Head and leg room

It's been some time since I've looked closely at any 356 variety, and have a basic question about leg and head room. I'm a skinny 6'4" and wonder if I'm going to have a leg or head room problem in a replica. Understand the D models have taller windshields and that's probably going to be a requirement. FWIW, I have owned early VW sedans and remember the leg room as OK. How do some of the replica models compare in this area?

Don, I am 6'3 and 240lbs. A pan based Speedster is a problem for me. The seating position is totally different than a beetle. The legroom is too short, especially on the left leg because of the shape of the footwell area. I have trouble finding a place to rest my size 13 foot beside the pedals. The Speedster windshield is low, so I am looking at the frame of the windshield unless I duck or stick my neck up to see over it. It is OK for a short ride of a few miles, but it would be no fun on a 3 hour cruise. Speedster top up? Forget it! It may be possible to custom install the seats for a tall driver, but all the pan based cars I have ridden in are the same. I sat in an IM tube frame Speedster, with Speedster style seats and was comfortable, and was looking through the windshield. Henry makes modifications to allow this. My car is a tube IM Roadster/Conv. D with roadster seats. I am comfortable, have adequate legroom, a place to rest my left foot, look throught the taller windshield, and drive with the top up and have 3 inches of headroom over my head. Hope this helps.

Don - Just for visual reference, here's a couple of pics of Will and his beautiful IM-356-D.

Don,
A pan based Speedster with the right seats installed, you'll fit in fine. There are a good number of owners your size that make it work.
As an additional measure, you can also retro fit and drop the floors to the shape of a paint roller pan which will give you 2.5" of additional head room.

Don, I'm 6' 5" and not real skinny. Have the VS roadster type seats, but had a new driver's seat cushion made taking out most of the padding (have enough natural padding to make up for it). Helped to sit lower and able to see through the windshield. Now there are FEWER comments about my looking like Stuart Little! Would love to trade out for traditional speedster seats, just haven't found the right opportunity.

Knee room is a bit tight, even without anything hanging below the edge of the dash AND with the seat rails letting the seats slide all the way back to the rear seat ledge. Still roomier than the Miata, S2000, or more modern Porsche models. Have a Nardi steering wheel which is generally smaller so you can step on the brake and steer at the same time.

Sit in a bunch of different cars, you'll find they differ a lot when you're talking about folks our size.

Best regards,
Cal

PS Forgot to add - driving with the top up is claustrophobic, at least for me. Seeing out the side curtains is near impossible without ducking really low. However, there is head room once inside, although you need to contort your body in ways that do not come naturally to do it.

I have to agree with Alan, it's all in the seat choice and positioning, not really what your chassis is or is not. But the taller D windshield would be a plus and the roll up windows might be what you are looking for also?

The Speedster interior is actually fairly comfortable for larger bodied people. These cars are often built to fit, at 6-1, my Speedster seats are raised via spacers to my personel preference, anyone else might not like it or fit exactly the same.

Enjoy,

Boston Bob E

Don,

The guys are correct. Any good builder can customize the car to fit your needs. Seat height, pedal spacing, leg room, shifter location, etc... can all be addressed. We have built cars for guys as tall as 6'6" ...and fit them comfortably.