Interior room

Skrain

Skrain

Senior Member
Just a general question...I'm a pretty big guy, about 6'1" and about 290, and I'm curious...which body style of the Model A had the most room in the driver's seat? I'm thinking a Phaeton, or a Fordor, but I'm not sure...:confused:
Things like clearance from the wheel, leg room, seat adjustability, and so forth.
I tried getting into a 29 Roadster P/U the other day, and couldn't even fit in the door! :eek:
I had to unbolt the seat riser from the floor of my CCPU and move it back, with the seat back fastened flat vertically to the back wall of the cab to make it easier for me to fit.:cool:
 
The Phaeton has ample back seat room, but my 28 is tight in the front seat.

The Tudor bucket seat can be easily moved back to provide good room.
 
I believe 4 door, but I'm your size and my coupe is quit roomy. No belly rub if you know what I mean :D. I believe you own the tightest fit,the 28-29 pickups.
 
Phaetons are not roomy in the front seat. 1930-31 coupes with adjustable seat are fairly roomy. 1929 Briggs fordors and all 30-31 fordors are pretty roomy in the front seat. As Tom said, the Tudor is the easiliest modified for more room.
 
Most people can not take full advantage of their car's interior simply because the seats are improperly upholstered.

IMO, the vehicles that respond the best to minor, non-obtrusive mods that can easily be reversed are the Fordors with adjustable front seats (not all Fordors had adjustable seats) which allows the adjuster to be moved rearward utilizing just two screws to attach it to the floor. This will allow the seat up to an addition 3" in legroom. Next would be the Tudor & bodystyles with the folding front seats. Granted, most of these do not have the cushion upholstered correctly however the pivot can be modified in such a way that gains an addition 2½" of reward positioning.
 
Those itty bitty Tudor seats just don't look comfy to me no matter how far back they go. The OP is 6'1" and 290#. This is about my petite size also, before I got the coupe I seat tested a few different cars. RPU, Vicky, CCPU, Tudor, and Phaeton were all to tight for comfort. This left few options in my budget so coupe it was :). I wish I could carry 4 people sometimes but I can't do a Fordoor, I'm not old enough for oneL:DL
 
Forget any Model A that does not have the capability of adjusting the front seat further back. Many of the Model A's (remember, this was the cheapest car on the Market) did not have an adjustable seat.
For a really big guy, the solution I like best is the one from Bent in Tennessee, who suggests relocating the Driver's Front Seat of a TuDoor Sedan, futher back.
One of our (the Model A hoby) biggest problems is WHAT to do with our cars after we have "passed over". The standard answer of passing them on to our kids and grandchildren, comes up short when the kids (now thirty or forty years old) can not fit comfortable into the Driver's space. My hope was to pass on my '28 Phaeton to my grandson. Sadly, because he is 6'4", he cannot fit into the driver's seat. So the car will have to be passed on to someone else. I can't do anything about moving the front seat on an open car (don't know about '31 Cabriolets), but the realitive easy solution of moving the seat back on a Tudoor seems like a nice option - for those who have a Tudoor.
 
Doug I've seen the front seat moved back in a phaeton. You couldn't tell after it was done, the whole seat back piece was taken out and moved a couple inches. Not stock but if it means keeping it in the family...
 
I have a Town Sedan. I am 6'2" and 200 lbs. There is not enough leg room and getting out is a real challenge. I hope to try Brent's approach for moving my seat. I just have not gotten to it, yet.
 
Hello Skrain... 6' 1" - 270+ here ... We have a '28 roadster and a '29 Phaeton and I have to get in on the passenger side and fish my feet around the gear shift/ebrake handle and then scoot in.

I saw a Phaeton a while back that had not changed anything but they had taken it to an upholstery house that placed clips on the seat springs which gained 2-3" in both depth/height. The clips could be removed at any time putting them back to norm(so long as the springs didn't stay at clip height, I guess...). I haven't done mine yet but I plan to soon...
 
As others have stated, tudors probably the easiest. I'm 5' 10" and "about" 220. I moved my tudors seat back about 6' and raised it 2-3". Very comfortable and easier to get in and out. Tried getting into a 29 RPU and after finally getting in there was no room to activate either the brake or clutch pedal.
Paul in CT
 
Tiny said:
Doug I've seen the front seat moved back in a phaeton. You couldn't tell after it was done, the whole seat back piece was taken out and moved a couple inches. Not stock but if it means keeping it in the family...
Click to expand...

Anything can be done. I have to add however, Doug's Phaeton is without a doubt one of the "nicer" Phaetons out there. For me, seeing any major mods of that nature would much like someone turning my Roadster into a hot rod! :mad:

On a lighter note, I agree with Brent. However I'm not all that comfortable in (or should I say "on") Tudor seats even when done properly on mint original springs. I suppose if I was in love with Tudors I'd take the time to adapt. Good Fordor seats are incredibly comfortable to me. With that said I'm 6' tall and my best guess would be about 180 pounds, hopefully a little less. ;)

As far as "tying back" or any other method of holding the seat springs collapsed, that MAY work for someone much heavier than me. Any coils that are constrained beyond the OUTER limits required to follow the contours of the individual will reduce comfort especially over longer periods. If ALL the coils are collapsed beyond that point you may as well install a proper cover and padding over a plywood platform!
 
I agree with Marco on all the points he made. It's only 2 pins to pull and you have the drives seat out of a Tudor, so for all out comfort as a driver car, you might want to find a later more comfortable bucket seat. You could then make it fit the Tudor posts, or make a bracket to fit the post holes.
 
I'm 55 years old, 6'6", was 259 lbs. just 7 weeks ago (now down to 237 and counting), shoe size 13 and pants inseam of 36, and I drive a '31 Roadster. I just removed the back shelf part, so without any cuts to thoe body I was able to get a comfortable seating position. I drive my Roadster almost every day and can't get enough of it.
 
It's very hard to get your feet into a '29 Coupe, between the seat corner & the "A" post, as the seat platform & the springs overhang the metal seat riser by several inches.
Has anyone ever cut off some of the front of the platform & the springs so you can get your feet in.
Pic is what I had to do to accommodate full leg braces, as I can't bend my knees out to the sides. Nothing was altered on the car & can be changed back to stock in 10 minutes.
Bill W.
 

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I'm 5'-10 about 180 lbs., but muscular build. The wider doors of the Tudor are excellent and make getting in or out MUCH easier, regardless of seat position. If you turn the seat posts 180 degrees (only takes a few seconds), you gain another 3 inches of legroom as stated above. When driving the tudor, my arms are almost fully outstretched. The steering wheel is a long, long way from my belly. Did a lot of "seat testing" before buying the Tudor, and found the coupes and pickups just way too cramped, but especially found the narrower doors to be a problem.

The ONLY coupe or roadster I'd ever consider buying is Marco's blue roadster. Dang, that car is nice. And it's neck-snapping quick too.
 
Paul, Are those the stock seat posts? Some supplier was showing some posts with an even more "dog leg" shape for more leg room.
I hope my funny seats will allow me to drive it SAFELY, I had to dump my size 13 boots & bought some G-Force Racing shoes for more room on the pedals & had to heat & bend the shifter to the right. On my other car, a Fulton throttle pedal & removing the foot rest helped also. Hope I don't have to shop for a Tudor! Bill W.
 
BILL WILLIAMSON said:
Paul, Are those the stock seat posts? Some supplier was showing some posts with an even more "dog leg" shape for more leg room.
I hope my funny seats will allow me to drive it SAFELY, I had to dump my size 13 boots & bought some G-Force Racing shoes for more room on the pedals & had to heat & bend the shifter to the right. On my other car, a Fulton throttle pedal & removing the foot rest helped also. Hope I don't have to shop for a Tudor! Bill W.
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Bill I"m also a size 13 shoe.
No boots, Birkenstocks, or other "bulky" shoes while driving my A. I always wear my slip on Vans. They are the least bulky shoes I own.

What else "BIG" does a guy with size 13 feet have?



Big Socks!! :D:D
 
:eek:A bit off topic, I am 5'8" 210# and have a 62 Tbird and I noticed that with the seat all the way back I am comfortable with leg room also this car has the swing away steer wheel and if I leave the wheel in driving position it is a bugger to get in or out of the car after talking with other bird owners the only logical answer is that we (humans) have gotten taller over the years.:confused:
 
Wisconsinjimmy said:
...the only logical answer is that we (humans) have gotten taller over the years.:confused:
Click to expand...
I always thought that the cars shrunk over the years being left out in the rain and all. Same thing with the suits in my closet, except that lack of sunlight causes it there.:D
 
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