Increase Leg Room

[timc930]

I have a 63 88" IIa, and was wondering if anyone has altered the setback (thinner) in order to increase the distance to steering wheel and pedals. I'm 6ft and know others must be taller, so I was curious what you've done to increase the comfort!

tim

[siiirhd88]

I have seen a seatback made from 3/4" plywood with a thin layer of foam and vinyl covering. A set of angle brackets were used to mount the seatback to the frame. This same truck also had thinner seat base cushions.

The seat base can be raised an inch or so with spacer brackets between the seatbox and seat base, which allws the base to be slib back over the lip where the seatbox bolts to the tub. This makes the seatback a bit upright on an SWB, but works OK on a 109.

I have also seen the bulkhead behind the seats cut down or removed. You would need to add a brace across from side to side to support the tub sides and for the seatback to rest against. Several sources make a similar brace for a Defender that might work.

Bob

[lumpydog]

I've seen the bulkhead behind the seat either:

a) Cut down and out of the way so the seat back can protrude beyond its original boundary.
b) Cut and moved back so the bulkhead still exists BUT angels back at the driver seat and then back to the original bulkhead.

In both cases you are permanently disfiguring the truck - in a way that is very, very difficult and expensive to bring back to original. On the one hand, the truck is yours. You have every right to do anything you want to it. Go for it. Make it yours. That's what these trucks have traditionally been all about.

On the other hand, the truck has made it this far. At some point it crossed a threshold where someone did not permanently and irreversibly alter it to the point where it was no longer valuable to someone else. Someone that wanted to be the next steward and maintain it to survive as example of what was - and pass it along to someone that would appreciate it and maintain it for what it originally was.

You're good to look at altering a replaceable part (seat back) vs making a basically irreversible cut!

[timc930]

yeah, i don't think i'll be cutting into the bulkhead, unless I can restore it to original if i were to sell. I'll prob make a thinner seat back, to give me another inch or so....

[lumpydog]

I'm thinking - pull the existing seat back. Easy to do. Take a thin piece of foam that can upholstered and use sticky-back velcro to hold it to the bulkhead :-)

[slowmo]

I'm 6'3" and have the same problem. The pedals and steering wheel are too close, but at least when I sit up straight my head hits the head liner and I am too high to see out the windshield. My solution was to remove 2 vertebrae and shorten my arms and legs. I found out the ACA would not pay for these alterations so I checked on moving to Canada but there is apparently a very long waiting line, so also no dice. What in the hell is this world coming to?

At stop lights I have to basically hunch down so I can see the light. The other solution is to wait until the folks behind me honk wildly and give me the one finger Rover salute, but I get that so often it doesn't even register anymore. Once I have accelerated to speed (and I use the words "accelerated to speed" loosely here) I can sort of slide forward a bit and hunch down enough to see the spare tire on the hood. My knees are hitting the dash, but this is almost enough to allow me to see some of the traffic and a bit of the road. So far so good.

I actually completely removed the bottom pad to see how that would work and I could actually see out the windshield. I am considering going with a thin bottom pad (perhaps the base of a lawn chair to complete the Rover picture), but the difference a thin back pad would make is negligible in my opinion. I wouldn't consider any cutting and pasting and will just live with it being a bit close.

[timc930]

Hey, I did not think/consider the surgical procedure on myself, only the truck! I'll check my policy and see what they cover. Taking a couple of inches out of each femur, and saving the bones so that can replace at a later date may actually work.

I drove the truck for several years with a worn out seat bottom, where my ass was basically on the metal. To old for that $hit, as the bumps killed me. I will try thinning out the seat back, that may be all i need.

[stomper]

Just spit ballin' here, but why no t just get a new seat box, and cut it down a few inches, or yank the drives side footwell out of the bulkhead, and have a custom one built a couple of inches deeper. I haven't researched the implications and f this, but I think there is enough room behind the front wheel, and the intake/exhaust manifold.