Would it be possible for the tonneau cover to still fit
    7) Etc., etc., etc.

The answers turned out to be:

    1) No
    2) Sort of
    3) Probably not
    4) Yes
    5) Yes
    6) Not without some modifications.

I will try to document the steps I took to install them in the Spit. READ THEM CLOSELY A COUPLE OF TIMES AND UNDERSTAND THEM THOROUGHLY BEFORE PROCEEDING.

Here are the old seats out on the lawn. They were in pretty rough shape. Torn, worn, broken down foam. My search for the Miata seats took me to numerous salvage yards and took many weeks. I finally found seats from an unfortunate 1995 Mazda Miata. They were fabric, and though I had hoped to find black leather, they were in perfect shape and had the headrest speakers!
                                                     
I installed the passenger seat first which gave me more room to work and experiment. The first thing to be done is to remove the seat belt receptacle and the side slide rail. Throw them away, sell them on eBay, or donate them to a Miata owner for spare parts. Next, remove the seat back. Save all the hardware for later. It is much easier to work with just the seat bottom. CAUTION must be exercised when fitting the seat bottom so as to leave clearance for the recline mechanism at the side of the seat back. More on that later.
                                                   
Remove the linkage that connects the slide mechanisms between the seat rails. This will give you 2 separate rails to work with.

The good news is that the front mount holes align with the floor mount on the passenger side. The bad news is that the right mount needs to be modified to align properly on the driver's side. More on that as we progress.

Remove the seat rails from the seat bottom (2 bolts each rail).
The aft end of the rails have a mount that is riveted to the rail. Drill out the rivets and remove the aft mount.
                                                  
The front mounts are angled. Some, like Dave West (see Miata seat link on "Tech Tips From Others" page), have fabricated a bracket to match this angle. The problem I saw with this is that it would set me up too high in the seat. I still wanted to see through the windshield, not over it. My solution was to place the front mount in a vice and straighten it out. When this was done, it was still strong and did not require any reinforcement.
                                                    
             Original angle                                                                 Straightened rail mount

The front of each rail has a pin that I removed. I suppose it could be left on and a hole drilled in the floor pan, but I didn't like the idea of drilling holes in the pan. It appears to be a hardened steel pin, but a hack saw worked well. I also tried a Dremel Tool with a cut-off wheel. Either one will work well.
                              

As mentioned earlier, the right front mount hole of the driver's side needs to be modifed. The mount hole needs to be elongated to allow proper alignment. By placing the seat in the well and fastening the left front mount, I scribed an arc with a marker from the under the car through the mount bolt hole. I then drilled 2 holes next to the original hole to allow for the elongation.
                                                          
Reattach the frame rails to the seat bottoms and make sure that both rails are at the same slide position (count the slots on the side to the "lock teeth"). Reattach the slide mechanism linkage wire. Fasten the seat bottoms to the car using the original front mount holes and bolts. IMPORTANT!!! Be sure to mount the seat as close to the center of the car as possible. Also, as far back as you can.
The next thing I did was to fabricate new plates for the aft mounting. I used 2" X 1/4" steel bar stock and cut pieces 3" long. Then, with the seat bottom installed, place the plate under the aft end of the rail so that it covers the mount hole. Mark position of the rail and holes on plate.
                                                                  
Remove the seats, drill holes in the plates and attach them to the seat rails. Be sure to remember that you are looking at the seat upside down, so be sure to attach them to the proper side. I used 1/4" X 3/4" hex head bolts and nuts. Anything longer than that would restrict the rail slide movement entirely.
                                                    
Refit the seats using the front mounts, making sure they are as close to the tunnel as possible. Get under the car, and with a long lead pencil or marker, mark through the aft mount holes onto the aft mount plates.
                                                                                
That done, drill the aft plates slightly larger than the mount bolt.

You're in the home stretch!!
                                                                                
Reattach the seat back to the bottom with the original screws. This next step will require a certain amount of gymnastic/contortionist prowess. It will become apparent why very soon! Place the seat into the well and attach the front mounts loosely. Since the seat rail mount holes are larger than the mount bolts, I used lock washers and fender washers. As the bolt snugs down, it "indents" the fender washer and makes a secure fit. Wiggle the seat to align the aft holes. Use the original seat mount bolts and lock washers. You will notice that a certain amount of "seat sliding on the rails" is necessary during the final assembly stage to allow access to the mounting bolts and holes.

After making them as close to the center tunnel as possible, as far aft as you can, and checking the recline lever clearance when you close the door, torque them down to original specs (9 ft/lbs).

Clean up the mess, slide in, and enjoy. You will still have to connect the speakers to your radio, but that can come another day.
                            
I connected the radio so that the "Front Fade" function goes to the driver's speakers and the "Rear Fade" function goes to the passenger's speakers. Right and Left remain Right and Left of each seat.

I will GUARANTEE that you will get admiring glances from all Spitfire owners you encounter.

I have also seen them installed in an MGB. I assume the process would be similar.

[Dogsbody47uk]

I fitted MGF seats in my 13/60 saloon. The fitting details are contained in another thread, but I can't remember which one!. So... 1; don't fit them in a convertible, ; 2; don't fit them if you are tall (I'm 6ft 4inches) because you can't get the legroom unless you move the seat back, and the tapering of the 13/60 or Vitesse transmission tunnel means that you end up with your shoulder wedged against the door and you sit at a very peculiar angle to the wheel and pedals! If you are under 6ft it's fine and the seas are very comfortable. I have replaced my MGF seats with MX5 ones. They are not as wide as the MG seats, they are just as comfortable, they are easy to fit. They will also go into a convertible. The seating position is better and I can now fit automatic seat belts because there is room between the seat and the B post to do so. Cheers, Dave. PS I now have MGF seats going spare if anyone is interested.

[Nick Jones]

I have MGF seats in a Vitesse convertible.  I'm 6'3".  I've done a RBRR, 3 x 10CR and various HCRs as well as lots of general use so can confidently describe them as well tested.  I can even still walk.  Actually really comfy.

The bad news:
They don't tilt forward for rear seat access - but they do easily slide a long way forward.  Others have managed to modify them to tilt.
They don't recline very far in a convertible as they hit the hood bin.  This is a bit of an irritant (especially on the long haul events).

Nick

[garyf]

MGF Seats Look nice in a Vitesse?

[don cook1]

Handsome, does it match the rear as well as the carpets?

[don cook1]

Yep, that's the link that I originally used.

[Billus99]

I Fitted MX5 seats to my Mk2 Vitesse convertible, after an abortive attempt with MGF seats which looked nice but wouldn't go far enough back, and I'm not that tall (5'11").
They are from Mk1 I think, with separate headrests and had been recovered. Easy access to rear as well, as they tip (MGF ones don't)

[marktheherald]

Alton Towers?.....

[Jonny-Jimbo]

Australia I think?

[Billus99]

It's the right way up on my iPad! Just not on the PC.....