• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

MGA MGA Coupe needs yankee ingenuity

Share this page

P

Peter Joe

Senior Member
Country flag
Offline
After owning my MGA coupe restoration project for about a year, I finally got around to putting the seat in the car so that I can sit in the thing, with the intention of playing race car driver.
I discovered something.
I don't fit.
First let me tell you I stand at 6 foot 3 inches, and I wear a size 14 shoe. In other words, I am not your average sized person. Of all the vehicles I have owned throughout the years, which includes an MG Midget, MGTD and a Triumph Spitfire, the MGA is the first car I am going to have to modify just to drive the thing!
The problem is not the length of my legs (which usually is the case), its the size of my feet. My foot does not fit between the brake pedal
and the transmission tunnel. I cannot apply the gas pedal without simultaneously hitting the brake pedal.
I really hate having to do any modifications, because I want the car to be fairly original when its done. Gosh, I even want to retain its original colors which is a black exterior and a green interior.
After looking at the way the MGA was designed, its almost as though they didnt want large Americans driving their cars. First of all,
the transmission tunnel is not symmetrical. Its offset to the left by a good one inch. Second of all, the brake pedal pad is welded to the brake lever which is offset to the right. Thirdly, the return spring for the brake lever is offset at an angle in such a way that as the pivot bushing wears, the brake pedal will go ****her to the right.
The best I could figure, is that a bunch of Texas-sized Americans went over to England and told the powers that be at MG, that they had better build a car they could fit in 'or else!'! And that 'or else' must have worked since the new MGB is quite roomy inside.
Anyways, I decided that I will modify the transmission tunnel by slicing an area out of the side of the transmission tunnel and welding in a new recessed panel. I have already determined that there is actually alot of room between
the transmission and the transmission tunnel. I figure that you can't get too much room for your feet in an MGA.
I have removed the tunnel, and boy it sure is ugly. Just sitting on my driveway, it reminded me of the 'Doomsday Machine' from an early Star Trek episode.
One thing about the little MGA Coupe, inspite of the fact that I don't really fit in it, is that I am starting to REALLY like the thing. I know a number of people out there believe that a hard top car cannot be considered a true sports car, however, one things for sure, this car is definately British!
Happy New Year everybody, and may your car always fit your feet!
 
you could always have a surgeon modify your feet
confused.gif
BTW, the A coupe is one of the most beautiful cars ever built
 
I had similar problems with the Elan.. The left hand drive derivative has very little room between the pedals, and the whole assy is shoved up to the tunnel. I modified the pedals and box and added about two 1/2 inches overall to the spread of the pedals. Now the car is driveable by almost everyone, but I lost the space beside the clutch pedal to rest my foot against the firewall.

This mod has had some pretty mixed reviews from people who drive the car, but no one has hit the brake and gas and gone through an intersection, so overall I think it's a worthwhile modification!
 
Don't feel like the Lone Ranger regarding the closely spaced pedals -- I have a GT6 with the same problem.

In addition, I wear size 12 shoes that simply will not fit on the pedals. So, I purchased a pair of driving (racing) shoes with very thin/narrow soles that work very well. But, I also have to take another pair of shoes to wear since the driving shoes look really goofy and are very uncomfortable for normal wear.

I guess this is better than reconfiguring the pedals, probably cheaper, too. Another LBC "engineering" problem solved!
 
Probably the easiest thing to do is convert it to right hand drive. I think many of the parts can be "flipped over" or modified. My MGA roadster was similar.
My Spridget is even smaller (and I'm about 6'1"). I replaced the seat with a Kirky-style racing seat. Now I have plently of legroom and a sore backside! There are some very thin seats sold in the Summit Racing website/catalog that are thinly padded and might be a decent compromise. About $60.
 
I'm 6'1" and I had a problem seeing the signal lights because my head was too high - it was also 2 inches higher than the roll bar. Solution? I installed a set of Sparco Sprint racing seats. Problem - they are too wide to move up for the shorter drivers - Im lucky because I am the only one that drives it. I also mounted the seats directly on the floor with a 1/2 aluminum strip that way I now sit lower and ****her back. Now my head is 3 inches lower than the roll bar - I like that! If you would like to see some pictures write me at poketohymie@msn.com and I will send them to you.
 
By golly, in a small way I am glad that I am not the only one with this big foot predicament! Misery loves company.

I thought about converting my MGA to a right hand drive, but in a way that would be admitting defeat to the Brits. I am an American, and I want to drive that way, darn it!

Actually, thinking it over, I just may go ahead and fabricate a whole new transmission tunnel out of an aluminum alloy. The steel tunnel is rather heavy and it has absolutely no structural value to it other than supporting the parking brake. There is a whole lot to do to this car in the meantime.
 
My feet are only size 10, but they are EEEE width. I actually learned to drive with my foot across the brake and gas pedals.

If they are similar height, I drive with the left edge of my foot on the brake and the right edge on the gas, and kind of roll my foot one way or the other.

If the pedals are at different heights, I drive with my my big toe and the ball of my foot on the brake, and operate the gas pedal with my heal and arch of my foot.

Sounds wierd, but I'm comfortarable with it.

I drive a van for work, so foot room isn't an issue then, but ABS forced me to break my habit of pressing the brake pedal with only the left side of my foot. 2 weeks after I got my first ABS equiped service van, I rear ended somone that stopped at a green light. I hit the brakes hard and the ABS let the pedal go to the floorboard. Needless to say, that caused my fat foot to smash the gas pedal to the floor also. Really tore up the rear end of that chevette.
frown.gif


I guess its a good thing I always prefered small cars with no assisted brakes. Less travel of the brake pedal is a good thing for me, heh.

The layout of the pedals has actually been a big issue for several models of cars, leading indirectly to a few deaths in some cases.

Anyone remember the "unintended acceleration" fiasco with the Audi 5000 around 1986?

After all the investigation was done, the 2 main factors that were found to have caused the problems were that the pedals alignment with the way the driver sits was offset ~2 inches to the left of what was normally found in other cars. In most of the incadents, the driver was not the primary driver of the car, had only recently purchased it, or didn't drive often.

Also, in every case of "unintended acceleration", the car had an automatic transmission, and on those cars some piece of the fuel injection system sometimes caused the idle to run a bit high, so the car jerked when the automatic transmission was shifted to drive or reverse.

People were reflexivly stomping down where the brake pedal was on the car they were used to, but thats where the gas pedal was on the Audi 5000....

The final diagnosis of that problem never got reported much, the story just kind of died.

I guess people making a mistake and stomping the wrong pedal wasn't as sensational of a story as a bloodthirsty machine smashing little Jimmy against the garage wall in spite of moms efforts to stop the monster...

Heh, sorry to digress so far, back on topic we go!

Yes, the MGA has a very narow footwell. I'll offer up 2 solutions.

Get a smaller fibre glass transmission tunel. I'm not sure whats available in pre made items for it, but I have seen an MGA that the owner made a narowed tunel out of fibre glass and modified the carpet to fit.

On the cheep end of the spectrum, perhaps a large hammer could be used to dish in the transmission tunel near the pedal area.
devilgrin.gif
 
It took me awhile to figure out why "****her" is partially censored...
wink.gif
 
I modified (bent) the clutch and brake pedals to the left, giving more room for the gas pedal. I also moved the clutch pedal slightly more than the brake pedal, to give them a little more seperation. It worked well for me, but then I found that my wife couldn't reach the pedals at all. (She's only 5' tall.) I ended up adding 2" to he pedals by cutting off the foot pad and adding a 2" piece of steel, and then welding it all back together. Now when I drive, I slide the seat, and the steering wheel back a bit. My wife doens't drive the MGA much, but I felt that it was important that she be able to if need be.
 
Well, I hate to say it, but the solution is for me to come get it, bring it to my place, & make it part of "theAutoist" collection!
 
If I let you take this MGA back to Alabama, then I would be admitting defeat to the Brits who apparently happen to hate tall - big footed - Americans! I just can't let that happen. Maybe its the Irish blood in me!

It's funny, but when I was looking for an MGA restoration project, I was actually looking for a Roadster. But when I came upon this MGA Coupe, I liked it, thinking that it would grow on me. You know what? It did. I appreciate that there was so much handwork involved in making this car, because basically its a Roadster that was converted to a Coupe at the factory. For instance, the way that the top of the car was hand welded to the body, and then lead filled. The dashboard is a modified Roadster dashboard that has extensions hand welded to each end (that would explain why the Coupe dashboards were covered with vinyl - to hide where they ground the welds flat). Just looking at the top, and seeing that it was made from a one-piece stamping, is pretty amazing for a little car company. At first I was even turned off by the fact that the car was originally black with a green interior. Over time, I realized that these are exactly the colors I want this car to have. From looking at the amount of work it took to make a Coupe, they probably didnt make a whole lot of money on them.
 
Ah, but in defeat character is built (or so I'm told)...you know: "That which doesn't kill me makes me stronger."[/]
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Mark Beiser: I drive with the left edge of my foot on the brake and the right edge on the gas, and kind of roll my foot one way or the other. <hr></blockquote>

I am 6'2" and wear size 11 shoes, so I have always had a similar problem with my MGA roadster. I drive the way Mark describes, but I also wear athletic shoes with narrow soles, not my regular shoes, when driving it. I tried driving it without shoes when I first got it, but the heat from the engine scorched the bottom of my feet one too many times!
driving.gif
 
Peter Joe: After you have restored the coupe, you may discover the second problem: you will be roasted like in a dutch oven. I drove a 59 coupe as my daily driver in the summer of 1977. On hot days the almost total lack of ventilation inside, coupled with the usual LBC heat generated from the engine and transmission, gave daytime driving a new meaning to the term "hot ride". Very nice on cool evenings and fall days however.
 
See! Another reason it needs to be in north Alabama!
 
The only MGA I've ever sat in was okay in legroom for the most part (over 6 feet tall), but was narrower in the pedal area than I like. But then again, so is the MGB, and worse on under-wheel room as well. Granted, I also own two or three pairs of shoes that I can barely drive the Miata in, much less the B.
-William
PS-try spelling it "f@rther"
 
Back
Top