My old feet

Lefthander1930

Lefthander1930

Senior Member
Have a hard time getting in my 30 coupe twisting my feet between the seat and the door pillar.
Do I modify the seat cushion cut and section the spring width & what else I have to do ?

Move the riser and seat back which mean a lot of work ?

Looking for any suggestion or what you did to your coupe


 
You are not alone. I have developed a technique for getting in and out. Not graceful but it works. On getting out I skip the running board and go right for the pavement with my left foot and then my right foot sort of follows. Getting in I have to twist my foot. It may help doing some stretching exercises or maybe yoga.

More: As we age our bodies tend to stiffen up. My wife, a nurse, uses yoga to help maintain her flexibility. Me, I try to stay active by working on projects that force me to stretch my muscles and flex my joints. But there is no reversing time and age catches up with all of us. I got old all of a sudden.
 
Last edited:
I had this problem with my '22, '28 and '34 roadsters. My wife bought some seat cushions which makes it easier for me to get in and out of the cars and to drive them. She sees better through the windshields.
 
Park the car in high gear. Change the way you get into the car. Don't sit in it first. Hand on back of seat, other hand on door post. Step in with your right foot (hitting the floor) while attempting to seat 45 degrees to the right. Then bring your left foot in JUST AS YOUR BOTTOM SITS (I would say drag it, but that is not true). Once in, and sitting, turn your butt.

Then put your feet under the pedals until you get settled.
 
Last edited:
I wouldn’t feel too bad, I’m in my early 40’s and it’s not easy to get in and out of a 30 coupe. I have to do like Gene F was suggesting. I think you’d have no choice but to move the seat riser back to get any more room between the seat base and the post. My seat is temporarily moved back as far as it could on the slides and new holes were drilled to make it drivable. Soon I’ll bite the billet and move seat riser and trim the package tray to make enough room once and for all. Getting tired of my knee being jammed into the window crank.
 
I just layed across the seat on the DS in my ‘30 PU. I’m 6’3" , 185 lbs., 79 yrs old, and that worked for me.
 
There is a bit more room to be had in a coupe without cutting the package tray by raising the rear of the seat only by about an inch. Because of the angle of the seat back, every little bit you raise the back of it gives you a little bit more room to go back toward the package tray. The only downside is that it means moving the seat base further back on the tracks and you end up being able to see the top front edge of the seat riser in front of the upholstery.
 
First thing I do is empty my pockets because once seated they’re inaccessible. Or I wear safari pants or safari shorts with those extra pockets down on the leg. My son thinks I look like a dork, and he’s not wrong.
Then I step in with just my right foot and put my butt on the seat, and I continue facing out the door. Then I scoot backwards until I’m almost sitting on the passenger side. Then I find it easy to pivot to face forward and no issues with the legs.
 
Ditto to Nkaminar in post #2. I climb in my ‘31 Deluxe Roadster this same way. My feet are never on the running board.

Good luck !
Jim
 
Conaway2 said:
Ditto to Nkaminar in post #2. I climb in my ‘31 Deluxe Roadster this same way. My feet are never on the running board.

Good luck !
Jim
Click to expand...

Mine neither. However the shortest inseam I can wear is 38", and I realize that not every one has that long of a set of legs.
 
My copilot and I had the same issues with our ‘30 ccpu, even getting in the way NK describes. Our solution was to sell the pickup and buy a Town Sedan.
 
Gene F said:
Park the car in high gear. Change the way you get into the car. Don't sit in it first. Hand on back of seat, other hand on door post. Step in with your right foot (hitting the floor) while attempting to seat 45 degrees to the right. Then bring your left foot in JUST AS YOUR BOTTOM SITS (I would say drag it, but that is not true). Once in, and sitting, turn your butt.

Then put your feet under the pedals until you get settled.
Click to expand...

This works for me in our Victoria.
 
nkaminar said:
More: As we age our bodies tend to stiffen up. My wife, a nurse, uses yoga to help maintain her flexibility. Me, I try to stay active by working on projects that force me to stretch my muscles and flex my joints.
Click to expand...



I used to dread greasing the chassis on our Victoria because I would be sore the next day or two after climbing under the car multiple times during that maintenance.



I got around that problem by practicing touching my toes 5 times in the morning after getting up and 5 times in the evening before bed. (I do 5 squats down to the floor also and stand up from a squat position without holding onto anything.) It was painful at first, and I held onto some furniture in our bedroom until I got better at it. After a couple of weeks or so, I could do these stretches without holding onto anything.



Now, I can roll under the car without issue when I need to. I was surprised at how simple a solution this turned out to be for me. Just careful stretching farther than I used to be able to stretch. Be careful though. You don't want to "bounce" and tear a tendon. Slow and steady is the way to go.
 
Last edited:
shew01 said:
This works for me in our Victoria.
Click to expand...

X-2 in my Tudor, sort of , my drivers seat is back 5 inches, when its time for my left foot to inter my but is halfway up the back rest, once in I side my but down. 6’3” 220 lbs inseam 36”. Getting in the passenger side is much harder and I would rather climb into the rear seat .
 
shew01 said:
I used to dread greasing the chassis on our Victoria because I would be sore the next day or two after climbing under the car multiple times during that maintenance.
Click to expand...
I'm convinced Henry put running boards on the cars to give us old guys a place to push up from to help us get up off the ground.
 
I suspect that every Model A driver over 170cm tall has said the same thing. If you reverse the seat riser direction it gives you about 3 cm more leg-room. If you need to have extensions smithed. It is not elaborate smith work. Or....cut the existing risers and weld an extension in....which would probably be cheaper You will probably no longer be able to fold the drivers seat forward but that was never great anyway due to the steering wheel.
 
ModelA29 said:
I'm convinced Henry put running boards on the cars to give us old guys a place to push up from to help us get up off the ground.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. However, people were much shorter then. I’m 6’2” and the running boards do not fit my long legs. It’s easier for me to enter the car by skipping the running boards altogether. There is no right or wrong about it. This just works for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top