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MGB Modern Seat Tracks in MGB Solution

EricJNewman

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I was fed up with trying to make my seats slide easily. I had replaced the tracks when I replaced the floor pans, but the new pans didn't have mounting holes, and adding the holes after the fact led to problems with locating the holes right, plus the fact that the holes end up inside the front cross-member so even harder to get perfect. Ultimately, I got it all together, but very hard to slide.

So after trying a lot of variations. I decided to dump the factory tracks. Amazon has some $35-$40 universal racing seat tracks. I wondered if it's possible to leverage those. So I made it work. Here's the gist. I bought 2 flat steel bars at Lowes about 24" long x 1" wide, and 1/4" thick. Only a couple of bucks each. I drilled holes about a half inch from each end.

I bought 2 of these

NRG MOMO/Sparco Universal Seat Base Sliders - Fits Most Bottom Mount Seats - Part # SBR-001​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0091WW6KA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bolted these to the bottom of the seats in place of the old tracks. Two of the holes lined up almost perfectly on the seat rails, and I added a third for good measure. Reassembled with the original hardware as it fit well. I countersunk the holes so the bar would sit flat. The U-Shaped lever need some minor bending at the ends to fit perfectly between the tracks, but that was easy with a vise and just yoinking on it. It just pressure fits between the two seat rails.

I then put the seat in the car, slid the seat all the way to the rear of the tracks, and drilled holes about 1/2" in front of the cross member so I could go clean through. I drilled one hole, put in the bolt, then drilled the other front one, and bolted that in. With this in place - I got in the car, and slid the seat all the way forward. I could then see the holes at the back of the bar. and after making sure the seat was straight, drilled these as well.

I recommend doing all this WITHOUT carpet in the car, then trim your carpet to go around the new seat rails before reinstalling.

Me seats move perfectly, and effortlessly, and my wife can easily adjust to her settings, near the front, while mine is nearly all the way back. Took about 3 hours per side, so it was all done in a Saturday.

Hope someone else tries it. It really is a significant improvement.
 

Mickey Richaud

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Thanks! When I had our two B's, none of the seats adjusted easily, and I'm sure plenty of folks will appreciate the heads-up.
 

drooartz

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Well figured out!
 

jwix1973B

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Can you clarify a bit? What were the bars you bought from lowes used for? Sorry to ask a dumb question. Going to try this myself - but my floor pan has the correct capture nuts. Thanks!
 
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EricJNewman

EricJNewman

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Can you clarify a bit? What were the bars you bought from lowes used for? Sorry to ask a dumb question. Going to try this myself - but my floor pan has the correct capture nuts. Thanks!
As-is, the holes in the tracks aren’t even close to the ones in the floor. So first I measured and made holes in the bars to match the ones in the floor. Then I bolted the tracks to the bars, making holes where the needed to be. Then I put the seat on the tracks, which leaves the bars poking out at the ends. Lastly. Bolted the bars to the floor in the original holes.
 

jwix1973B

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Thank you! Its a good solution. Did this affect the ride height noticably? I just rebuilt the seats, and the brand new cushions don’t sag (yet!). Ive got some velcro strapping I may use instead of the webbing set, so I can add some sag if need be.
 

jwix1973B

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Also, imagine your excellent solution give a bit of variability to how far back you can go - set the new rails a bit back.
 
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EricJNewman

EricJNewman

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Ride height is identical. I did mount mine as far back as I could. The only glitch is the thickness of carpet AND the floor mat combined make the adjustment handle a bit hard to grab. Next time I’m under there I think a little bending of the handle tube will address that …
 
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