Tall & Lanky

Hi Guys,

I'm quite tall (for a girl, anyway!). We're building a speedster & are thinking of lowering the floor pans & getting height adjustable seats just to give us a bit more room.

I'm looking for some suitable seats to give a comforatable driving position for a 6' driver.

Has anyone any thoughts or advice about this?

Cheers
Badger

Some of the speedster owners here are tall (6' plus) and do get into a speedster , how comfortable they are I can't really say.
What I did some time aago on similar replicar with a VW Chassis was to cut out the floor pans and fabricate and reinstall new ones that were 3" deep and resemble a paint roller pan on each side .....Alan M

Ouch 3" floor drop! Bet you are cautious going over speed bumps. Fortunately just a soft top. Seems there are seats with less padding and lower profile that would accommodate tall drivers -- like the bucket speedster replica seats or the Porsche 914 seat. You could also get a seat that would lay back more (often a problem though if you have the show roll bar).

I did a 2" drop this winter, 3" should be no problem. I did it exactly as Alan describes.

Jerome

I agree with Greg about the roll bar interference with the seat back - especially if you have high back seats. My 914 seats hit when run back far enough for my 5'7" frame so anyone taller would certainly have a problem. Delete the roll bar, however, and you get LOTS more seat rear travel without any interference, and dropping the seat down a few inches toward the rear wouldn't be a problem.

Gordon (pics in nichols1)

I'm 6 ft tall (about 215), and have a standard pan. There is no problem at all- if you have original speedster style seats. I had the old-style Vintage "cut down 914" seats on the first car and I sat high (enough that my sline of sight was pretty much the top of the windshield frame) and had problems getting the seat to go back far enough without hitting the door opening with the seat back. I've seen some guys with high-back seat that actually tilt inward to clear in this area- not super elegant. Anyhow the speedster style seats (JPS makes 'em to fit a pan type speedster) sit quite a bit lower, and while the base is wider than the old Vintage seats, the back clears the side of the car. It is MUCH more pleasant being inside the car, instead of on top of it. I have no idea how Vintage's new seats "sit", but the seats in my JPS were the suprise feature- I LOVE them.

I've got a short adapter hub for my Nardi wheel, and a bus-style turn signal for a more original look. This setup brings the wheel closer to the dash, which provides even more torso room, but limits knee room. I'm really comfortible in my car, you will be too.

I just installed one of the standard CMC speedster seats I bought from Gordon and they make a world of difference in my driving position. I'm 6'2" and 190lbs. The other seats that came with the car put me over the windshield. I felt like Herman munster when I was driving around.

I haven't tried the top up yet but it should work fine with my new lower seating position.