how to get more leg room for driver in a 65?

DarkoStoj · Jan 13, 2008

we just got a 65 here and my brother and I are taller people (6'4") and feel like our knees are touching our ears when we drive this car. I know about cutting up the seat pan and moving it back and welding it there but the floors are original and we just want to leave them where they are without cutting them up. Is there any other alternatives towards getting more leg room? Modifying the seat sliders or buying different ones? The car is very uncomfortable to drive with the way it is right now and we would really appreciate any help or info.

suki243 · Jan 13, 2008

actually there is a way, I'm nearing 6 foot, (still growing) and the drive is barely bearable for me, everytime i try to push the brake my knee hits the steering wheel.

dennis112 here modified the seat tracks, here is the link
http://www.geocities.com/dennis_2685/Seatadjust.html

dennis112 · Jan 13, 2008

Here are some notes of what I did, but never got the web page completed:

http://www.geocities.com/dennis_2685/Seatadjust.html

After doing these mods, plus the afore mentioned seat pan drop, my 6'3" frame easily fits into the car. As a matter of fact, I was able to speed shift my toploader without any "physical" interference at the dragstrip last year. Even was able to wear a helmet without having to worry about the roof and the headliner!

dennis112 · Jan 13, 2008

suki243 said:
actually there is a way, I'm nearing 6 foot, (still growing) and the drive is barely bearable for me, everytime i try to push the brake my knee hits the steering wheel.

dennis112 here modified the seat tracks, here is the link
http://www.geocities.com/dennis_2685/Seatadjust.html

Ahh, ya beat me to it!

dennis112 · Jan 13, 2008

DarkoStoj · Jan 13, 2008

dennis112 said:
Ahh, ya beat me to it!

i'm a little confused on how you actually bolted it all to the original seat platforms. The original seat platforms have 4 holes on them and you tighten them up from the bottom of the mustang through those 4 holes. When you move the seat back how do you tighten up the bolts when you can't reach them from the underside?

dennis112 · Jan 14, 2008

Lets see if I can clear it up a little.

The new brackets use the original factory seat pan and seat pan riser holes. Pretty sure I welded the heads of the allen-head screw to the brackets, which pretty much made them into studs.

You can put the nuts on these new studs in the normal way from under the car, through the original access holes.

As far as the original seat tracks. These are bolted fast to the seats and then the new brackets BEFORE the whole assembly is put into the car.

A hole (about 5/8" diameter) will need to be drilled into the top of the seat riser so that the front studs/nuts of the original seat bracket will have somewhere to go--it is just a clearance hole and nothing gets bolted to it. If you are moving the seat back 2" on the new brackets, then this new clearance hole will be 2" back from the original front hole.

You only need to drill one hole per seat track (just for the front stud/nut.) The rear most factory seat bracket stud will actually be behind the seat riser and will not be a concern. You will need to add a similar hole into the carpet for the stud/nut to pass through. The lower floor pan is not drilled as there is no need to access the cavity--the mod cannot be seen from under the car.

After the mod has been installed, R & R'ing the seats from the car with the is no more difficult than the original installation--actually it is the exact same procedure.

Clear as mud now??

P.S. Since I plan on replacing my carpet this month, I will add some pics to that web page showing the added hole in my seat riser, plus one showing the assembly bolted to my seat.

DarkoStoj · Jan 14, 2008

dennis112 said:
Lets see if I can clear it up a little.

The new brackets use the original factory seat pan and seat pan riser holes. Pretty sure I welded the heads of the allen-head screw to the brackets, which pretty much made them into studs.

You can put the nuts on these new studs in the normal way from under the car, through the original access holes.

As far as the original seat tracks. These are bolted fast to the seats and then the new brackets BEFORE the whole assembly is put into the car.

A hole (about 5/8" diameter) will need to be drilled into the top of the seat riser so that the front studs/nuts of the original seat bracket will have somewhere to go--it is just a clearance hole and nothing gets bolted to it. If you are moving the seat back 2" on the new brackets, then this new clearance hole will be 2" back from the original front hole.

You only need to drill one hole per seat track (just for the front stud/nut.) The rear most factory seat bracket stud will actually be behind the seat riser and will not be a concern. You will need to add a similar hole into the carpet for the stud/nut to pass through. The lower floor pan is not drilled as there is no need to access the cavity--the mod cannot be seen from under the car.

After the mod has been installed, R & R'ing the seats from the car with the is no more difficult than the original installation--actually it is the exact same procedure.

Clear as mud now??

P.S. Since I plan on replacing my carpet this month, I will add some pics to that web page showing the added hole in my seat riser, plus one few showing the assembly bolted to my seat.

thanks for clearing it up! Did you just end up moving yours back 2"? I think I was going to do the 3" just incase

dennis112 · Jan 14, 2008

For me, 2" was plenty (remember that I also dropped the seat pan.) Lots of leg room, even with the factory woodgrain steering wheel. I think I even have the seat adjustment one click forward from the rear. This may be all you need and this setting allows the seat to come forward enough so that medium height people can touch the front toeboard if the seat is forward--important if someone a little shorter needs to drive.

I never tried 3", although at that position I would have to slide the seat forward to drive comfortably. With the 2" setting (and me having long arms) I have to lean forward to turn on the headlights, adjust the radio, etc. Even the Hurst 4 speed shifter is "nearly" to far forward of my grasp in Reverse, 1st and 3rd gears. The steering wheel is nearly straight armed, much like some of the European sports cars.

Here is an interesting tidbit. Even with the 2" setting in my 65', my REAR seat passengers still have more leg room that of the 2007 GT that I once checked out.

how to get more leg room for driver in a 65?

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