My Dad died a back in 2007 after a happy 95 years on this Earth. He had always told me that our family only drove Dodges, Overland's, and Studies back in the 1920's due to the lack of room in the Model T Fords. He said that at one of the logging camps he worked at that they had even had the Blacksmith shorten the steering shaft a bit on the company's T so they could get out of the T quicker if they went off the side of the road. My dad was 5'11" and my uncle 6"3', I'm 6"2". Building my first 23 T Lakster with a stock steel body and a 4" channel job, I'm finding that I just don't fit due to the lack of legroom. I have about 6" that I can spare in front of the firewall. I will not lengthen the body, due to the lines of the car would just not look right, nor due I want to sit in the air while driving. So what secrets do you guys have that dose not includes a Doctor and a medical grade haxsaw? Thanks, Craig
Well, I guess you will have to move the seats back as far as possible, and have no cushioning behind your back. TraderJack
I'd suggest stretching the doors about 4" and moving the rear portion of the body back an equal distance.That or picking another car.The "T" is what it is.Not much room to work with.My '27 isn't much better.
Yeah, not many options. Maybe you can lower / push forward an area for your feet to ride? Or sit up real straight and stick your head out
I agree that streched bodies just never look right. In my T ,although 27, I used a stock '23 seat riser that sits kinda high but I have plenty of room, have a good place for tools and oil too. You said you dont want to be driving in the air but maybe you could find a good middle ground. Looks like a cool project what is the frame its on?
Yep... it's all in the seat... knees up, **** down... I'm 5' 11"... and the helmet puts another 1 1/2" on the top of my mellon... Plus the Banger motor is set back 3" past the stock firewall. Pedals are tricky... clutch operates with the ball of my foot and the brake with my heel with the master sylinder mounted aft... The gas pedal is on the right side of the ******/bellhousing. Sam
Dangit Sam, are you guys building another cool toy?! Like these guys said, it's all about the seat. Be sure to build the seat with LOTS of support behind your legs. Get your **** down as low as you can get it and you knees up as high as you can while still being comfortable and you will find you don't have to stretch out quite so far to be comfortable. I just noticed Sam said the same thing about knees up rearend down.
Have a look at this thread it might help the Guy is 6'1'' and seem to fit in the car ok, it's all in the seat .... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=415299 . .
With the channel... I'd lower the floor pans and toe boards so the new floor will be level with the bottom of the frame rails, if not slightly lower (dropped belly pan under the ****pit), like they did with vintage race cars. This makes for a "taller" seating posiiton and, in effect, a raised drive shaft tunnel when all is said and done. With this approach you will probably have to use buckets, but it will allow for much more leg room and a more vertical seating position. Gary
I wouldn't channel it, instant 4 inches of spece. Then use a dropped floor and you could disappear in it. I'm doing a 27, we've worked through the process and found those two things to make a world of difference.
Are you going to run a hood? If so, you could bump out the firewall without messing up the lines of the body with the hood installed. Maybe?
That's exactly what I was gonna say. Forget the channel. Or, give it to me, I'm 5'4" and will fit just fine...
If you want to retain the T's cl***ic proportions, yer probably gonna just have to grin and bear it. Take frequent rest stops on long trips. I'm building a channeled 22 roadster with a friend and we're both over 6 ft. We sectioned the stock seat riser down as low as it would go and built a new thin seat back. It's still tight... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272639
I'm running a 62 Chevy master cylinder up top so the clutch and brake pedals will be hanging down from the top. I will be running a hood so; I could put a box in front of the firewall. The Alfa engine is short, and the other engine that I may use is a hotrodded 27 Whippet motor. The Whippet engine is also short and then, I could go racing vintage T's & A's. A 27 Whippet motor on a 27 Whippet frame that's Crazy. Other than the oiling system the Whippet engine is the same as a WWII jeep engine. I like the idea of adding a ba*****t and making it a two story T. Lots of the lakesters seem to have a low bellypan thing going on. I am not 100% committed to the 4" channel but it looks way cool. I would need to keep a box of Cleanex in the car for the nose bleeds if I don't channel it. But not channel it would look vintage and that is what I am looking for. A 1" or 2" channel would help a little and still look mid 30's. I will be making an experimental seat today, and work on the **** down knees up. I just got back from the shop and how little seat padding can you have on a car you want to drive a thousand miles? Thanks for a the great help, Craig
1) Un-channel it. 2) Contour the frame rails to follow the body. 3) Put the floor under the frame. 4) Build a **** down/knees up seat that fits your body and does not require a lot of back padding to feel good.
Me likey the Alfa motor....I keep trying to talk one of my clients into letting me build him a T or A with an Alfa 2600 motor.....MMMMMMMMM Italian.
Am doing one also, using a 32 frame, no channel, and a narrowed 28 cowl, even without the cowl putting the floor on the bottom of the rails will help. Here's an early construction/ mockup photo...
Don't channel the body OR channel it more in front than back, say 3" up front but only 2 or 1.5 out back. If you don't channel the body you can add "rocker panels" from the frame down to give the illusion of channel and lowness. You'd be amazed at what a little illusion will do to change the appearance of an open roadster while still maintaining comfort and driveability. My Old Roadster, built in 1969, looks much higher than the Track Car but the fact is there is but 1 inch difference in height at the rear of the body shell! I've got to master this picture thing. The Track Car uses a stock T seat cushion spring, available new from Car-Line Mfg in Beaumont TX or Snyder's in New Springfield OH for about $125. It's mounted on a 1/2" plywood base which has 1" blocks at the back and a 3" seat riser up front. I'm 6' with a 32" inseam, tall from the waist up, and have no problem riding 600 miles in a day with that seat setup. Still sit in the car and not on it. The steering column mounts at an angle and connects to the steering box by shafting after exiting the firewall. Brake pedal is on the left of the column, accelerator on the right. Don't forget a nice lumbar roll at the lower rear of the back panel to save your back on the road while the springs are saving your ****. Any T roadster can be comfortably driven if it has good seating and a working suspension, neither one of which is common on these cars.
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