Why so small??????? 57 Vette

[Big D]

Hey guys, I have not yet recieved the 57 but it will be here in May, I have two basic questions 1) What the hell was the reasoning of making the steering collumn so long? I am 6'4'' and weigh 300lbs, and it looks to be a pretty tight fit for me, I am really afraid that I wont fit!!!!!! 2) Is there any mod kit that may shorten the collumn, or any retrofit products that may better suit me getting in there? At this point, I will have to get naked and grease myself up like Fat Bastard just to sit in the thing.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

I have sat in a 59, and felt that it was big enough, and the C2's are perfect fits, I just dont get it, was'nt Zora tall????

 

[58Mike]

I hear you, big guy. I'm 6'6" and extended the driverside firewall in my '58 for the extra legroom.

The '57 is definitely a tighter fit than the '58-'62s. It is possible to shorten the steering column, and you may even want to buy an aftermarket one from Flaming River or Ididit so you can keep your original column unmolested.

Another possible help is a smaller steering wheel form Corvette Central.

- Mike Greene

 

[Big D]

Well thanks, at least there is hope

I went to a special classic corvette dealer in my area, saw a 57 and didnt have the guts to try and get inside, or should I say that I had too many guts, time for a crash diet I suppose.

 

[IH2LOSE]

Best of luck with the new car .

Mike seems to impleply his firewall relocation as easey,ITS NOT its quite a project

I commend him for his braveness in undertaking such a feat ,Go with his other option for a new streering collum.And a smaller steering wheel.I am in ny also about 40 min north of NYC
where are you?

 

[Big D]

Yep that seems to be the way to go

Nice to meet you fellas, I am on Long Island, near Stony Brook, the car is 300 miles north of me snow bound at the present time. I was going to get the car next week, but conditions there wont permit it.

 

[JohnZ]

I'm kinda husky myself (5'-10", 230#), and when I restored my '57, I swapped out the original steering gear/column for one out of a '61 - the '58-up columns are 2" shorter than the '53-'57 columns. Reduces the space between the turn signal bell and the dash bezel from 4" to 2".

 

[Big D]

compared to me buddy, you are pettite, thanks for the suggestion, that may be the answer .

 

[58Mike]

Mike seems to imply his firewall relocation is easy,ITS NOT its quite a project

Absolutely! It's been an absolute can of worms that I will be tweaking even more after I get the body back on. The pedals also needed to be moved forward which really made it difficult, especially for an admitted ameteur like me.:eek

- Mike Greene