I am 6'5" tall and have a 65 Mustang. My knee is stuck between the steering wheel and the door handle when I try to use the clutch. Is there anything you guys could recommend for me? Is it possible to get longer seat rails, or extend the steering wheel. It is a real pain in the *** to drive.

 

you could move your seat riser back or fabricate a longer mounting bracket for the seat. My neighbor was in the same boat as you with his VW gettas so he made longer brackets.

 

I saw a wesite one time where the guy cut the seat bases and welded them back in farther back. Probably more extreme than what you are looking for.

A couple other options are an aftermarket column. But the 65 has a one piece shaft from the steering box to the wheel. Not sure how this would work.

You might also want to try a smaller diameter aftermarket wheel.

Not sure if any of this helps, but I hope you get it worked out.

 

how to fix your problem http://mustangsplus.com/tech/seat/index.html

 

If you have not already, you may wish to try a smaller steering wheel - a decreased steering wheel radius may give you adequate knee/thigh clearance. I have a similar problem but not as severe as a 6'4" guy!

I would try that before cutting up the seat riser or installing a different steering column. My .02 cents.

 

Yes and yes.

There are a few things you can do to gain more room.

The simplest is to fabricate some seat track extenders. The extenders will locate the seat tracks further rearward. Since the seat riser is wedge shaped, the further you move the seat rearward, the more headroom you'll gain also.

As linked above, removing and trimming down the seat risers is another way to gain headroom, but to gain legroom, the lowered riser should be moved rearward before welding it back in. Keep in mind that the access holes in the floorpan for attaching the seat tracks may also need to be modified if you move the riser back to far.

A narrower aftermarket steering wheel creates more thigh room.

The steering column modification is your last resort due to the expense involved. There are several ways to shorten the assembly, the easiest being to convert the steering to a modern R&P unit. In so doing, the entire steering column/housing can be mounted a few inches closer to the dash. Without switching to a R&P, the steering box/shaft would have to be removed and the shaft shortened. Shortening the column housing is an easier process.

Not knowing your capabilities, I'd try the least expensive and simplestoption.... extending the seat tracks rearward.

Good Luck!

Dave

 

Two words: Tele Tilt.

 

Thanks for the information guys, its really helpful. I think I'm gonna try fabricating new brackets.

 

Drop the floor pan,

Relocate the brackets backwards as far as possible,

Go with some thinner seats.

I'm 6'2....here's mine.