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New Prospective Owner Size Question


Guest chaz851

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Hi all, Im new here so looking for a bit of help.

40 years on bikes, motocross and American cars has left me looking for a kit car. need the thrill of wind I my hair but comfort from sitting down . this is my problem.

Ive sat in 3 Robin Hood's so far, the problem I have is 6ft tall and 18 stone I have difficulty with the left knee . tried driving and just sat in, the steering wheel will not rotate freely as knee jams between it and down part of chassis tubing behind dash.

one car had a steering wheel with flat at the bottom, the other two had removable ones, easy to get in and out but still a safety issue while driving. don't particularly want to go too small on steering wheel as wide shouldered.

is the wide bodied version any wider in the area?

has anyone else had a problem here and got around it?

 

I would look at a part built kit to modify or a finished car they could be modified without too much change to it, hence asking before buying.

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I am a similar size and have a zero. I have swapped to a dropped floor and fibre glass seats and now have bags of room. I did have the standard floor and roadster seats and it was snug. The fibre glass seats with the pads are more comfy for me as they give me a bit more space sideways and the sides come round my legs rather than the side bolsters digging in my thighs.

 

I also have a small steering wheel which helps except for parking

 

Where are you based?

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thanks for the replies.

I think one was a 2b the other two don't know. problem was one owned by a short chap and needed finishing the other on the road but he was taller and thinner.

the other problem is that there aren't many for sale in Wiltshire, most are Yorkshire/Scotland or East Coast. so cant get round to trying one on..

off to work now for nightshift, another reason unable to travel far.

thinking that maybe the steering column could be raised, but would a lower floor, as seen in 'wheeler dealers' make a lot of difference?

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Hi, I've got a 2B and fit in it with room to spare (6ft 3), mind you, I did build it for me. I drove a couple of 2B's before finishing mine, one I really struggled with leg/knee room, the other was fine. All depends who built it.

I've seen a 2B on ebay recently that used to belong to a friend who is tall, so may be a good fit. Look for an orange 1 with stripes on the nosecone.

HTH

Nick

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The monocoque cars, especially the early ones, can be pretty deceiving on how roomy they are, they have wide tunnels and so very narrow for the drivers area. It can also be difficult to get the seat car enough back, but as had been said, there are tweaks you can make. You can also fit a removeable boss for the steering wheel which can help with getting in and out, and a smaller steering wheel buys some extra space.

 

2B is different and generally much roomier.

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Im 6 ft 3 and 15 stone and i fitted in mine ok.

the console used to dig into my knee a bit so fitted a padded cover

it had black corbeau padded seats in which gave plenty of room ,i reckon some fibregalsss ones would add more too.

 

its the one mentined above on ebay .. orange with blue stripes i sold it 6 months ago

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6' 2" and 16 stone when I bought my RH Superspec (lost a stone since then :)) and fitted in easily, with still room to move the seat backwards. The Superspec has the dropped floor as standard giving you extra room and it's nice and wide. They tend to be a bit more expensive than a normal 2B as all the parts (apart from a reconditioned diff) were brand new at build time. They come up regularly on E-Bay.

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thanks for your replies.

Im going back to basics and re reading the difference in specs as some of the cars Ive seen advertised, the owners dont mention what model/version so will check up front end etc.

a couple Ive seen are part builds or recent ( 6 months) purchases who are re selling on.

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I would avoid the series 7 as I am 6 foot and 84 kilos and find mine a snug fit. Comfortable when I am in but could be better. I have normal padded bucket seats which are good so I tend to put up with the slight lack of legroom. On a long journey I wear an old pair of carting boots which of all the things I've tried for comfort makes the most difference, enabling me to get my left foot under the clutch pedal for a stretch out. As Stuart has already said the tunnel is very narrow and my drivers seat is very slightly angled. Presumably intentionally but you never know what was in my cars builders mind. I think a different pedal box would make a lot of difference but I don't know if I could be bothered with that at the moment, maybe sometime in the future.

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Kevin makes a good point about the pedals. Many of us have to wear the narrowest pair of shoes we have to operate the pedals individually rather than finding we brake and throttle at the same time :) So if you do go to view a car, make sure you aren't wearing boots.

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thanks!! size 11/12 may have a problem then specially as I like wide fitting. normally wear steel toe caps when to and from work or my unit.

is the tunnel pre shaped and snug to the gearbox, or would it be possible if I re moddeled the tunnel to give a bit more room?

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