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MG MGB Technical - Saab seats

Hi all, I'm after some advice/help. I read on another forum that someone had fitted Saab front seats to their MGB. Does anyone have any experience with this modification? I believe the seats are swapped left for right, and may need welding to original bottom frame, but is that strictly necessary?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Paul
P Sorensen

Paul,
No personal experience but it would be a great modification.
SAAB seat are very comfortable.

Pete.
Peter Thomas

Paul, No personal experience, but as I remember the Archives should be chock-full so check it out. Ric
RIC LLOYD

Paul,

it is my car (1975 Roadster) that was fitted with the Saab seats.
You are right, they have to be canged from one side to the other and the lower Saab seat frame has to be cut back after all but the electric motor for the backrest has been removed.
I took the original lower frames of my B seats and trimed them a little flater. then I did some test fits with the parts fixed together with wire straps and adjusted the position until it was satisfying.
You must take care during this tests to adjust them to stay free from the hood frame when the hood is droped down.
After adjustmand was O.K. I weldet the lower B frames to the remindances of the lower Saab frames (using a MIG welder) and put in the seats on the original sliding rails.
I bought a pair of two way switches and some relays for the back rest adjuster motor and put them to he center console and fitted additional fuses too.
Most Saab seats are heated and this feature can also be used by adding two seperate switches, relays and fuses too.
As these seats are a little wider than the original ones, the handbrake lever has to be bent a little to the centerline and you will not be able to slite these seats as much forward than the originals can be moved.
Compared to the original seats these 'new' ones are extremely comfortable as i found out, especially on long trips, but the seating position is about 1 or 1 1/2" higher than normal with the wooden subrails installed, so have a test first by putting an additonal cussion on your B seats and test it out whether you would feel comfortable with this.
Myne came from a Saab 9000 Turbo and are cowered with grey leather.
Sorry, no pics.

Hope this helps

Ralph
Ralph

Ralph,
Thanks for the extra information. I am thinking of fitting them to my 1978 MGB GT, so the roof frame will not be a problem. I fitted new seats foams to my existing seats and found I was then sat too high and taking advice from this forum I cut 1 inch off the seat foam which helped a lot. I may have to find a way to fix Saab seats lower, as 1 1/2 inches higher would be too much. I have found some leather Saab 9000 seats, not sure if electric though, will check. Would the Saab seats not fit on their existing rails? I don't mind making new fixing points in the floor.
Many thanks,
Paul
P Sorensen

Paul,

I used the old frames of the original B seats and modified them before welding them to the recut lower shell (pressed steel) Saab seats. You can cut away more of the structure on the old B frame and the Saab moulding for lowering the position. I used a Dremel tool on the seats but a small angle grinde would work more efficient for the first trimming.
As i am only 1.75 meters tall, it was not a problem for me to have the seats installed a little higher. So you should check for your comfort, although it would be fun to have a higher seating position in a GT, as you would be able to put your elbow on the top of the door with the side window open. (I know this from my LHD BGT V8 that I try to keep stock since the past 30 years of my ownership.)
The seats I used were a set of all electric 'memory' seats, as they do not have any levers at the hinges that would fool the sills ot tunnel. They have three different electric motors and gears mounted underneath each, that have to be removed. Only the small rearmost motor (the fourth one) must be kept.
The sliding rails of the Saab installation are very massive and wide and will not fit into a B as do the wide and large lower Saab plasic covers, so you have to discard this parts.
With the modified lower section of the original MGB seat, it is also easy to fit the lower part of the Saab seat covers with the MGB c-clamps into position again, as with the old original seats.
When you have established your decided seat hight, take care that the motor for the backrest does not fool the floor or the carpets!
When I fitted the seats to my car, I put the rear bolts into the threads from below the car and used nuts and washers on the inside under the seat, as it seemed to be the easier way. The front bolts can be reached easyly and go in to their original position again.
I can try to make some photographs and send them to you within some days, if you drop me your adress to Ralph.Siebenhaar@t-online.de

Cheers

Ralph

Ralph

Ralf,
Thank you from also for the excellent description of the seats and fitting them as well.

Do all SAAB seats have electric heaters?
They are not really needed here due to our mild Winters.

Thanks , Pete.
Peter Thomas

"When I fitted the seats to my car, I put the rear bolts into the threads from below the car and used nuts and washers on the inside under the seat, as it seemed to be the easier way. The front bolts can be reached easyly and go in to their original position again."

This is a good tip for fitting seats in general and is how I do mine. I thread through long bolts from under the car so that they protrude through the floor like studs. Then it is easier to put the rails and seat on over them and get everything lined up and get the front bolts in. Then I remove the rear ones again and put in the normal ones from the top.

I never actually considered just putting a nut and washer on the rear ones upside down!

Simon
Simon Jansen

Paul,

Another alternative is to modify MG ZR seats or MX5 seat if you want a modern type seat. See http://www.kewengineering.co.uk/upgrades4mgs/Interior/interior_seat_options.htm for options and links. There is a picture guide for the ZR seats which may be similar to what you need to do for the Saab seats (still use the original seat base).

I have been in the car with the ZR seats and it is comfy!!

Cheers
Iain
I D Cameron

Iain,

the ZR seats have to be restyled and the frames need to be modified to fit into a B while the Saab seats only need to be 'lowered' at the bottom molding and welded to the lowered MGB frames.
If you have a look upon the Saab seats from underneath, you can imagine why these small cars from Sweden are that expensive...I have never seen that quality on Mercedes or BMW seats!
Another way to go are the seats from the Mazda MX 5 'NB' madell. They are fitted with seperate headrests and look like the club seats offered by the MGOC. Only the design of the seams look different and the MGB sliding rails can be put on to on side directly and to the other side by fabricating two small (easy to fabricate) brackets.

Ralph
Ralph

The Saab seats I have seen for sale are black leather, heated but not electric. I will have to see if they will fit, or if the backrest adjuster will be fouled by tunnel or side panel. Does anyone know the answer to that?

Paul
P Sorensen

This thread was discussed between 03/02/2009 and 05/02/2009

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