Hot Rods We all come in all shapes and sizes ~

But have you ever come to the conclusion you were too big or too tall to squeeze in the small confines of your car or truck?

Reality slapped me upside the head a coupe of years ago when I sold my Deuce pickup,I loved that truck but spending a few hours all cramped up in the small cab and being 6'4" I decided to send it down the road.

Have any of you done anything similar? HRP

 

Picked up a '31 Ford roadster.Complete car,all intact needing full hotrodding.
Cleaned it up and removed front seat that was in tatters and set muffler boxes in to sit on.
Got in and sat down.
Got up and got out.
Total time 3 minutes.]
Noticed the door opening was too small for my fat ass.I weighed 295 at the time.
Arm hit the door and no foot room.
Wife got in and our shoulders rubbed.Way to much togetherness.
One phone call and it was gone.
Back to mid-fifties big cars.

 

When I was a kid, our family of four rode around in and MG TD. When I see the size of those cars today, I can't figure out how we kids fit in that little compartment behind the seat that was meant to store the side curtains.

 

Just try fitting me , the wife , her gigantic pocketbook , jackets, and a small cooler in this little space..
It actually will seat two ... but both must have had a bath recently !!!
Exactly why I'm building an A coupe ,with a trunk...not to mention a roof and a heater !!!

 

I'm 6'8", 230lbs and I'm loving, LOVING, the room in my 55.

Every time I get in just about anything else now, it's just so claustrophobic.


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To be young again, my first pre- war rod, I had a Highboy Roadster, 29 body on 32 rails, SBC, Th350, 9" Ford rear, Pete & Jakes front, coil over rear, pretty standard roadster, not HAMB paint or interior. Loved the car, enjoyed it for 7 years, spent time, $$$, effort to make it as comfortable as possible, but is was a 1 hour ride car at best for me, made all the big shows in my enclosed trailer, these are small cars, I'm 5'10", #210, not a small guy and was 52 when purchased 29, traded it for an unfinished 32, 3 window, much better, could drive it to big shows, all over, had that for 7 years, I got older, stiffer, sold that, now drive a 51 Mercury, not chopped, pretty comfy for an "Old Timer". So I'm thinking us senior citizens are looking for comfort as I have driven the Mercury on several 200/300/400 mile trips and can walk when I get out at a stop. I notice at shows, some pretty big guys get out of small cars and wonder how far they drove that car, sometimes it's fun to watch them get back in, the guys with the Model A rods, chopped, channeled, are younger, tend to thinner like we all were back in the day. I know muscle cars past 64 are not welcome on here, but part of their popularity are comfort, availability and that's the cars us old timers had or wanted. Side Note, OT, There are 2 things I've observed at car shows and racing events I attend, ALOT of Big Boys are car crazy's and to these guys I say, Please buy some new T-Shirts, 10/15 year old T's from 40/50/60 #s ago don't cut it, look in the mirror, your gut bouncing out of your T and 3/6" of plumbers crack is not KOOL. The positives of these guys, I always come home from car/race trips a few #'s lighter, don't eat much, I don't want to be that guy. Thinking cars are like girls,....., a seat for every butt, a cover for every pot.

 

I'm just the opposite: 5' 9" and 135 lbs, so I've always had small cars (my DD is a Prius C). Driven a few full-size cars and trucks, but I was never comfortable with them because of their sheer size on the road. A friend of mine had me try out his Suburban, but I found it so big that I wouldn't even leave the parking lot...I felt like I was trying to pilot the Titanic!

 

No... I was going to build a Roadster at first, but I had a family and I'm glad I built a Tudor Sedan for my first Hot Rod.

Besides that, I carry too much junk with me when I go somewhere.

 

Im round...its a shape

 

Exactly why I am moving the engine forward in the Sedan to facilitate moving the firewall for legroom. I'm 5'8" and 170lbs but I want the extra room for some comfort. Recessed the firewall too much when I built it but you know they say "hindsight is 20/20". Along with doing this, while the engine is out I am going to install heat and fit a hood.

 

I got my 39 pickup put together and realized two things. The four of us in my family didn't fit (no shit huh?) and it was pretty small in there anyway. I sold it- but I should've messed around and made it more comfortable instead. Most of the time it's just me anyway.
Why do the big guys like the chopped channeled sectioned early cars? Envy I guess


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I'm 5'11", 185 lbs, and even as roomy as my 47 Lincoln is, I still had to mount the seat 2" farther back to have proper legroom. The "chair high" seats are fairly comfortable, but I wouldn't want to ride in the back seat, your knees would be against the front seat back. I would love to have a set of front buckets that are not flat like the stock seat, more like a cradle for my back, but I refuse to put high back seats in it, they would not fit the rest of the car.

 

You can't fix being too tall, but close to 50% of the US population is way over weight. That is a problem that we all could fix if we worked at it! Not saying it would be easy, but it can be done.

 

I"m 6 ft. and 275. I plan on greasing up to get into my 31 roadster when its done!

 

I'm 5' 10" & 155#. I recently came across a very nice 31 Model A roadster.
A bit tight for my wife who's ??? bigger?
What to do???
Jim

 

I hear you. Love the looks of A coupes but I ended up turning mine into a coupster. Being 6'5" in an A was not fun. I see so many cars I would love to have but I have to be a realist. Getting ready to head to the 50's for comfort.


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My T is a bit cramped but most of it stems from the addition of the forty ford dash.

 

I'm 5'9" and 175, my wife is 5' even and 110, we can fit in most anything. I think my kid is going to be a lummox though, shes 8 and already wearing my wifes clothes!

 

Whatever you do use a lot of very carefully chosen words. Or buy a different bigger car. After all it's your life at stake.

 

I'm 6' 5" and 265, the '38 pickup has enough room for local running around but would not be comfortable on a long trip. The '55 Ford has plenty of room. My great-grandfather Turner was 6' 8" and wore size 16 shoes. I can only imagine how folded up and uncomfortable he was in most cars of the '20s and early '30s.

 

We rode a lot of miles in the 48 with my wife, I and two kids. I had a canopy style camper on the back that either the kids or my wife and daughter often rode in. 
This was in 1981 in McGregor Tx after 2500 miles in three days in mostly 100+ heat.

 

I'm 6'3" and it's a tight fit in my T. I can tell in the spring that I put on some winter weight, the squeeze is a little tighter. If nothing else, my T helps keep my weight in check. My T is my Hotrod Diet Plan.

 

lots of guys chop/channel & section their rides and hit the road. but, for how long of a trip? had a Model A coupe, and felt too cozy. traded for a '34 Plymouth sedan, what a major difference.

 

I recall asking a pretty famous 'glas Deuce manufacturer why nearly everyone reproduced three windowed but not five windowed coupes and he replied "wider doors".

 

Love my A pickup, but when my wife said no dice to a road trip just a few hours away I decided I need to get something else. So I'm shopping now for something more suited to road trips. But personally, I'd drive that little A pickup anywhere, it's such a great car to drive, at 6' even and 195 - 200# I'm not exactly a little person either.

 

Last year i had the opportunity to take my uncle teddy's (tb33anda3rd) 33 coupe for a ride. I fit in the seat buw wasnt able to get my foot on the clutch pedal at 6'0" and about 306 lbs. . Now that i grew a bit and lost some weight im hoping ill fit into the coupe at 6'2" and 235lbs. Still losing weight(i did it just to ride in the coupe) so hopefully ill be able to nag him into letting my drive cool change this spring.

 

Several years ago I did some trading and ended up with a much modified {FE engine} 57 Thunderbird. Delber Dumb Butt [ME} had not looked at a baby bird in years. I walked up to it saw no way I could get into it. Over weight 6 ft 1 and have broken my back 2 times. one in thorasikc and the other lumbar. So I then asked to use a phone and call a wrecker to hall Me and the car home. I sold it less than a week later at a small loss . The buyer asked why I was selling it and he laughed when I told him. He was about 5 ft 8 and less than 150 lbs.

 

I love your T!



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Fell in love with a unique Model A pickup, was built as a "sport coupe" type cab, '31 wide style bed, full fendered and arrest me red. I am 6', 240# and my wife commented on the absurdity of me getting into that tiny cab. I had to have the truck, wouldn't listen. To get in, I would enter sideways as if walking to the pass door, then with both feet in, carefully turn to front and sit down. Well that lasted one uncomfortable summer and then, as HRP put it, it went down the road and I got the '40 coupe we have had now since 2015. Front seat like a living room sofa, plenty of room, and befitting somebody pushing 75. But there is still that teenager "lurking" in my mind, trying to entice me into improbable rides as I peruse the HAMB classifieds every morning.

 

Your guess is as good as mine but it's a stone cold fact that we do! HRP