Leg room and seat position

[BJones]

I have a 71 TR6. I am about 6'2" and have fairly long legs. With the seat all the way back, I still feel like I could use a little more leg room. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can come up with a solution to move the seat back? I have about 1-2 inches of room to the rear wheel well and like 4-5 inches to the back deck area behind the seat. Can I make adapter to bolt on the the existing seat rails to move it back some? I would like to avoid redrilling into the floorpans if possible. Also I am thinking of trying to get a little smaller steering wheel. I figure anything would be an improvement. Being a new owner it is working fine for me, but I can see on longer drives wanting a little more leg room and not having my right knee cover the radio knob. Thanks!

 

[trfourtune]

holes in floor or different seats or shorten legs-you pick.
rob

 

[Tomster]

Do you have a stock seat?

 

[BJones]

I do believe they are stock seats. I was just hoping I could maybe fabricate a bracket or adapter between the seat and what bolts to the floor. I cant be the 1st guy with this problem... and I do like my legs the way they are. Thanks /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Tomster]

If i'm not mistaken, when you remove the seats and lift the carpet and underlay you may discover an additional set of bolt holes in the floor plan that will allow for some more space

 

[BJones]

Excellent, I will have to take a look. The PO did add new floorpans when he restored it. Maybe I will get lucky and that will be all I need to do... Thanks for the advice. Any other thoughts would be great.

 

[Tomster]

go barefoot.... sorry

 

[kodanja]

I aways drive barefoot /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif

 

[TR6oldtimer]

[ QUOTE ]
Can I make adapter to bolt on the the existing seat rails to move it back some? I would like to avoid redrilling into the floorpans if possible. Also I am thinking of trying to get a little smaller steering wheel. I figure anything would be an improvement.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am in the process of installing a floor in my six. There are no extra mounting points on my floor panel. In my opinion, your best bet is to get some flat iron from a local hardware store, drill the appropriate holes to match the floor and where you want the seat to go. Paint it and bolt the extension to the floor and your seat to it. Voilà, done albeit you will probably see the extension in front of your seat.

Smaller steering wheels are available but will increase the effort to turn the wheel.

 

[bunzil]

Maybe this will help: I am 6'1" and when I bought the car noticed that the seat could slide about an inch past the last pin on the locking mechanism. Of course this meant when coming to an abrupt stop the seat would slide forward the inch or so and then lock into position. So I merely drilled another hole in rail at the very rear and this provided one more locking increment which proved just perfect for me. You may need just a bit more, in which case, in addtion to the above, I'd look into drilling four more new holes in the seat rails (not the floor). These two methods combined might just do the trick. If I recall, 71's had their headlight dimmers on the floor and this is a drag because in the later years, like mine, it was moved to the column - so on long drives I can put my foot to the left of the clutch and strech it completely. If this is appealing to you, consider moving the dimmer. Good luck.

 

[Brosky]

This picture shows how much room remains on the left side from the rear holes in the carpet. Naturally, the right should be the same. This is where the back of the track would bolt to. Why not just drill the (4) new holes, seal up the old ones and move the track back accordingly?

At least that way you can still move it forward if someone else were to drive the car (heaven forbid!), and the tracks won't be out there to cut yourself on every time you get in and out.

And don't lose the spacers that fit under the track!

 

[Brosky]

Bunzil's post and mine must have crossed. I like his idea as well, simply because you won't have to drill the floor again.

Great thought!

 

[BJones]

Now that is what I am talking about! All of these are excellent ideas. I will have to try and get the seat out this weekend and see what I can come up with. Both drilling the holes in the existing seat rails and using the flat iron should fix my problem. I will just have to get in there and see what will help me fit the best. Thanks for all you help.

 

[swift6]

[ QUOTE ]
Why not just drill the (4) new holes, seal up the old ones and move the track back accordingly?

[/ QUOTE ]

The floors have captured nuts. Redrilling will require you to use fender washers (to spread the load) and your own 'un-captured' nuts. Which is fine in three of the four locations however that pesky frame could get in the way of the inside rear locations. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[gjh2007]

Are you sure the po re-installed the tracks correctly, the mounts are staggered to allow full travel. I Have the thread on this somewhere as I had to re-install mine after cleaning up & painting my floors. My driver's seat goes almost all the way back to the well arch. I am running tr250, but except for the seat configuration should be the same. Maybe someone with a 6 can give you the bolt pattern for the floor mounts as well as the seat to track alignment?

It's not a straight forward as you would think.

& the tracks screw into captives on the frame, so forget about moving the mounting holes in the floor pans..

 

[BJones]

I guess one test that I can easily do, is to lean the seat forward on the front pivot and then attempt to slide the seat further back when the rear seat is elevated. My seat which the owner reupholstered himself attaches the the rail at the front and then the rear sits on rubber stoppers and can tilt forward. I am guessing this it stock?

 

[Adrio]

I agree with Gary. If I recall on my TR4A the holes are staggered and there are three holes in the track to match up with two holes in the floor. My seats also go as far back as to touch the back shelf. Also the option of adding more square holes in the track so that there are more locking positions is a valid one. I was able to add two of them at the front so that the seat could move closer to the wheel in order for my wife to drive it. I am sure the same space is available at the rear (my guess is you can get 2 or 3 inches more).

The captive nuts are there as stated but in my case they were not in the frame but welded to the under side of the floor so you could put new holes in and just use large washers and nut (but I would go with the rail modification if it were me - oh yah, that is what I did when it was me).

 

[ScottTR6]

Has anyone documented the extension or relocation of the seat rails, I only have a single set of holes in my 74. I'd love a couple extra inches of legroom. Do the rails need to be anchored to the frame, or just the floor pan? Andrew

 

[bobh]

I find that I can gain leg room by leaning the seat back. Try moving the seat all the way back, and leaning it as far back as it will go. Then move the seat forward a little, and tilt it back as far as it will go. With each move forward you will also gain a little more lean. Which in turn gives you a little more leg room. Try this sequence a couple of times to see if you can find a setting that is more comfortable.

 

[BJones]

I will have to explore all of this, though my seat does not recline. I wish it did, it would definitely let me customize the ride a little more. I will keep you all posted with what I figure out. I might be able to tinker with it tomorrow night once the kids get to bed. If not then over the weekend.