1928 Phaeton Front Seat Relocation

vespaholic

vespaholic

Senior Member
I'm new here but I was hoping someone could help me out.
I am interested in buying a 1928 Phaeton.
I want a Phaeton so my family can participate in my hobby.
I just sat in one for the first time and I do not fit well.
I'm 6' tall.
I do not want to make a mess of the car as it is very original.
My question is simple; can I unrivet the entire seat, riser and all, and bolt it down 3-4" rearward in the car?
I've been searching the forum for an hour and the only solutions I see involve compressing the springs or rebuilding with foam.
Can the whole unit be relocated rearward?
Thanks!
Tony
 
I have a 29 phaeton and I am 6' 4" tall. It is not quite done yet, but I know phaeton's are a tight fit. I probably can't drive the car comfortably, but I enjoy restoring A more than driving them (I know this is weird). Anyway, I had Snyder's make a 2" thinner backseat set of springs - $25 extra about 4 years ago when I bought it. It will help incrementally, but still probably be a little tight. At 6'
tall, that might be enough to drive your car a little more comfortably.

BTW, I don't think there is any reasonable way to move the seat frame back. If possible, it would take a lot of work and probably look terrible if you ever got it done.
Rusty Nelson
 
I'm also 6' tall, or was. I'm probably closer to 5' 11" now. Gravity pulled me down and made me wider.:D

Don't pull on the steering wheel while getting in or out. Once seated I find my 28 Phaeton comfortable even though not roomy. Someone stuffed extra springs in my front seat cushion, and when I remove them it should be even more comfortable.

If you think of the Model A seats being tight or uncomfortable, just think about the guys that had to sit on jump seats in some high buck cars.:eek:
 
vespaholic said:
I'm new here but I was hoping someone could help me out.
I am interested in buying a 1928 Phaeton.
I want a Phaeton so my family can participate in my hobby.
I just sat in one for the first time and I do not fit well.
I'm 6' tall.
I do not want to make a mess of the car as it is very original.
My question is simple; can I unrivet the entire seat, riser and all, and bolt it down 3-4" rearward in the car?
I've been searching the forum for an hour and the only solutions I see involve compressing the springs or rebuilding with foam.
Can the whole unit be relocated rearward?
Thanks!
Tony
Click to expand...


Yes Tony, it can be and has been done.

.
 
Brent,
Can you tell us how it is done? I can't believe it would be very easy with the tub mounted as to where you can bolt the subframe do to the frame. There are 2 carriage head bolts that are right under the tub that I can't see how they could be installed if you try to move the seat frame back. Have you done it?
Rusty Nelson
 
I cut the package tray & moved the WHOLE seat riser back 4" in Minerva, a '30 Coupe. It looked as though it came from the factory that way, I had NO REGRETS about having done that.
Bill W.
 
wrndln said:
Brent,
Can you tell us how it is done? I can't believe it would be very easy with the tub mounted as to where you can bolt the subframe do to the frame. There are 2 carriage head bolts that are right under the tub that I can't see how they could be installed if you try to move the seat frame back. Have you done it?
Rusty Nelson
Click to expand...


Rusty, the biggest issue I had is, you can actually move the seat backrest too far back and due to the design of the bottom of the center section, it creates a gap between the rear portion of the lower cushion and the front edge of the backrest.
 
Thanks for the replies.
@Tiny: Thanks, but the Dodge is too much work for me.
I did not spend much time with the car but it appears that the entire front seat (bottom & back) is one unit riveted to the floor.
Am I correct?
Do I just drill the rivets, move it where I want and bolt it down?
If not what's the procedure please?
Pictures would be helpful if anyone is willing to post them.
Thanks in advance.
 
vespaholic,
I think you will be sorry that you try to move the seat frame back. Just my opinion after doing a lot of work restoring my rust bucket 29 phaeton.
Rusty Nelson
 
I am 6' tall, 210#. My ccpu was miserable to sit in for more than a few miles. I now have the reduced heighth backrest and seat cushion from snyders and it has made all the difference. Don't dismiss that solution!
 
I might see the value in a reduced backrest as it moves me away from the steering wheel and lets my legs stretch a bit.
Lowering the bottom makes no sense to me.
It seems to me that would drive my knees upend not solve anything.
@Rusty: Can you elaborate please?
@Bill: you seem to be speaking about my thought of moving the whole unit back. Can you go into some detail of how you did it?
Do you have pictures?
Thanks
 
When I had my 28, we moved the seat 3" back, seemed like a good job. It makes the entrance way into the back seat a little narrower
 
Thanks Clem!
Can you explain the procedure please?
I need to know how to do it before I make an offer on the car.
Thank
 
vespaholic said:
Thanks for the replies.
@Tiny: Thanks, but the Dodge is too much work for me.
I did not spend much time with the car but it appears that the entire front seat (bottom & back) is one unit riveted to the floor.
Am I correct?
Do I just drill the rivets, move it where I want and bolt it down?
If not what's the procedure please?
Pictures would be helpful if anyone is willing to post them.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
That's EXACTLY how I did mine.
Bill W.
 
I'm 6' 3", My biggest problem was in reverse or 1st gear I could not raise my leg far enough to get my foot on the brake pedal, due to the combination of the gear shift and the steering wheel. I also have thin seat and backrest cushion's. So I ended up cutting 5" off the top of my gear shift lever, now my knee has some place to go and braking is a lot less stressful! Re-threaded and added a new ball.

I still have to squeeze into the seat, but once in behind the wheel driving is no problem. Much more enjoyable.
 
I just ran into this problem Sunday in a '30 Deluxe Roadster I am straightening out for a friend. He is a big guy, maybe 6'4" or so and well-built with long, sturdy legs. He took the almost-completed car for a test drive with me and had the same problem "Klattu1929" describes. The car has been in his family since the 1970's, at which time it had suffered a horrendously poor "restoration". How he was able to drive the car during this time is beyond me. I couldn't even turn the steering wheel! Brakes? What are those??? Anyway, among the things I fixed was the gear shift lever, which when shifted into reverse and second gear was a knuckle-buster against the speedometer glass. It darned near touched it, let alone if fingers were between the gear shift ball and the speedo glass. Not good. Going into first gear was also a challenge for him because the shifter scraped against his right leg. It was a repo shifter from the 1970's that was not bent correctly. I heated it at the base and pulled it back to where it should be. Unbenknownst to me, my friend was used to the gearshift lever going so far forward because it cleared his right leg. He was able to use the brake pedal that way. With the shift lever where it belongs, he could not move his right leg to operate the brake pedal, the same problem "Klattu1929" writes about.
Purists will scream to high heaven, but I heated the shifter base again and bent the lever to the right so that it is no longer straight up and down; rather, it has a slight lean to the right. Ya' gotta do what ya' gotta' do. My friend hasn't tried out this new shifter position yet, but I am sure he will now have the clearance he needs for his right leg to use the brake pedal and be able to shift easier. Probably not the solution for everyone, but for this driver Model A, there was no other solution, as this was a safety issue = looks versus function.
By the way, even though the chrome plating was burned off around the shifter base by heating it, you'd be surprised what a little sanding with 400 grit sandpaper and chrome spray paint can accomplish. Unless you look closely, the lever and the round cupola cover look as though they still retain chrome plating!
Marshall
 
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I am 6'00-6'1" in the old talk and drive a 1929 Phaeton. I have no trouble getting in or out and the driving position is just fine but the pedals are arranged differently in a RHD car so that might be part of it.
For those who are having trouble, I wonder what their weight is. I weigh in at 82 kg (180 lb) soaking wet. (BMI 24)
 
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