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Hot Rods Ever find out your dream car isn't?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by MIKE-3137, Sep 22, 2014.

  1. MIKE-3137
    Joined: Feb 19, 2003
    Posts: 1,578

    MIKE-3137
    Member

    The first car I ever remember riding in was my dads 56 Corvette, I've wanted one for many many years, and waited for a chance, somehow. Seeing all the early vette gassers pics on here lately reminded me. My chance came last weekend with a phone call on one, priced right, and a good starting point for what I wanted to build, and much to my surprise and great disappointment I just can't fit in it...My neck was bent sideways with the top up, even with really low seats. I drove it with the top down, but the windshield frame and visor are right in my line of vision...I'm about 6'2, not that tall...just never occured to me to sit in one, after all I fit fine when I was 6 years old...Here it is...wasn't crazy about a few things including the color, but it is a solid car. I still want it...[​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  2. I have a 56 MGA that I have owned for 40 years, but haven't driven for 39 of those years. It is all apart and stored mostly on shelves in my back shed. I know that if I were to build it, I couldn't drive it, because with age and arthritis, I have become so stiff I would never be able to slide in under the wheel. On the other hand, to sell it would be to give up on a dream!
     
  3. xpletiv
    Joined: Jul 9, 2008
    Posts: 938

    xpletiv
    Member
    from chiburbs

    Ok, then give it to me I'm not too far away!:D
     
  4. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,931

    squirrel
    Member

    well...that's a bummer.
     

  5. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member

    Plenty of room in those to rework seats and get you down inside the car. So many guys over stuff the seats when they do the resto interiors in them.
     
  6. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    The typical Detroit car is made to fit 99% of the population, but the sports cars are made to fit 95%. That lets out those of us who ate double helpings of Wheaties when we were young.

    Chrysler products from the K.T. Keller era, before 1955, seem to have lots of room, even the smallest Plymouth. K. T. Keller weighed 320 pounds.

    I also find German cars have more room, even the VWs. Compared to Japanese cars and even American cars from the 80s and newer.
     
  7. Odd that you cant fit, in the early 70s a buddy of mine had a 61, he's 6-3 and he could drive his. Maybe a 61 was somehow different, though I doubt it.
    If you really want to make it work you will find a way, thinner bottom cushion, maybe drop the whole seat below the existing floor, would moving the seat rearward help? Might have to relocate the gas tank for that to happen.

    Get creative, I would if I had a shot at a solid axle vette.
     
  8. MIKE-3137
    Joined: Feb 19, 2003
    Posts: 1,578

    MIKE-3137
    Member

    From what I've read Chevy increased headroom in 1958 to attract more buyers, and the mid year 63-67s had even more...53-57 are the smallest inside,naturally. Seats in this one were not really stuffed at all...the only thing I can think of is maybe picking the front of the seat up to recline it as much as possible...
     
  9. black 62
    Joined: Jul 12, 2012
    Posts: 1,895

    black 62
    Member
    from arkansas

    6ft 2 over 220 for 50 yrs ---have had my 62 for 49 yrs no problems also most other years ---all c2s have the same top 61&2 with different trim---sounds like overstuffed seats ...
     
  10. banjeaux bob
    Joined: Aug 31, 2008
    Posts: 6,614

    banjeaux bob
    Member
    from alaska

    Here's a thought,perhaps some of us have a greater length from the bottom of our seat to the top of our heads.Makes no difference in the total overall height of a person.Myself,I fit in one of those early Vettes as well as Mike does.I'm 6'4".
     
  11. firingorder1
    Joined: Dec 15, 2006
    Posts: 2,147

    firingorder1
    Member

    I don't think I'll ever find out that my dream cars isn't. I doubt I'll ever own Tommy Ivo's T.
     
    turboroadster likes this.
  12. Ned Ludd
    Joined: May 15, 2009
    Posts: 5,025

    Ned Ludd
    Member

    My dream car will be built to my (and my wife's) size and shape. I'm finding myself having more trouble getting my bulky-booted feet through door apertures, so it's a good thing it's going to have door sills flush with the floor.

    The new cars, even the most luxurious ones, seem to have big, thick doors, but the actual hole you climb through is tiny. I struggle to get in and out with anything like dignity.

    It's interesting how the personal experience of a designer influences a design, as Rusty mentioned above. I find it hard to sell the climatic comfort of a house to my clients, depending on the time of year. It's especially difficult to design a house in winter, because the client can't imagine summer heat gain being a problem while they're sitting there shivering.
     
  13. cryobug
    Joined: Jun 6, 2005
    Posts: 362

    cryobug
    Member

    Same thing happened to me with a 34 Ford roadster. After I sat in one I decided to stick with fat fender cars. To me the 33/ 34 Ford roadster is the best looking car ever built. Now that I am near 60and have broken a few bones over the years I know that dream is over.
    We all have seen dreams turn into nightmares.
     
  14. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL


    Bingo! You could round up several people of the same height and weight and their proportions, leg length to torso length, even girth, could all be different by several inches.

    But back to the main question posed.....yes....many times I have found the desirable characteristics I attributed to things, sometimes people, weren't the reality. One either has to adapt or move on.

    Ray
     
  15. tubman
    Joined: May 16, 2007
    Posts: 6,913

    tubman
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I feel your pain. Ever since I was in high school, I wanted a '36 Ford 3-window with "full race Merc". About 15 years ago, I realized my dream. After it was all done, I found out I had 2 problems. The first is that it was extremely cramped inside, and I was only 6', 220 lbs. I thought about changing the seat, etc. but the upholstery was already done and I didn't want to go to the time or effort. The second was that the engine made too much power. I had rebuilt the '39 transmission using good later gears and new bearings and misc parts, but I was always afraid of breaking something. After I broke the second axle, I resorted to using 1 1/2 long mild steel axle keys which were the weak point in the system. I broke them on a regular basis, and got real good at replacing them. After about 5 years, a local guy made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Amazingly, I have never missed that car.

    After being on this forum for the last few years, I realize these should have been easily solvable problems, but given the situation, I don't want to think about it.
     
  16. That is not so - if you want "it " all you need to do is study the problem to solve the problem. You can't see the problem if you are sitting in it or on it. Will it be easy? Probably not but not as hard as you'd imagine.
     
    Dick Stevens likes this.
  17. raprap
    Joined: Oct 8, 2009
    Posts: 768

    raprap
    Member
    from Ohio

    I have my "Dresm Car". Of course it was a realization when I purchased it. I had built this car a 1,000 times on paper and in my head. It was all stock original and came out of a 15 year storage facility. It took me about 4 years to get it the way I dreamed it showed be. So how lucky am I to own, build and drive your Dream Car? Sure, there are other cars I'd love to have owned, but my '40 coupe is everything I wanted and it's a Dream to Drive!
     
  18. oldolds
    Joined: Oct 18, 2010
    Posts: 3,407

    oldolds
    Member

    A lot of guys your height say the same thing about those cars. It is how you are built and how you sit. If you sit straight up and straight leg, or bend your back and knees bent up. Take the seat out, sit in it. Figure out how high you can go after that. You may have to build a seat to fit you.
     
  19. Mike51Merc
    Joined: Dec 5, 2008
    Posts: 3,856

    Mike51Merc
    Member

    The fantasy is always better than the reality.
    Have the car modified to suit your needs. That's what this forum is all about, otherwise you'd be surfing on one of the Corvette sites where the purists hang out.
     
  20. ^ What oldolds said. Take out the seats, sit in there, work out what you need to do with the seats and maybe steering column/wheel dish. Make it perfect for you. I've go t rid of certain seats and steering wheels as they stuffed up the ergonomics of my cars.

    Mkk
     
  21. I had enough stuff to build a Model A pickup and I sold it because when I sat in it on what was left of the stock seat - mostly just the springs - it was cramped as heck. And I am not that big. A coupe would probably be okay.
     
  22. scrap metal 48
    Joined: Sep 6, 2009
    Posts: 6,079

    scrap metal 48
    Member

    I believe if I had that cool "vette", I'd get out in the shop and make it fit to be my dream car instead of talking about it....
     
  23. joeyesmen
    Joined: Dec 24, 2010
    Posts: 509

    joeyesmen
    Member

    I have a '59 and fit, but barely. (6'0, 230.) The issue is the huge steering wheel that sits right down on top of your thighs. I bet if you cut down the wheel, you could slouch a bit more and not have your head over the windshield.
     
  24. MIKE-3137
    Joined: Feb 19, 2003
    Posts: 1,578

    MIKE-3137
    Member

    Yea, from what I've read in 58 they increased the headroom a tad. I wonder if I could drop the floor under the seat? my roadster is small I thought, but it has way more room.
     
  25. I had a similar experience with my first wife.
     
    Dick Stevens likes this.
  26. badvolvo
    Joined: Jul 25, 2011
    Posts: 471

    badvolvo
    Member

    go get it, how long do you actually spend behind the wheel on a gasser anyway. I have a 59, I'm 6' and its kinda tight, but rarely drive with the top on. With a smaller steering wheel, my 6'5" son drives it, looks over the windshield.
     
  27. LMFAO ,

    One day at the Harley shop a guy was there trading in his 5 day old new bike. I asked him what about it he didn't like.
    He said "well it's beautiful, but after riding it its not that nice. You know what I mean?"

    I said yep, sure do. I married two of them
     
    cptn60 likes this.
  28. Mike51Merc
    Joined: Dec 5, 2008
    Posts: 3,856

    Mike51Merc
    Member

    Too funny. I thought the same when I read the subject line, but mine were ex-girlfriends that didn't make the cut. The wife turned out great.

    Just remember cars are like lovers, no matter how much you want them, there's always some guy that was glad to be rid of them.
     
  29. 36couper
    Joined: Nov 20, 2002
    Posts: 2,014

    36couper
    Member
    from ontario

    I'm the same size as the OP. In my '63 Corvette, I removed the tabs at the bottom of the back of the seat. Now the seat leans way back and I have enough room for my legs. To get in the car, I go in ass first and then swing my legs inside without trying to touch the chrome rocker covers.
     
  30. aaggie
    Joined: Nov 21, 2009
    Posts: 2,530

    aaggie
    Member

    I bought a new Harley and after 50 miles my butt was aching and both elbows were sore. A new aftermarket seat and new handlebars with about an inch more rise and pullback and the next 100K miles were OK.
     

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