How do I get behind the wheel

DennisR

DennisR

Senior Member
With my dignity intact :D I am only 5' 8" tall, not very big, I have the seat back as far as it will go and I always find it difficult to make an easy entry, I get one leg in but the other foot jams and has to be juggled, much to the amusement of friends and others, I've taken to getting in from the passenger side :o
 
Dennis, if you are having trouble then imagine what it is for me. I am 6'4" and 225lbs and long legged. My Model A is a '28 and the seat does not go back at all. I cannot lift my legs up to use the pedals because the steering wheel is in the way. So I just pivot my feet on my heels to have my feet go on and off the pedals.
 
Dennis,left or right hand drive? Don't know if it would make a difference. Read somewhere on barn that model t's are entered from pass side. Tom
 
The best way of entry for me is to dive in head first with my right hand on the seat cushion for support. Then bring the legs in. I mostly drive a '28 phaeton, which is notoriously cramped for space. Going in feet first followed by the body is too hard on my back and other parts of the body, besides looking I'm trying to do the limbo. Think of entry as "bailing in" instead of "bailing out". To leave the cockpit, once again go head first. Now you are actually bailing out. :)
Marshall
 
One of the previous owners of my fordor moved the seat back 3-4" and it is great. Glad they did it.
 
Want a challenge?

Try gracefully entering and exiting at 5' 11" (1.8m) and 330 lbs (150kg).

That's what I was when I got the A.

I basically step right foot in and plant butt on seat, then put left foot up on running board, push with left foot and slide the rest of the way in, then left pull left foot in.
 
Marshall V. Daut said:
The best way of entry for me is to dive in head first with my right hand on the seat cushion for support. Then bring the legs in. I mostly drive a '28 phaeton, which is notoriously cramped for space. Going in feet first followed by the body is too hard on my back and other parts of the body, besides looking I'm trying to do the limbo. Think of entry as "bailing in" instead of "bailing out". To leave the cockpit, once again go head first. Now you are actually bailing out. :)
Marshall
Click to expand...

Marshall, just leave the top down and bounce in and out THAT way!! I recall you telling me once that lowering the top on a '28 Phaeton is no simple task either, though.

On our Roadster it seems like I do OK by stepping in w/ the right foot, sliding in the car and then dragging the remaining appendages in last of course, never ever pulling on the steering wheel I make it a habit to not even touch it.

I was at the Bishop Hill car show today, and some guy had (in my opinion, the sharpest car of the whole show) a 1925 Willys-Knight touring car. Maroon. Absolutely a stunning car. Super nice guy. He asked if I'd like to sit in the back seat, I did and it had gobs of room very spacey. Then, he insisted I try to sit in the driver's seat and laughed as I couldn't BEGIN to do that maneuver. I'm well over six feet tall.

He also had a cut-away of one cylinder and how the piston traveled and the 'valves' opening and closing. He cranked his display so you could watch. Pretty neat! weren't any true valves had a sleeved cylinder set up kind of like a two cycle engine design, hard to explain. They advertised it as the 'Engine that will never wear out'. Car was $1900 new vs. a $475 Ford. Lot of unique engineering in the car. Distributor ran off of the rear of the generator, you timed the car by turning the dist. base kind of like a 1960's car would be. He just came home from a 700 mile tour in the New Hampshire mountains on his newly rebuilt babbitted engine and the car ran flawlessly!
 
Dennis,

What body style do you have? It appears to be a coupe in your avatar. It that it?

Ken
 
I have the same problem as Dean in Bozeman. I am about the same size 6' 4" and 220 lbs. I can get in my 28 coupe without too much trouble, but I can't safely drive it. I can't easily get my right leg between the shift lever and the steering wheel to hit the brake, especially in low gear. That is dangerous! Luckily, I enjoy making a rusted hulk into a car that is close to how it came off the assembly line. Driving is secondary for me. I know a lot of people are just the opposite and like to drive their A's verses restoring them and I would to if I weren't so tall.
Rusty Nelson
 
fiddlybits said:
Want a challenge?

I basically step right foot in and plant butt on seat, then put left foot up on running board, push with left foot and slide the rest of the way in, then left pull left foot in.
Click to expand...

That's what I've found to be the best way to get in my tudor.
 
I was lucky enough to buy my late 31' Tudor from a guy who installed longer seat bracket... I'm 6'3" and come to think of it I really have not though much about getting in to my car... It's much easier that my Mrs. KIA I assure you.
 
Put your right foot in
slide your butt on the seat
pull your left foot in
shake it all about
[ no running board involvement]
Wasn't that once set to music ?
I'm 6'2" 220# and took a few minutes to figure this out.
The 30/31s have a bit more room than the 28/29s.
 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with entering thru the passenger side and sliding across the seat ! I do it all the time with my 1929 pickup Roadster and my 1924 Model T Roadster Wayne
 
I've always ben caught off guard when I see an old movie and someone will pop into the passenger side and slide across the long bench seat. It really is oddly eye catching, and it keeps you off the street.
 
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