Need info about Miata seats in Spridget

[RickB]

Seems to be some Miata's in the wrecking yards too.
BTW there's a pretty good wrecking yard search engine, I know people have mentioned it before but good things need to be repeated:

https://www.car-part.com/

However don't assume that if it doesn't show up on this search then that's it.
It misses many of the yards, you have to look up local wreckers and call them.
Some of them have a search engine on their own web sites as well, but calling the guy behind the counter will often yield the best results.
(or abuse, YMMV)

 

[RickB]

My seats are in.
Have to wait till tomorrow for pics, it's dark now.
I did not put carpet under them, the carpet was hiding some beginnings of rust.
Never underestimate a wet carpet on a spridget floor.
It has the potential to destroy your car.

The seats are nice in there, I have to figure out the adjustment but I took a short drive and the improvement is definitely there. I'm very glad I did this.

 

[RickB]

Yesterday after work I installed the heaters and massage motors.
This morning was a real pleasant drive, it was very frosty out where I live but I was driving in style.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Rick,

How are the seats fitting with the Roll Bar? I wish Bugsy's Seats could go back just a little more. It hits on the diagonal brace.

 

[RickB]

No roll bar in the Midget, so they work great!!

 

[middie]

G'day Rick. Do you have any "progress" pictures of fitting the Miata seats? I have just found a set of Mazda MX5 seats (that's Oz for Miata) with speakers. I'm looking forward to seeing how the holes lined up.

Did the Miata seats have the connection end of the seatbelts attached to the seat frame? The ones off the MX5 have these and I'm waiting to see if they can come off and transfer to the other side. I'd like to swap driver/passenger to get a "less used" seat for the driver.

Haven't picked them up yet but I'm hoping that I can get to the wiring to hook up a radio.



Wazza

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Warren, Think about raising the back side of the frame rails to get seats more level. I used a 1" piece of square Steel Bar Stock that went under both of the back rails and drilled at the correct spots to matxch the holes in the floor. Will make your seats more comfortable. I also cut off the positioning pegs on the front with my amngle grinder so seats sat flatter on the floor. Looking good but wait till you get the speakers hooked up. Put on your favorite road tunes and "Let It Roll."

 

[taskadog]

I'm going to recover mine and install new speakers this summer
Here is a site I found for speakers

https://www.3rdstrategy.com/Millennium%20Speakers.htm

Phil

 

[RickB]

I've heard that the Millennium 5 speakers are great!

I also ground off the front pins and I used a stack of large washers with each bolt on the back to raise it up.

I had to drill some new holes, be sure to somehow seal your old holes, it's surprising how much water can come in those old bolt holes when driving in the rain.

I switched the passenger to the driver side, seems to work fine for me but some have said it can't be done...

If your seats are cloth a shampoo wouldn't hurt, I am a bit of a germ-o-phobe so I shampooed mine and was glad I did.

I also installed a heater and massage motors in the drivers seat, I bought a set on ebay, it was actually half a set but included everything I needed for one seat. This is a luxury item, but on cold mornings it's really nice to have that heat on.

One other thing, the angle of the front mounting points is wrong - you may want to change it or just use longer bolts.

The seat belt piece unbolts. I am using the belts and receivers from the Midget, not the Miata.

 

[Gerard]

I'm looking forward to seeing how the holes lined up.

Did the Miata seats have the connection end of the seatbelts attached to the seat frame? The ones off the MX5 have these and I'm waiting to see if they can come off and transfer to the other side. I'd like to swap driver/passenger to get a "less used" seat for the driver.

Wazza

I've put these in a couple of cars.
The rear holes line up, but the fronts won't unless you make a mounting bracket to use the original holes. The US car also have the buckle attached to the seat, but if I remember correctly, they attach to a bracket that is handed and don't think you can swap them. They are removable however. Most Spridgets have seat belt anchors, so it's not an issue anyway.

As I recall, the seats are not symmetrical either.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Correct Gerard, they are not symetrical as I learned after I cut and drilled a rear bar to match the one I made for the DS.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

And they are way, way more supportive than that piece of overstuffed upholstery I used to perch upon. And the speakers are good at 70 mph.

 

[Gerard]

And they are way, way more supportive than that piece of overstuffed upholstery I used to perch upon. And the speakers are good at 70 mph.

I can definitely agree with that!

They also give you more room in the cockpit of the later cars for your arms and legs than the originals.

 

[middie]

Picked up the seats today and they are in terrific condition. No need to swap driver/passenger so I'm happy with that. The wiring for the radio is all there, as well as wiring for seat belt warning lights.
I'll have to check Australian road rules to see if 1979 cars needed seat belt warning lights.
I also got the MX5/Miata seatbelts but it looks like they won't mount in the Midget. I'll take the attachment end off and use a pair of "proper" Midget belts - maybe even four point harnesses.
Just wondering, has anyone used the original "slider mounts" and attached to the bottom of the Miata seats? Seems like it would save a bit of trouble, but I haven't had a look yet.

 

[JPSmit]

Warren, for interest's sake, how tall is the back of the seats?

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Warren, Keep the slider mounts in place. All that needs to be done is to cut off the front mounting pegs with a angle grinder with a cutting disc and use a method to raise up the rear of the seats about 1" so the sliders are parallel to the Spridget floor. I was able to reuse the front inside mounting hole to attach the seats on both sides and drilled 3 new holes. Be sure to back up on bottom with washers or other sutable backing material. I uses a piece of 1" bar stock running under the rear of the seat that I drilled for correct spacing to match the bolts used for mounting. The 1" bar raised the rear of the seats to a more comfortable position as well as added additional rigidity to the mounting position. The bar is unseen as it is covered by the seat.

Sliders well, I'm 5'6" and I drive with the seat all the way back anyway. Bugsy does have a rollbar but the seats fit very nicely into the rollbar so I've got all the recline that is possible. Again they fit fit better with rollbar in place than the Spridget highback seats I had in there, more recline, and I sit on the seat comfortably supported not perched on an overstuffed armchair like before.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Previous is how I set up retractable seat belts with Roll bar. On Passenger Side I needed to turn the mount upside down to get clearance.

Pics of 1" rear bar under the rear of the seat. Wiring which I need to clean up and shorten from Miata speakers. NOTE: The seats are not symetrical, the passenger side Bolt Holes are different than the DS Bolt Holes

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Seats installed

 

[Gerard]

Here's a couple of pix of mine w/Miata seats installed:

 

[middie]

Thanks for the replies.

JP - the seats are 75cm/29inches from top of seating squab to tip of headrest. I have taken a picture of both seats from the side to show the differences.
Excuse the messy garage, and the container next to the seats is full of molasses which I'm using to soak some rusty parts.

Wazza