I'm tall, looking for help!

[bavaro]

Hi all,
I am brand new to the forum and am looking for some help.
I just purchased a brand new 4.6L Cobra engine with Tremec manual transmission with the goal of building a 33 Hot Rod.
Just this past weekend I (tried) to sit in a FF Shelby and got worried. (I couldn't even get my knee down enough to get to gas pedal)
I am at least 6'5" and hoping to hear that I would have much better luck fitting in a 33 Hot Rod.
Any other guys as tall as me that can help.
Is it possible for me to fit in a 33 HR?
Thanks

[MK4]

Weel type of Seat and their installation, Will make à world of difference for tall people. On the other forum there are Many threads on thé subJect.

Mk4

[thomas colina]

Bavaro, I am 6'3'' 36'' inseam. It is tight with the seats from factory five but not to bad for me. You will need the tilt wheel for sure. Some bommer seats without padding will give you more room, but not much comfort. . I don't know how a long trip would be. I hope tho have the car on the road in a few more weeks. I will know better then. Make sure you can get the fit you want before you buy. It's a lot of work and you will want to be happy when you are done. Good luck! Tom

[JVolok]

I'm 6' 4" and have been driving my 33 for several months. I have a tilt steering column which will be a must. My seats are stock and mounted all the way back against the waterfall. It's a little tight and a little unconfortable on long trips, you can't stretch your legs out, but it's manageable. I wear a driving shoe to operate the pedals. Wide shoes don't work well.

['33 BOD]

I'm building a '33 hot rod. I'm 6'3" with a 36" inseam. I joined the build school in Michigan before starting mine, fortunately. Since there was so little room for my left leg & foot with a clutch pedal, I decided to go with an automatic. I also ordered a tilt wheel & stock seats.

[bavaro]

Thanks all for the tips and advice, and thanks to Tom V. who let me ride in his 33 to see how I felt about it.
I now feel that leg room will be tight but will work, but now my concern is foot room. Does anyone have any advice on
how to widen footwell...things that they have done, how to notch tunnel, etc? My goal would be to use a manual tranny.
Thanks again!

[Tom Veale]

Hi B, Thanks for stopping in Elkhart Lake last week. I hope your attempt to fit into my '33 encouraged you. As you saw, there's room in several places to gain both leg and foot room. Head room with the hardtop hasn't been a problem with anyone so far. (other than possibly visibility out the tiny rear window) Everyone who's tall or not too flexible agree that the tilt wheel is a very good idea.

I took a look at some of the ideas people have had for modifying the Trans Tunnel and found these:

You can get alot of foot room by not using the ffr trans tunnel. Put the engine and trans and floor pans in the chassis. Wrap the trans with two layers of 1/2 inch fiberglass insulation. Cover the insulation with 3mm plastic. cover the trans with two layers of mat and resin. after it cures pull the new tunnel, unwrsp the insulation, trim the edges of your new tunnel. Even your feet will now have good room. (from Bruce L in CA)

It is very tight in the pedal area with the clutch, brake and gas pedals so I make sure to wear slim shoes when driving.
(K. in MI)

If the car has a manual trans, left foot room will be an issue. I just had to have a clutch car so I'm just going to live with it.

It seems just about everyone has to modify the trans tunnel for more throttle foot room. I know I did, but with a manual trans I could cut away quite a bit of the side of the tunnel bell and reglass it, gaining 2 or 3 inches of foot room.

For me, the most important thing was getting the tilt wheel steering column. The fixed column in the Hot Rod car darn near made it impossible to work my right leg in between the seat and the bottom of the wheel. That almost killed it for me. The tilt column solved that.

FFR sent a manual update on August 12, 2011 and one portion shows a metal plate that is cut into the driver's side of the tunnel providing more room next to the gas pedal. I get the impression that the plate may be standard issue on new kits but I didn't get one with my kit (#246). Perhaps you could call FFR and get the plate and update from them. (Jim in CA)

......and
....It is called Acelerator Pedal Clearance Panel Part # 33791 for Automatic

....it's $45 and $15 for shipping....

My 2 cents worth on foot box enlargement. With engine and trans installed and trans tunnel installed I removed a section of the trans tunnel with zippy wheel cutter approx. 12" square or whatever. After the first initial hole is cut you can see where you might have room to enlarge the area bigger to get more footroom based on clearances from tunnel to transmission. Cut the flat side out of a cheap poly flat sided garbage can and use this material for a mold. I wish I had taken pictures of this process. You shape the poly sheet with a heat gun and a cold wet rag to keep stretched shapes while cooling. I pop riveted the poly to the transmission side of the tunnel, floor pan and firewall starting in one corner to anchor poly and heat, stretch, shape and cool holding shape with a wet rag then pop rivet that area and move to the next area. I had place folded shop rags over the transmission to allow clearances between poly and transmisson. With this poly now riveted and molded in place smear silicone rubber caulk around outside edge of poly to seal to tunnel, floor pan and firewall. At the firewall cutout over the bellhousing I had formed a 90 degree bend as the new wider footbox is approx. 1" wider that the cutout allowed. Forms now in place fiberglass over the poly form on cockpit side and lap glass over floor pan, firewall and tunnel. With 3 or 4 layers in place and cured you can still see the pop rivets that hold the poly form, drill through the new glass and drill through these rivets to release poly form. You can peel out the form poly and spacer shop rags. You now have maximum footbox area and minumum clearances from tunnel to transmission. (Terry in Oregon)

So, there are lots of options for the footwell.

Seating and moving seats further back are also helpful. Some have modified the Waterfall behind the seats, some have used other seats, tracks and tilts for the seats to get more room and comfort. The FFR Roadster seats are comfy enough but one must look at the rear of the Trans tunnel, too. There's limited width at the back bottom of the trans tunnel and the outside frame. Probably there's room to be gained there, too. The final limit is the frame member at about hip height behind the seat and below the Waterfall.

Too bad it was drizzling when you stopped by. It might have been more fun to exercise my right foot if traction had been better!

Best regards,