I have a question I'm hoping to get some help on. I hope I'm in the right spot on the board. I'm looking to acquire a '37-'39 Chevy Coupe, but I can't ever get the seat to go back far enough to where I feel comfortable. There is a raised floor section behind the seat, and I'm wondering if that can be modified or partially replaced to get the seat back further. Here's a photo of the hump behind the seat. Thank you!
Is that picture a business coupe, with the gas tank filler just behind the door? I had a '40 Chevy coupe, the Special Deluxe series, which had a full back seat, with the gas tank filler in the rear fender. I'm pretty sure a '37 to '39 would be the same. I had plenty of room and I'm 6'2".
I own a '39 Chev Master Deluxe p***enger coupe. When I bought it it had no backseat, and I didn't want to put one in either. So I left it out, but also didn't want to put that package shelf in either, as I saw no reason to have the built up shelf. I had to replace all my floors anyway, so I left that shelf out. I did add a driveline tunnel, as the floors were pretty flat across and thought I might need the tunnel. That created a stepped down area on each side of the tunnel, and I later made a flat plywood piece that covers the whole area, but is flat, and not raised. I used 1/2" plywood, and then 2"x4" along the front edge to close it all in. The front edge is back further than a business coupe's front edge, so I have tons of leg room up front. I think you could choose one of two ways to go. Either remove the base completely, and rebuild it further back, and lower. Or you could simply relocate the front edge of the existing base to allow for more travel backwards to give you extra leg room.
Thank you for the info and the pics! I don't require a back seat either, and I've seen them removed and finished off nicely. I like the sedans, but really want the Coupe body style. If I run across one that I like, I won't be put off by the lack of leg room.
I am 6'4". My 39 coupe has the seat right back on the slides, it isn't touching the base of the back seat like your photo, and I have plenty of leg room.
Well, I can only tell you what my three experiences were. I've looked at three cars, and all three of them were bench seats, and all the way back against the raised section like the photo. (I'm 6'2") I declined to test drive any of them due to the seat position. I've sat in two '1938's and one '1939, and all were the same. It would be nice to find one that I fit in, but it seems that it's a fairly easy remedy if I have to go that route.
I can see some differences in the steeped up area than what my 37 Coupe was . If you notice yours curves forward from the door opening , mine was reward from the door opening . I think something has been changed with that area in your car . My fuel tank was directly behind the raised area . The raised are was high enough to allow a flat piece of wood to be installed and not touch the tank . I removed the shelf and build a wooden structure as suggested earlier , covered with carpet .
One thing that greatly affects leg room is seat height. Just raising the seat mounts up 1.5" makes a huge difference, and still doesn't cause head room issues with the stock height roofs. My car has way more room insde than almost any car I've ever owned. And much more than the '63 Falcon I sold when I began this build. I'm using Pontiac Vibe bucket seats that I bought because they are manual adjustment, but also have a lever to raise and lower the driver's seat. I stripped the headrest off when I reupholstered them, so they'd look more period to my 60's style build. I'm barely over 6 ft. tall, but when the seats are fully back, and raised up, I have to stretch to reach the pedals. Plenty of room for someone 6'4" or maybe even a bit taller.
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