Ok so looking at Chevy cars 49 thru 54. Wondering if they all have about the same leg room and overall real estate or if one year stands out more than others in that area.
Lol. Like the title. Wish I could help you out though. My 55 chevy is room even with a 5 inch channel. Gotta lose the stock wheel though.
49 thru 57 are all nice and roomy. The stock steering wheel could be an issue depending how close you like setting to the wheel. Being close to the wheel helps with steering in tight places.
I feel your pain. I had a hard time driving my grandpa's 65 Mustang because it had a ships wheel for a steering wheel, and no tilt. Maybe tilt steering will make things a little easier on you
I drive a '59 Ford and the seat could move back a tad. One of my many "next" projects. Anything after 1948 should be pretty roomy.
As cars got newer in the 50's they got wider, right through the early 70's. So the newest car in the decade that you are looking at will have the most room.
I had a buddy in trade school who was 6'8" and drove an early 60's Falcon Ranchero that he had moved the seat tracks back so the seat would go all the way back to the back of the cab. That said, it is always a wonderment to me that guys who drive regular late model rigs that aren't altered to fit all the sudden have no room in a lot of early rigs that actually have more room and more leg room than what they drive every day. Scroll down to pages 12/14 and it shows the interior dimensions for 54 Chevys. https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/do...information-kits/Chevrolet/1954-Chevrolet.pdf Looks like a 54 has 42.7 inches from the toe board to the base of the lean back where your butt would be. For comparison the same measurement in a 76 Chev is 42.4. For shits and giggles I looked up a 2003 Silverado that you might think has a ton of leg room and most big guys are quite comfortable in. leg room is given as 41.3 inches. Now, do those early Chevys have enough room? Granted the steering wheel might the big issue in most of them. A smaller wheel might give more room than anything else. Here you can pick a year and should be able to find similar specs https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits.html
Two guys, both 6' 4" .....could fit very differently in the same car. It depends on leg length vs torso length. Ray
It also depends on how high the seat cushion is off of the floor. That makes as much difference as how far back the seat is.
Checker marathon started in 61 and would be hamb friendly and the later ones were Chevy powered and rooooom was their deal.