Need more leg room . please help

[Big Irish]

Just bought a 53 5 window on ebay . Got in the truck and I am way to tall . I am 6.2 . the truck has factory bench and gas tank behind the seat . i am hoping changing that out will make it work out for me . I am looking for advice as to what seats and or suggestions the experts can give me .Wanted one of the trucks for so long and now worried about making it work . Any help appreciated . thanks very much .

[Todd68Chevy]

I have a buddy that has a 49 with the gas tank behind the seat. He is taller than 6.2 and I know he tried the stock seat and after one trip about 3 hours he bought an aftermarket seat and has since drove the truck 13 hours on one trip. I will check with him and try to get the seat companies name for you.

[BlueJeep]

Move the gas tank and get an 88-94 Chevy bench seat. This summer a buddy rode around with me that's 6'9" 290 lbs and he fit just fine in my truck.

[Big Irish]

thanks very much for the reply . kinda worried . but this gives me some piece of mind . My buddy has a 56 with buckets and i have lots of room . Is the 56 much bigger than the53 ?
thanks again .

[Big Irish]

Thats great info Bluejeep . Was it difficult to do ? What do you recomend for a gas tank solution ? thanks so much

[**grumpy**]

I'm 6'1 and 320 before lunch...
I've had many AD trucks.
My solution is as mentioned, remove tank and go 88-94 fullsize seat.

I go one step further. I remove seat riser and adjustment slide track and mount seat about 2" off floor.


That done, I sit down "inside" cab, versus feeling like I'm sitting on it. The back of seat actually nearly tucks under the lip that's under the rear window.
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[Big Irish]

grumpy thanks for the advice . Did you cut thr support taht runs across the cab in front of the tank out ? Thanks

[weldvair@embarqmail.]

I have build a few AD trucks & on my current 1948 I extened the cab 3 " thru the doors. It was pretty easy to do & the leg room is great. I moved the rear axel back 3" to compansate.

I am using Mustang buckets.

Don

[Big Irish]

Way beyond my capabilities , but thanks for the input .

[Big Irish]

Guys on the 53 can I cut the support on the rear of the floor to move the seat back further . I am seeing that a full size 88-98 pick up bench is best suggestion so far . Please advise .
thanks

[solidaxel]

Here is what we did to add 10" behind the door for the 6'8" grandson.
I did remove the support behind the stock seat and also moved the gas tank to the rear BUT I did add a 1 1/2 X1/8 angle under the floor in the same area as the inside support

[Big Irish]

Wow that is amazing ,wish i had the skills . The truck I bought is a finished driver . I am trying to figure out how to get the most legroom possible . Thanks . Any suggestions apreciated .

[weldvair@embarqmail.]

Remove the gas tank & play around with seat height. The higher the seat the more leg room you will have.

Try the suggested seat....you can't beat the price.

Don

[Houston54]

I am 5'-19" and drive my 54 daily with no problems. Move the tank. If you can leave that rear support in it will improve the stiffness of the cab but is not critical. The bench seat from a Astro of Safari minivan is a perfect fit for those cabs. The full size seats are too wide and do not place the drive perfectly in front of the steering wheel At least not in the truck I sat in that used the full size truck seat.

[Big Irish]

Thanks for the input , i also found a thread in here on installing the 88 f size seat . looks like you can leave the rear support . But you have to cut out all the front seat frame from the floor . I truly appreciate all this input and look for more . I am not the most handy guy . But need to try and do this myself . I have found a 88 seat , and it is cheap . mexican blankets go along way as well . Does anyone know if you also sit higher on the 88 seat . I see how moving the seat back and raising the hieght are both benefits . thanks again .

[duwem]

I'm in the process of fitting a Chevy Astro seat in my 50.

Its on of the quick release ones so I needed to modify the bottom brackets. That and the custion was like 4" below the steering wheel.

Here are pictures of it sitting there in the high position, just cut the legs down yesterday and have not taken a picture yet.

I'm 6'2" and the 3 minutes I sat in it in the garage it seems fine.

With it as far back as it will lock its about 1-2" from the rear window. It will slide back farther but hits the window/rear cab before it locks in.

This is with the stock in cab tank still in place.

Third picture is not my truck, but another (different style) of astro van seat, again with the legs cut off/down.

[Big Irish]

Originally Posted by duwem

I'm in the process of fitting a Chevy Astro seat in my 50.

Its on of the quick release ones so I needed to modify the bottom brackets. That and the custion was like 4" below the steering wheel.

Here are pictures of it sitting there in the high position, just cut the legs down yesterday and have not taken a picture yet.

I'm 6'2" and the 3 minutes I sat in it in the garage it seems fine.

With it as far back as it will lock its about 1-2" from the rear window. It will slide back farther but hits the window/rear cab before it locks in.

This is with the stock in cab tank still in place.

Third picture is not my truck, but another (different style) of astro van seat, again with the legs cut off/down.

that looks like another good option . I would love to see what it looks like cut down . Als was it hard to cut ? How do you plan on mounting it ? thanks

[duwem]

Cut it with a sawall. Took time, but was not terrible.

Still working on the mouting, thinking of welding some 1/4 plate to the back side flat with the floor then drilling through that. As you probably know, there is a low spot in the floor for a water drain. I cut the bottom of the seat frame to step down into that.

Initially was just going to bolt up some angle iron so I didnt have to weld, but to cut enough out of the height, I ended up with some not flat surfaces so bolting wouldnt work. That is how the 3rd one is mounted. It is a slightly different seat, and he had a not original steering colum/wheel in so there would be more room there with the seat higher than the oiginal school bus wheel.

Will snap some pictures of it sitting cut down when I get a chance.

[Big Irish]

thank You . Are all the cabs of the 47-54 the same size ?

[nickp51chevy]

I don't know if this is gonna sound weird, but you must have really long legs. I'm 6'4" and I have enough leg room, though sometimes it does feel a little tight, but not terrible. But here is a question for ya; is your seat moved all the way back? They are adjustable seats, or it should be if it is a stock seat.

[duwem]

Here is the seat lowered down. Going to weld some 3/16 or 1/4 by 1.5 to the bottom and drill holes through it and the cab floor.

[Big Irish]

Originally Posted by nickp51chevy

I don't know if this is gonna sound weird, but you must have really long legs. I'm 6'4" and I have enough leg room, though sometimes it does feel a little tight, but not terrible. But here is a question for ya; is your seat moved all the way back? They are adjustable seats, or it should be if it is a stock seat.

I have the seat all the way back . I am also looking at moving the pedals around . It may help . thanks

[Big Irish]

That cut seat looks great . how does it feel for legroom now ? thanks

[MrDude_1]

Originally Posted by duwem

Here is the seat lowered down. Going to weld some 3/16 or 1/4 by 1.5 to the bottom and drill holes through it and the cab floor.

nice.
i think THAT is the seat i want... take the headrests off, have them recovered with some vertical stiching in the center of the seats, and they would look PERFECT.

btw, thats a really nice cut job on the seat bottom.

[Big Irish]

looks like you can push that seat right back against the floor suport . Should help considerably . I think I am going to go with the 88-98 Bench . Dont have the toolds or skils to cut the Astro seats .Thanks