Midget seats...

[Roger_67MG]

Well, even though my gearbox isn't shifting I am still thinking about seats. My '67 Midget is seatless!

So, I have two questions. Does anybody know how wide standard Midget seats are? There's about 21" of space available, and I am wondering how tight the original seats are.

The other question is about after-market seats. I know that early Miata seats are a popular swap, but has anybody used something like the Corbeau jobs or the ones that J. C. Whitney offers?

My options are used Spridget seats, Miata seats, or after-market critters.

Many thanks, again!

 

[jhorton3]

There's another option but it's pricey. Suffolk seats offered by VB fit on original seat rails. You can get them in vinyl or leather, and color options are black or biscuit. Vinyl is $1,700 for the pair, leather about $2,200.

 

[sswarin]

I've got a set of '74 Midget seats in my basement. They measure ~18-19" across the bottom and back. Of course they sort of squish out to fill the 21" space when you sit on them.

I replaced the seats in my midget with Miata seats that I picked up on ebay. Never looked back.

Another option is Summit Motor Sports in Ohio and mail order. Many of the Corbeau and other "race-type" seats are not adjustable.

And when I was looking for replacement seats, I was tempted by the Miata replacement seats that show up on ebay when you search for "miata seats". Sold by various "fly-by-night" speed shops in California. The price is low, but you probably get what you pay for.

Steve

 

[Roger_67MG]

There's another option but it's pricey. Suffolk seats offered by VB fit on original seat rails. You can get them in vinyl or leather, and color options are black or biscuit. Vinyl is $1,700 for the pair, leather about $2,200.

Yes, I was thinking of those seats from VB. But I would probably put them on pedestals and use them in my office. They'd probably look good there, better than what I have now.

I suspect that when all is said and done, $1700 isn't bad for new seats that are sure to fit.

 

[Roger_67MG]

I've got a set of '74 Midget seats in my basement. They measure ~18-19" across the bottom and back. Of course they sort of squish out to fill the 21" space when you sit on them.

I replaced the seats in my midget with Miata seats that I picked up on ebay. Never looked back.

Another option is Summit Motor Sports in Ohio and mail order. Many of the Corbeau and other "race-type" seats are not adjustable.

And when I was looking for replacement seats, I was tempted by the Miata replacement seats that show up on ebay when you search for "miata seats". Sold by various "fly-by-night" speed shops in California. The price is low, but you probably get what you pay for.

Steve

Steve,

You have answered the question that has been bugging me for ages, many thanks for that. You are very right about the race-style seats. Some aren't adjustable, some don't come with mounts, come come with sliders and some do not. It can get tricky. The sons of one of my colleagues each have those "tuner" cars that they have customized, and one of them is tired of climbing over the side bolsters of his fancy seats. I take that a warning of sorts.

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

 

[jlaird]

Raceing seats are for race cars, enough said.

 

[DART]

If I could bump in on this thread...Steve, do the Miata seats have headrests? What is the seat height (thinking tonnoue -sp-)? Is the rake adjustable? I bought MGB seats from Moss during the sale this summer & am trying to return them, the black had too much gray in it, the rake is fixed, they are too high. BTW, these are for my SP250.

 

[Roger_67MG]

After reading the replies to my original question I checked out eBay and sure enough, somebody is selling two pairs of seats. Both are from the '90s and both have built-in headrests. One set has the famous speakers in the headrests, the other does not. As I recall, all Miata seats are high-back with built in headrests (but I am not sure about this), and I suspect they may vary a bit from year to year.

I think it was in <span style="font-style: italic">Classic Motorsports</span> magazine from a couple of years back that I first heard of putting Miata seats in a Midget. It was explained in their Project Midget series of articles. Some info might even be on their Web site. Anyway, it seems that this has been a popular swap for some time and that I am the last to hear about it. As usual, I might add!

 

[sswarin]

Dale,

I think that Roger has answered most of your questions, but here goes: My Miata seats measure ~29 inches from the top of the seat bottom (where your butt goes) to the top of the headrest. My '74 Midget seats measure ~28 inches in the same location. My Miata seat rails are a little shorter than the Midget rails, so I think that the overall height of the seat above the plane of the top of the cockpit is probably about the same as the Midget. So although I don't have a tonneau, I think that it would fit.

But there are a lot of Miata seat conversions out there, and I'm sure that one of them has tried their tonneau. Perhaps you should start your own thread with Miata seats and tonneau in the subject.

Good luck

Steve

P.S. Love your car collection!!

 

[DART]

Thanks to both Steve & Roger. Among other things, I can now spell tonneau. I will do a search of threads and see what has been posted on the conversion. What about adjusting the rake of the seat back?? My wife has had 2 serious back surgeries over the years and this is a must have item. And this also assumes we'll live to see the 1059 car finished with the restoration. :thumbsup:

 

[sswarin]

ale,

Yes, the Miata seats have adjustable rake, just like the Midget seats (another thing that Datsun/Mazda copied from the Brits).

Steve

 

[Jim_Gruber]

I put a set of Miata Seats in Bugsy my '68. Headrest Speakers, all of the Miata's had Headtest speakers I do believe and they sound great. Added a set of Bass Blockers Capacitors, (search Bass Blockers on E-Bay $7.50 delivered).

Couple of tips.
Locating Pegs in front seat bottom, cut off with dremel tool/grinder, you don't need them.

Seat can mount to original front sear rail hole, rest of seats will need new holes, but rear hole can attached to reinforcement rail towards the center console.

I used a piece of 1" square bar under rear of seats to level them. Mounting rails are different lengths so cut each individually.

3/8" Bolts I thingk with wide washers doubled up as backing plates make seat mounting for these seats stronger that original mounts.

Seats are more comfortable, more leg room and better rear adjustment even with roll bar in place than stock Spridget seats w headrests.

$150 at local salvage yard. Sold my old seats for $50 net cost $100 plus $20 for misc mounting hardware.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Also, 2000+ seats are a little thinner. Go for cloth. sort of dark greey but if you want place fabric spray available to change them. Pleather sears too sweaty in the summer for me. Seats very supportive and hold you in place vs. Spridget seats you perch upon.

 

[Roger_67MG]

I put a set of Miata Seats in Bugsy my '68. Headrest Speakers, all of the Miata's had Headtest speakers I do believe and they sound great. Added a set of Bass Blockers Capacitors, (search Bass Blockers on E-Bay $7.50 delivered).

Couple of tips.
Locating Pegs in front seat bottom, cut off with dremel tool/grinder, you don't need them.

Seat can mount to original front sear rail hole, rest of seats will need new holes, but rear hole can attached to reinforcement rail towards the center console.

I used a piece of 1" square bar under rear of seats to level them. Mounting rails are different lengths so cut each individually.

3/8" Bolts I thingk with wide washers doubled up as backing plates make seat mounting for these seats stronger that original mounts.

Seats are more comfortable, more leg room and better rear adjustment even with roll bar in place than stock Spridget seats w headrests.

$150 at local salvage yard. Sold my old seats for $50 net cost $100 plus $20 for misc mounting hardware.

This is really good info! I have won the bid on the Miata seats. They are all cloth and look pretty good, or at least good enough for now. I can hardly wait for them to get here.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Congrats Roger, drop me a note when they arrive and you get a chance to look at the mounting, might save you a few steps and the trial and error I went through.

 

[Roger_67MG]

Congrats Roger, drop me a note when they arrive and you get a chance to look at the mounting, might save you a few steps and the trial and error I went through.

Jim, I am sooo excited! The magic elf in his brown uniform showed up (that's the UPS guy), and he had a big box with two Miata seats inside! Needless to say I unpacked them ASAP. I even sat in one. I should get a couple more of these for my office.

Anyway, one of the photos is -

and the other is -

They are really better than the pics show. The wrinkles are because of the packing and cold temps. The discoloration is really minor and will almost surely come out with upholstery cleaner. The slides and brackets are excellent.

It looks like a fairly straight forward installation, at least compared to everything else I've done on the car.

The brackets are "bent" at the tips as if the Miata's floor isn't dead flat, which I think is the case. I had read in a magazine article about bending the ends, but I thought that was because the seats were "side mount" or something like that.

What do you think?

 

[jhorton3]

I think you got a good deal there. If nothing else if you get tired of the current seat coverings you can go with leather. When I had my 93 Miata I loved those seats for mountain driving and hugging curves.

 

[jcatnite]

I'm glad you got the seats. I almost went for them. I would have hated to have been bidding against a fellow forum member.
JC

 

[Roger_67MG]

I think you got a good deal there. If nothing else if you get tired of the current seat coverings you can go with leather. When I had my 93 Miata I loved those seats for mountain driving and hugging curves.

I noticed that Moss has their Miata Mania site at www.miatamania.com and that they have fitted seat covers at a fairly reasonable price. But, I think I will take the driver's seat over to a local upholstery shop and see what they say about a little sewing.

I am heading out to the garage in a few minutes to do some cleaning and prep. Happily, they don't need much work.

 

[Roger_67MG]

I'm glad you got the seats. I almost went for them. I would have hated to have been bidding against a fellow forum member.
JC

Well, I <span style="font-style: italic">was </span>surprised that I was the only one bidding! Did you see the leather ones in New Hampshire? They looked pretty good.