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Have any tall people built a speedster from Vintage Motorcars with the "tall person package" (I don't think there really is a package, I just know there's a variety of mods a tall person can choose from)

I'm 6'3" with 32 inseam and I've heard shops modify the vw pan to lower speedster seats. Which lowers eye level through the windshield and gains more leg room and head room for when the top is up. I hear that a smaller wheel and short shifter can add ample leg/knee room as well.

I'm around the Burbank/ Sherman Oaks area in Los Angeles county, near the former JPS facility and a 40 min drive to VMC and with the amazing reviews i've read about Greg @VSpyder and crew... Its a no brainer to go with them.

If anyone has done any of these alterations, would love to sit in and see how much room it adds. Also planning on joining the next meet-up to ask even more newbie questions.

Preparing for the MADNESS,

BRIAN

Original Post

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MusbJim posted:

@BETTYLU356Speedster

Brian, for visual reference, here are a few pics of a modification to lower the seats in a pan-based Speedster. It is a seat pan that puts the seat mounting 2" lower than stock.

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@musbjim Yeah! I've seen you post this in a similar post. And I definitely want to do this using speedster seats... Hoping to add head room with the top up... I also sport a high pompadour (any rockabilly cats in the house?) More room up top wont ruin the hair do .

@Alan Merklin I unfortunately don't have any knowledge, tools or space to do it myself. Hoping that this is a mod that VMC is familiar with.

Anyone around the LA area have this done on their Speedster? Would love to have a seat in it.

Brian

VSpyder posted:

Brian,

I am 6'1" and fit comfortably... I can fit you to the car with a seat mod and floor mod , you are more then welcome to stop by the shop for some test fitting.

 

 

Greg

www.vintagemotorcarsinc.com

... And as a newbie... This response from @VSpyder is the reason it's so easy to say "I'm going with VMC." 

Thanks so much Greg... You guys are only open weekdays right? I'm trying to find time during the week to make that visit. Can't wait to see your cars in person.

ScarletSpeedster posted:
VSpyder posted:

Brian,

I am 6'1" and fit comfortably... I can fit you to the car with a seat mod and floor mod , you are more then welcome to stop by the shop for some test fitting.

 

 

Greg

www.vintagemotorcarsinc.com

... And as a newbie... This response from @ VSPYDER is the reason it's so easy to say "I'm going with VMC." 

Thanks so much Greg... You guys are only open weekdays right? I'm trying to find time during the week to make that visit. Can't wait to see your cars in person.

I detected a bit of a cough and a raspiness to your voice when I read your last post. You also sounded congested. I think you may have to stay home from work so as not to infect your co-workers.

"@musbjim Yeah! I've seen you post this in a similar post. And I definitely want to do this using speedster seats... Hoping to add head room with the top up... I also sport a high pompadour (any rockabilly cats in the house?) More room up top wont ruin the hair do." 

Brian, my wife and & are big fans of Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker and have seen them both at several concerts.  @BETTYLU356Speedster

Brian. I recently purchased my speedster from Arizona vantage speedsters and I am 6'3". I asked Justin to make modifications so I could fit. Don't know specificly what he did but I fit just fine with the classic bucket seats. Note:  I could not fit into the nice cushioned seats he offered in his showroom Car.  He indicated he could not make modifications for the cushioned seats for me to fit. 

Newbie Danny Nipomo Ca. ('18 VS Az) posted:

Brian. I recently purchased my speedster from Arizona vantage speedsters and I am 6'3". I asked Justin to make modifications so I could fit. Don't know specificly what he did but I fit just fine with the classic bucket seats. Note:  I could not fit into the nice cushioned seats he offered in his showroom Car.  He indicated he could not make modifications for the cushioned seats for me to fit. 

That's great! If I'm not mistaken VMC is in the former VS facility using its former employees. So I'm hoping the specs and measurements transferred over. Do you fit fine with top up as well? Do you have a pic with top up?

Brian

P.S. your ivory speedster and interior is BEAUTIFUL!!! 

Last edited by BETTYLU356Speedster
ScarletSpeedster posted:
Newbie Danny Nipomo Ca. ('18 VS Az) posted:

Brian. I recently purchased my speedster from Arizona vantage speedsters and I am 6'3". I asked Justin to make modifications so I could fit. Don't know specificly what he did but I fit just fine with the classic bucket seats. Note:  I could not fit into the nice cushioned seats he offered in his showroom Car.  He indicated he could not make modifications for the cushioned seats for me to fit. 

That's great! If I'm not mistaken VMC is in the former VS facility using its former employees. So I'm hoping the specs and measurements transferred over. Do you fit fine with top up as well? Do you have a pic with top up?

Brian

P.S. your ivory speedster and interior is BEAUTIFUL!!! 

Car on the left has a high bow and the car on the right has a low bow:

Rick Dale Bruce cars

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  • Rick Dale Bruce cars
WOLFGANG posted:

For leg room you need to look at tube frame Speedster --- no VW pan based.  A Beck is like having a living room vs a pan based. Get a new IM D/Cabriolet and its a living room with cathedral ceiling.

Haha!! This has to be the best feedback reply I've gotten here to date. Your comparisons are hilarious... But provide some great perspective.

Now the question to myself is "is that extra space worth that extra 20k?"... Ooooweee... And the madness continues...

Thanks again @WOLFGANG

ScarletSpeedster posted:

@Marty Grzynkowicz hahaha... That's how I feel now in regular cars. I'm doomed.

Anyone in the los Angeles area own a recently built IM? Would love to sit in it and feel the advertised "comfort for people over 6-feet tall" cockpit.

@Rusty S Is in Dana Point and might be able to help.

@I'm Les is in Capistrano and might be able to help.

and @IMDoug will be in San Luis Obispo June 7th, 8th, and 9th would probably let you look at his car from afar. Just kidding, he'd let you check it out.

Hey Brian, I've driven or sat in pretty much every make. I'm only 5'10" and, pretty much, normally proportioned with a 32" inseam. With a Vintage or JPS you sit up in the car. Minor adjustments can be made by tilting the seat back, removing the seat rails or dropping the seat portion of the pan. You can gain a few inches that way which is usually enough for most people.

Beck has a wider interior platform which makes it roomier and, again, the seating are can be modified to accommodate most driver's.

Intermeccanicas...every one that I have driven or sat in has been slightly different to accommodate the driver it was built for but you sit in an Intermeccanica. You are enveloped by the car. The belt line of the car is above your shoulder. In the case of @Stan Galat's IM it's a whole 'nother story. Stan is built, as he says, like a gorilla. Long arms, long torso, short legs (for his size). That is the hardest fit for a car as small as a speedster. When I sit in the driver's seat of Stan's car I'm transported back in time to when I was a little shaver sitting behind the wheel of my Dad's Cadillac. I can't see over the dashboard of Stan's car. The lower half of my face is blocked by the door. There's no way I would be able to drive it but it fits the owner perfectly.

My point is that everyone is different, some cars are more different than others. Every car can be modified to a point but sometimes you have to spend the big bucks if you're built like Stan.

Last edited by Terry Nuckels
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