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MG MGB Technical - short people

I have recently acquired a 78 B to add to my collection. Actually, I was going to fix it and move it on at a profit, but my wife said she wanted it. She is 5ft 1 in. tall and cannot reach the pedals. Did MG ever build special pedals for short people? Does anybody make pedal extention that are easily remove when I want to drive the car. Any help at all would be great.
Thanks
steve




Short people got no reason
To live

They got little hands
Little eyes
They walk around
Tellin' great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet

{Refrain}
Well, I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
'Round here

Short People are just the same
As you and I
A fool such as I
All men are brothers
Until the day they die
It's a wonderful world

Short people got nobody
To love

They got little baby legs
They stand so low
You got to pick 'em up
Just to say hello
They got little cars
That go beep, beep, beep
They got little voices
Goin' peep, peep, peep
They got grubby little fingers
And dirty little minds
They're gonna get you every time
Randy Newman

I'm 5'8" (30" inseam), and almost have that problem. Short legs mean I have to sit a little closer to the steering wheel than I would prefer. If I back up a little, I have to stretch to fully depress the clutch.

The problem with blocks on the pedals is that anything secure enough for your wife to be safe will almost certainly be difficult to remove easily when you want to drive the car.

Maybe you should just buy her a midget :-)
Joe Reed

Steve, I did a search and found some sources for pedal
extensions. I doubt that MG ever offered extenders, Clifton
http://www.garyecolleinc.com/extensions.html
http://www.drivemaster.net/spedals.htm
http://www.justmobility.co.uk/eze/default.htm
Clifton Gordon

There are several sets of holes on the seat runners that will most likely provide enough adjustment. Unless of course, you are 6'6" or something like that, in which case ain't no way you're both gonna be able to drive it!!
Ken Lessig

Some seat rails have extra mount holes punched into them for moving the seat fore and aft.

You may be able to scoot the seat forward by an inch or so by unbolting the seat rails and either
utilize those other mount holes, or drill a new set of mount holes on the rails yourself.

There are a few things to be aware of when you do this:

1) The transmission tunnel becomes gradually wider as it approaches the dash. The seat may smack
into it's side and prevent any further movement forward and it may also prevent the seat from
locking into position.

Go to your car and move the seat to it's most forward setting and check to see whether if it can be
re-positioned further forward without interference from the transmission tunnel.

2) How tall are you? When the seat rails are re-positioned forward, you will lose a corresponding
amount of rearward seat travel adjustment. This may (or may not) make it awkward for you to
drive the car, yourself.

3) If you drill new mount holes on the rail, you must locate the new holes in such a way so that you
can still gain access the bolt heads with a wrench while the seat is in position. The travel limiters
(stops) on the seat frame will sometimes block the installation and removal of the rear bolts and
so some careful planning is required here.

I do not know of any commercially made pedal extensions, but they can be easily made from blocks
of wood (cut to shape on a bandsaw) and a few bolts.

You should be concerned with attaching them so that they will not fall off at any time during driving,
and that they should be made to resist shoe slipping - especially when wet.

I once saw a Chevy Nova with homemade pedal extensions. They were made from layered plywood,
and faced with aluminum diamondplate. They were held with 1/4" flathead bolts and wingnuts that
went through holes drilled through the faces of the stock pedals.
Daniel Wong

Steve. Check out the archives. This subject has been covered before. I had exactly the same problem when I bought a 79 B for my younger daughter to learn to drive on. Daughter is about the same height as your wife. Hence, I did some experimentation and investigation to see what might be possible. (What turned out to be possible is I got the 79LE and she got an air conditioned 95 Miata, but that is only part of the story.)

One of the first things I found was that the seats are not allowed to go as far foward as the tracks would allow. The right front corner of the seat frame, the tubular metal frame that the seat cushion sits on, hits the belled front of the transmission tunnel. I have been told, by someone who claims to have done it, that you can modify the front seat frame to allow full forward motion of the seat. This requires modification of the frame, seat cushion and the seat covering. If you want to get an idea of how far the front seat can go forward, loosen the two rear seat rail bolts, then remove the two front bolts. This will allow the rails to angle to the left a little and for you to move the seat as far forward as the rails will allow. I do not know if it would be possible to reposition the seat rails, causing the driver's seat to move at an angle to the centerline of the car, and be able to get full range of seat movement. (The Miata arrived before I had decided whether to modify the LE or not.)

Along with modifying the seat frame, there are two other forms of modification which may help. Both deal with altering the pedals. The easiest way is to simply attach some form of pad extender to the pedals. These can be blocks of wood, rubber or aluminum which extend the pedal pads bacwards by 2"-3" and allow the pedals to be used with the unmodified seat. Make sure any pad extenders are firmly and securely attached to the pedal pads. Having the extender fall off the brake pedal while driving would not be a good thing.

The second method of modifying the pedals is to get a spare set, then have a welder cut the area just behind the pads and put in a filler piece to move the original pad farther forward. Spare pedals are not difficult to find and this modification might be worth while in any event. Like Joe, I have a 30" inseam and would, for best use, like to have the pedals a little closer for the most comfortable driving position.

Last option is get her a Miata. Not an MG, but not bad. Good five speed, engine characteristics similar to a tuned MGB engine, air conditioning, good sound system and a good top with glass rear window. Having driven both an MGB and a Miata from Orlando, Fla to Arizona, I was greatly impressed in how well the Miata had continued the British Sports Car tradition. Plus, I do most of the work on the MGs (three running and two being restored). Having the "nice man", as my daughter calls the owner of "Mike's Place", to do the Miata work is a wonderful thing. Working on cars for fun is great. Having to work on cars because you need to get to work is considerably less fun. Les
Les Bengtson

One further check (I may have missed it if someone has already mentioned it) before going too far with modifications. Les eluded to it - check that the seats have not been switched between the driver's and passenger's side. If that has happened, the seats will not slide as far forward as they are suposed to. My wife is also short and we carry a pillow in the back of the car for her to use when driving (I am 6' 2"). She drives the car more than I do and would arm wressle anyone who tried to take it from her and replace it with a Miata.
Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

Trade in your wife for one with longer legs
peter bramble

Thanks everyone. Now I have some ideas to work with.
Clifton the web sites are really interesting. I will contact them.
streve

Steve,
Buy her a seat from a dealer of racing seats such as auto pro circle track racing seats or racers warehouse. (search them out on the www) Mount the seat in a custom position comfortable for your wife. She will be very comfortable and will brag about her custom racers seat, she will also have a cool vehicle to display to others. Better buy two seats to match.

Moe
Moe

Old Den Green the BMC rally mechanic always put wood blocks on the pedals for Pat Moss and the lady Healy drivers. Good enough to win some real rallys.
John
John Simmers

I'm 5'8" if I stretch. The navy's training plane of 1953 was the SNJ (Air Force AT6), and it had NO seat adjustment. People of even medium height were given a yellow backpad to get them closer to the pedals, and those of us below that point were required to use two.

In the fall of 1954, the training command's carrrier --- a somewhat small (CVL) USS Monterey was grabbed to take helicopters and relief supplies to Nicuragua after they sufferred a major earthquake. The navy tried to get everybody they could carrier qualified before the boat left, even some of us who hadn't been scheduled to go aboard for weeks.

When the time came to "switch pilots" and I climbed on the wing of the already-running SNJ, I was offerred only ONE backpad. I demanded two, and was told to be satisfied with one or get out of the plane. So for the only time ever, I flew that thing reaching the pedals with my toes and able to see only one paddle of the LSO.

They were in such a hurry that they gave a cut on any approach, no matter how questionable, and I didn't even get a waveoff. After twenty minutes, it was "switch pilots" again. By then, my ankles hurt.

So, long-winded tale --- consider giving the wife a pad to get her closer to the pedals.


Dan

...or taller shoes.

My daughter, 5'3" is learning to drive a clutch in my MGB. She's forced to wear her sneakers instead of her beloved Birkenstock sandals. The thicker sole makes a difference. To make it easier while she's still a novice, we bring a back cushion to push her a little closer, but she has managed without.

Matt Kulka

I have been following this thread for a while and suddenly something clicked! My clutch pedal appears to have a "second" foot welded in place - see attached link (I went out to the -15C garage and crept under the cover with my trust digital camera). I have a relatively short leg (two actually) and have never had a problem - maybe this is why. I had always assumed it to be standard.

http://home.cogeco.ca/~bquartermaine/MGB/clutch/

BarryQ
73B
B.J. Quartermaine

Matt K.,

I was starting to believe I was the only one keeping that German shoe company in business with my daughter's choice in footwear...glad I'm not the only dad so cursed (one pair of shoes = pair of reconditioned MGB front shocks...go figure).

Cheers,

Barry
Barry Kindig

If a person were really clever, they could cut off the pedal pads and insert a pad extension piece used on the TDs & TFs. These pieces are available used from Abingdon Spares <http://www.abingdonspares.com/index1.htm>. The part number is 13-62. Berry - here is Western Washington State, Birkenstocks and Dr. Martrins are part of the standard uniform. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

It seems Italian cars are made for Orangatangs and MGs for Scotsmen (short arms, deep pockets)? I rigged cushions and some fake racing pedals (bolt in front of the exsisting pedals) for my daughter when she was learning to drive!
Chris Moore

This thread was discussed between 21/01/2003 and 23/01/2003

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