o.k o.k Ive heard all the jokes about my being to tall to fit confortably in my 61 I just purchased. Im 6 foot 5. I heard I can cut my seats down, and that alot of people do this.( by a very respected vette guy in my area). what are your thoughts? how hard is it to do? will It hurt the value of my car? (driver).I can drive it fine but with the top up its not good. thanks for your help. kelly398831
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Re: too tall for my 61
How can you be too tall? Just drop the top, man!
Otherwise, I'll trade you my GMC truck because I'm sure you'll fit in it. Even up to help you out.
Seriously, nothing hurts the value when you are doing it for you and not selling, It only hurts when you get ready to sell. (You aren't using it for collateral and even if you did, no one there would know the value that it was diminished by.) So unless you intend to sell next week, do what you want to do. However, if you intend to have it judged, that is another matter.
To save pain and suffering, get a second set of seats and change them. Or maybe get a set of aftermarket seats, or some out of a non-valuable old car that are similar and chop them around. Check your town out. There may be a local auto upholstery place that can make you a set, or chop a set down for you. And by being local, you can be there for the critical measurements to be sure they fit.
Good luck. -
Re: too tall for my 61
Kelly - I'm 6'4" and had a 61 for several years as my real everyday car. I switched my stock steering wheel to a 1968 Corvette wheel which helped alot. I thought about modifying the seat cushion area bt never got around to it - just ducked down a bit.Comment
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Re: too tall for my 61
I agree with Mike, save the original seats, find another set to chop on. You won't regret it in the long run...CraigComment
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Re: too tall for my 61
You did not say what top you use. The hard top does offer more head clearance. Don H.Comment
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Re: too tall for my 61
Kelly...
I know of two (Tall) owners that keep their original seats for show and modified and extra driver seat. They also installed a 15 inch steering wheel that have the same spokes and bell assembly as the 17 inch. Difference being, the wheel was padded.Comment
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Re: too tall for my 61
I ended up with my Vette because of my height. Nineteen years ago, I was going to buy a new Turbo Dodge Daytona, but they came with power seats that sat higher. I requested manual seats and they said they could not do that. So I decided to drop the new car idea and go for a classic V-8 convertible. I found the '61 Vette, wiggled under the bus driver size steering wheel, cocked my head over for head clearance and declared I'll get used to it. Funny how I was much more forgiving of the lack of headroom in a classic car versus a new car. Now for the solution to your porblem, take the sun visors off so you can see, and carry about 50 lbs of extra body fat on your tall frame. After 19 years, the seat cushions will have broken down enough to maximize the headroom and the clearance around the steering wheel. At least that is how I have addressed it thus far. If only that one spring wasn't poking throught the seat.Comment
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Re: Just!!
Wax your forehead. The bugs will come off very easy.Comment
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Re: too tall for my 61
Doug: i was gonna suggest buttock liposuction but your approach is less of a pain in the ass. regards, mikeComment
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