I'd like a little more head room

[kenwa]

I'm not that tall, 6 feet even, but I'd like to get a little farther from the roof panel, without laying down. Has anyone tried lowering the driver's seat farther than stock? I can't tell much about the seat mechanism with a flashlight, so I thought I might just pull the seat out.
Is there a way to drop the seat about an inch? I've got the sport seats.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[vader86]

Take out the mechanical stuff underneath, and put the seat right on the floor.

If you have a clear top, not body color, you shouldnt have this problem.

I'm 6'6" and fit fine.

 

[kenwa]

I've got the body color top, not glass.

 

[Ken]

I'm going to be looking into my bracketry very shortly, in preperation for new aftermarket seats, which will necessitate new brackets. I noticed when glancing at mine that there was a lift to the bracket that raised the seat about an inch/inch-and-a-half, but whether or not it can be removed with the capability of re-installing the same seat is another question.

Tell ya what, I just might venture into the garage this evening, seeing as how I have all of my tools back here at home, and inspect/disassemble my seats to check it out. I gotta do it sometime anyway, and I don't have my Vette to tinker with. :gap

Stay tuned.

 

[kenwa]

Ken, you've got your Vette seats in the garage, but no Vette?
Lol,
Ken

 

[Ken]

Long story. See "My Engine Project..." threads.

Headin' to the garage now!

 

[Ken]

Springfield... we have pictures!

See what happens? I'm so easily distracted that the simplest things turn into hours of work, er, excuse me, pleasure. My garage is certainly neater after tonight's visit.

My driver seat is the only one with full power. The passenger seat has the lumbar and recline part, but not the forward/backward adjustment feature, but it mounts to the seat bucket in a similar manner, so I only took the passenger seat apart. It should give you the idea of what you have to deal with.

The seat tracks:

The seat bottom (you have to remove the bolts to the rails, from the underside of the seat bottom cushion):

The front of the seat track:

The rear of the seat track:

The brackets on my new seats:

The difference in height:

I'm gonna have to play the height thing by ear when I get the car back. Obviously though I'm going to have to address the difference in length between the tracks.

I'm gonna learn more about this stuff--like capturing more detals when documenting a disassembly or repair. I shoulda showed the simple things like how to remove the seat bottom.

Hope this helps.

 

[kenwa]

Wow, Ken, thanks for the photos!

My seats are probably a little different, but from looking at your setup, I think it's worth pulling my seat out to see the details. I'll probably do it over the holiday weekend.

My issue may be keeping stuff like the lumbar pumps (there are three of them) from dragging on the carpet.

Thanks a lot!

 

[JonM]

Ken, you ARE a maniac.

 

[Vettart]

Another way to get more head room is to wear boxers.

 

[_freakmonkeydogboy_]

a "glass" top will give you about 2-3 more usable head inches too

 

[kenwa]

Yeah, I thought about getting a glass top although I'd like a lower seat even then. The top would be fun, although hotter in the summer. My cousin who has a 94 with body color top said he didn't get the glass top because he didn't want to get a sunburn on top of his head. Is that possible? If so, I would have the same problem!

 

[darkcarn85]

Lowering Seat

I fabricated two fixed runners out of 1/4" x 1" steel. It followed the same angle as the stock rails but lowered the seat nearly 3". The only drawback is the lack of adjustability. I'm 6'5" and have planty of room even with painted panels. It's a major project, but it completely changes how you sit in the car, not just the headroom. Your relationship to the steering wheel is completely different: you feel like you are in the car rather than on it. I did this many years ago, if you are interested, I'll see if I can dig out the specs.

You can also remove the liner from the painted panels and have some thin vinyl put up there.

 

[johnny]

try different seats

And a homemade seatrail, I am almost sitting on the bottem of my vette.

 

[Ken]

Re: Lowering Seat

Your relationship to the steering wheel is completely different...

Hmmm... I never thought of that. How do you guys feel about the difference? Is it awkward?

A seat change is already in the works for me (I have the new seats) so it's something I guess I'll have to deal with, but maybe you guys can provide some tips as to what to look for. Is it possible to use spacers for the steering column in order to lower the angle if necessary? I doubt if it will be, but it never hurts to know.

 

[kenwa]

That's part of the reason I would rather lower the seat than get a glass top. My eye level is such that I can't see the word "unleaded", I can only see "fuel only", because the dash overhang is in the way. Like darkcarn85 mentioned, I need to be down in the car a little bit, although I really don't feel "on top of it".

I'll yank the seat next time I get a chance.

Ken

 

[Ken]

Re: Lowering Seat

... if you are interested, I'll see if I can dig out the specs.

I didn't notice this part of your post dark. Yes please, I would like to see pictures. :cool

 

[darkcarn85]

Lowering Seats

I have an autocad file somewhere, I'll see if I can find it. But basically what I did was unbolt the seat shell from the seat rack. Using the existing holes in the floor as a guideline I bent the steel strips to match the angle (but not the height) of the original rack. I then drilled the holes for the seat shell. I welded in 3 crossmembers. The seat feels the same in terms of leg support, just lower. Again all adjustability is lost, but that was of secondary concern to me.

 

[94conv.]

My 89' had three straps under the bottom seat that could be removed for an extra 1 to 2"s. I dont know about the 94-96, Ive never had the bottom out of the seat. I heard about the seat straps from Gordon Killebrew from the corvette plant after he had to make xtra room in a 93zr1 anniversary for Michael Jordon.