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Comfortable interior tips

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Will_Ringrose

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I was kinda forced into making my 73 GT6 a daily driver. Any tips on making the interior as comfortable as it can be. I do have some Miata seats in, that I have had to shave off about an inch off the bottom( I am 6 foot tall 215Lbs).

I current do not have a radio installed, and neat ideas for speaker placement that will not talk away from the look?

Thanks guys
 
DNK, HAHAHA, I have a little cooler that i keep filled with glass bottled Coke (not a big drinker). it sits on the little shelf behind the seats, next to my tool box.


TR6 Bill, I have thought about that. I was worried that it would kill my HP and my MPG. that and I can never find a kit for the GT6 or spitfire, I would have to make something.
 
Will, the cooler is all you need.
Glen Burnie, MD. motor vehicle still there?
 
Will_Ringrose said:
TR6 Bill, I have thought about that. I was worried that it would kill my HP and my MPG. that and I can never find a kit for the GT6 or spitfire, I would have to make something.
Click to expand...

Will -

Check out Vintage Air - their Gen II Mini. I'm looking at that for the MGB GT I'm redoing.
 
DNK, yeah and it still takes forever to get anything from them.

Mickey, I was just looking at that.
 
what about a fine tuned exhaust note
 
Tony, that is on my list, right now i have a stainless steel OEM reproduction muffler on there

Scott, I was looking for something that sounded a little better. every Miata I have been in the seekers were just mud with nails on a chalkboard
 
Will_Ringrose said:
DNK, yeah and it still takes forever to get anything from them...
Click to expand...

Glad to see state gov't hasn't changed
 
How do you all like the Idea of fitting a steering column from a last gen spitfire in it? the key is no longer in my knee and it kinda updates the car a little bit.
 
Hello, Will and welcome to the fray.

Proceed with caution on the Miata seat mod. I tried and did NOT like them. I'm 6'2", about 195lb. (34" inseam) and the Miata seats just didn't do it for me. They're larger, wider and sit higher than the stock seats (which are dinky and really couldn't hug the floor pans any closer). I found the seated position simply too high, also the wider Miata seat also inevitably takes away some of your right (accelerator) foot/leg room: this alone made me remove the Miata seat.

First, the slightly higher seated position with the Miata seats significantly limits visibility through the windscreen: you must practically break your neck to see stoplights! This may sound picky, but around town (where I do a fair bit of driving) it is a significant issue. No matter what you do the Miata seat is at least approximately 1.5" taller than the stock seat. Not much, but this is a critical amount of headroom in the GT6 for anyone taller than about 5'11"-ish. However, with the Miata seat my head did not touch the top/headliner, I still had a bit of headroom.

Also, normal seated position (with stock seats) in a GT6 requires folks with longer legs to squish the right leg up against the gearbox tunnel. Sadly, the Miata seat make this worse, creating a very cramped position for the foot/ankle/knee on the accelerator pedal. Even with stock GT6 seats this cramped right leg/foot position is the most uncomfortable aspect of the GT6/Spit cockpit. Other than this, I fit nicely in a GT6 and find the cockpit pretty darn comfy. Getting in and out is a bit of a chore, but if you have anything near normal flexibility, it's not a problem.

I tried all the Miata seat installation tricks including cutting down/trimming seat foam, and cutting out about an inch of the rear seat rails and welding them back together (in a futile attempt to get a tiny bit more leg room). All for naught, the seats were simply too big for me.

Will, at your height and weight you may find the Miata seats quite uncomfortable for the above reasons. Smaller folks have no problem with them, and some love the Miata seats. Not moi.

My tuppence worth: keep the car interior original. Recondition your stock seats. Do a thorough job of restoring them with new materials. They are comfortable enough for a bloke of your size/weight.

Finally, the Miata seats just don't look right in a GT6, IMHO. A Triumph GT6 is not a ricer, don't turn it into one. :nonod:

I hope this seat diatribe helps. :yesnod:
 
I saw a thread on the TR7 forum about using seats from a mid 80s BMW 320. It seems they used Recaro seats and they fit right in the TR7. Might work on a GT6.
If you look at the photo gallery at britishv8.org, you can see a lot of cars with AC installed. Several MGBGTs and Bs. I am not sure how many GT6s on there have air installed, but it should be doable. The Sanden compressor draws way less power than the old York they used to use on the TRs, so the HP loss should be minimal with Hot Rod Air or Vintage Air or one of those kits.
 
vagt6 said:
A Triumph GT6 is not a ricer, don't turn it into one. :nonod:
Click to expand...

Nor is a GT6 the best-selling sports car of all time as the Miata is.

The Miata seats themselves should be very comfortable for you as long as you can get them to sit low enough. I'm the same height and weight as you are, and my butt has about 315K miles on it riding in a Miata seat. However, I do agree with whoever said they just don't look right in a vintage car.
 
There's an interesting article I've read through a couple of times on the VTR site under "maintenance", subcategory "interior" about constructing a speaker box without compromising the look of the car. It's for a 4 but I'm sure it applie equally to a GT6. The article title is "Install a superb speaker system in a TR4".

-c
 
Right now I have The Miata seats in there. As soon as I can I was planning on rebuilding the originals. the problem is that right now I am between jobs. and the 3-400 just for seat foam is kinda out of my price range. I did shave a bit of the foam off the bottom so I do sit lower.


Cmacmillan, Thanks for that, I was thinking about doing something like that but combined with a little storage, so I can keep some tools and parts in the car, without making it look that way.

Thank you guys so much for the input, and ideas so far.

Now that this is my daily driver, what about security? just make sure its all locked up? the club? a Viper system?
 
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