1941 Ford pickup. Oh no! I'm too big!

1

1EarlyA

Senior Member
So, I just got the cab set where it should be on my 1941 Ford pickup. But, now I have a big problem. I cannot comfortably operate the pedals.


Is there anything I can do?


For reference I am 6'4" 260 lbs. With the pedals in the stock position, my legs are comfortable when the accelerator is practically floored and the brake pedal is only about 2" off the floor.


I really hope I am not limited to a sedan.
 
Boy, I don't know, some of those pre-war vehicles are pretty small. I had the car of my dreams, a '36 3-window with a 276" Merc that I sold 5 years after finishing it because it was too cramped; I had finally had enough. A friend had a very nice '36 Dodge pickup that I could not drive because of the same problem (He was 5'6" and I was 6').

I hope you end up better than I did.
 
Had a 41 pickup and loved it for the looks. Had to use a third seat from a Ford Windstar SUV to get enough room to drive it. I'm 6 foot tall and 185. It was great for short trips, but it was still not that comfortable. If you are 6'4" and 260 I don't think it will be comfortable unless you seriously modify (stretch) the cab.
 
I know a guy who's 5-6 155 lbs :) Really though even at that I have been loving my '59 F350 9' express since I bought it back last spring, and the '46 tonner spends a lot of time in the shed. Just feels sorta claustrophobic after sitting on that big couch seat and the wrap around windshield adds to the roominess factor. Hope this isn't blasphemy on the flathead page. FTE (Ford Truck Enthusiasts) site has a bunch of guys that have stretched cabs, but most of them in the bonus built era. I wish I had a better solution.
 
I remember seeing a "custom" 40/41 with an "extended cab, it looked nice. There was a small quarter window in the extended part behind the door. Good luck GB.
 
mfirth said:
I remember seeing a "custom" 40/41 with an "extended cab, it looked nice. There was a small quarter window in the extended part behind the door. Good luck GB.
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I think this is the only way to go, even with modern pickups. I like a semi-reclining position, arms extended to the steering wheel, not gonna happen with any regular pickup.
 
There aren't many advantages to aging (I'm 79), but having lost 2 1/2 inches in height over the years (from degenerative disc disease), now at 5'7" I fit pretty comfortably in my '36 pickup

Adam
 
I realy feel your pain. I'm only 5' 10 and 175. My dream car since I can remember was always a 55 T bird. At age 55 I finaly got a nice driver that fit the need . After a two year and ton of $$$$ rebuild it was ready for the road in style. My wife and I drove it down to Palm Springs from Olympia Wa. The car performed excellent. When we arrived all we could think about was we wished we still had the 55 Victoria. It was just too d### small and road too rough and noisy. Kind of funny though, I sold it and bought a 41 ford pickup, it fits me perfectly. Tim
 
Is there anything you can do to the seat? Without photos, I imagine this is a bench seat, with a back that maybe folds forward to access the area behind the seat? Is so, can you reposition the whole seat backwards? Can you modify (reduce) the seat back to give you a "deeper" sitting position? Perhaps a different seat entirely is a solution.
Hope you solve this.
 
47topless said:
Is there anything you can do to the seat? Without photos, I imagine this is a bench seat, with a back that maybe folds forward to access the area behind the seat? Is so, can you reposition the whole seat backwards? Can you modify (reduce) the seat back to give you a "deeper" sitting position? Perhaps a different seat entirely is a solution.
Hope you solve this.
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If you do it, make sure you do it before any upholstery work. My '36 had all of the upholstery in and done by the time I discovered there was a "room problem". There was a chance that we may have been able to do something about it by redoing the interior, but it wasn't a large chance, and by that time, I had gotten to the point I just didn't want to deal with it. Luckily, I had not sold my '51 club coupe, so I still had it (overall, it's much more civilized vehicle, especially when you get a little older). A local guy made me the proverbial "offer I couldn't refuse", so down the road it went.
 
47topless said:
Is there anything you can do to the seat? Without photos, I imagine this is a bench seat, with a back that maybe folds forward to access the area behind the seat? Is so, can you reposition the whole seat backwards? Can you modify (reduce) the seat back to give you a "deeper" sitting position? Perhaps a different seat entirely is a solution.
Hope you solve this.
Click to expand...


I'm afraid there is not much I can do with the seat. The seat back is relatively thin and already as far back as it can possibly go. We first thought of raising the seat bottom up a little to make the angle/motion of my legs more comfortable. But, it quickly became apparent if we did that, I would have to duck down to see much more than my hood when I looked out the windshield.
 
I know of some who have used a glide engineering seat with the back set to go beneath the horizontal cab cross member giving additional space. I think less padding over the springs as well. A stock seat can't be done that way.
 
See if you can fit in with the stock seat removed. If you can fit then work out what seat base and back thicknesses you could get in there and still be able to fit. A custom seat may be the answer. The stock seats are not very complicated. A simple plywood/foam/material construction would be very do-able.
Mart.
 
I hate to say this but at 6'4" and 260 I don't think a modified seat will help much. I've seen two 40-41 pickups with stretched cabs and done right they look good. Both owners used 2 sets of pickup doors and two cabs to get the job done. Both were stretched 2-3 inches. Doors were sectioned in the middle and so were the cabs.
 
1EarlyA said:
I'm afraid there is not much I can do with the seat. The seat back is relatively thin and already as far back as it can possibly go. We first thought of raising the seat bottom up a little to make the angle/motion of my legs more comfortable. But, it quickly became apparent if we did that, I would have to duck down to see much more than my hood when I looked out the windshield.
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I'm 6' 2" and understand your frustration. I originally wanted a 38-41 3/4 ton truck, I really like how they look. I drove a few 38-47 Ford trucks and realized I just don't fit. I ended up buying a 49 F-2, and it is still a bit tight. Old trucks were not for comfortable cruising, they were for working.
Interestingly I do fit well in 35-40 passenger cars. Go figure.
 
I would use a 3rd seat out of an SUV - I particularly use the 3rd seat out of a Chevy Suburban and mount it slam up against the cab back wall. I also mount it with the front 3/4" higher. Also, perhaps a tilt wheel would give also give you more knee and torso clearance. You are never going to be able to stretch out at you height and weight but you can make it more manageable.

You can PM me with your email address and I can send you some pictures. My friend us 6'4" and about 240 and he can fit rather well if not fit criss country runs but 1-2 hour trips.
 
Just a bit of advice from someone who has been there and done that. As mentioned above, I had finally gotten my "dream car", a '36 3-window with the requisite "3/4 race Merc", '39 floor shift, 4.11 gears and everything else I wanted. The car was a little bit of a tight fit, but I figured, "Well, I can get used to it". Exactly the opposite occurred; I ended up having to decide if I wanted to put up with the discomfort of a two hour drive, and usually ended up taking something else or not going at all. Instead of getting better, I found myself resenting having such a great car and not being able to use it like I had always imangined. After 5 years of this, it was gone.

I don't miss it at all.
 
Maybe just cut out the back of the cab and mount a seat in the bed of the truck? :D


Just kidding . . . you're just a big guy and these vehicles were not made for big guys!
 
Thanks for all the input. Just to be clear, I can get in and out fine and I fit just fine when parked in the driveway. The problem is just the discomfort of how folded up my legs must get to put my feet up on the pedals. Basically if the pedals were 4"-6" further away, I believe it would work. I just can't see any way to make that happen(other than stretching the cab, which I don't like at all)... especially once I had the SBC, TH400 in there. The seat back is much thinner than the original and already all the way back. I'll post a picture tonight. The steering wheel/column shouldn't be an issue because I would be using an aftermarket 13" wheel and a column that has that pin allowing the wheel to be removed easily.
 
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