Youngster said:
Tfeverfred..IMO..there are better ways to wood the body than the way Total does it. The biggest problem I have with them is that the seat bottom sits so high. Are you going with the seat insert?
No, I'm going with a bench seat. The TP instruction manual shows the seat bottom height at 4" in the front and tapering down to what appears to be about 3". If you look in some of my pics, you'll see that I have made a mock up of where I would like the seat height to be. My mock up accounts for the spacers between the frame and the body and also the thickness of the floor. When I had the height of my mock up lower, it didn't seem right.
Also, I took a look at the TP seat insert padding and it's not that thick. Kinda like the chair I'm sitting in now, it's really just a pad. I have also read the Street Rodder build up of a TP kit, their opinion was that the pad was more than comfortable for the car. Therefore, I think high density foam will give me enough padding to be comfortable. Well, about as comfortable as a T Bucket can be, I guess.
The thing is, this car is NEVER going to be as plush as a regular car. I had considered using the seat bottom out of a mid '90s Ford Escort. It would fit fine, but I would lose the room under the seat for wiring, due to the seat springs. It may be thin enough to sit on top of TP's seat bottom, but I won't know until the body shows up.
Either way, I plan on having some sort of box for the seat bottom, so it may as well be Totals. Worse case scenerio, I cut it down, but I don't think I'll have to.
Like everything else with this car, I ask a lot of questions and do a lot of research. Sometimes, I think I do too much, but I just don't like taking one step forward and ending up 3 steps back. If spending a little more money and waiting a couple more weeks will yeild the results I want, then so be it.
That being said, this is a learning experience for a first time hot rod builder. What I find out with this one will effect what I do with the next one. When I get the body, I may be able to see how I could have done some things for myself and save a few bucks. I'm learning right now, but I have not learned enough to be fixing screw ups.
Thanks for all the advice guys. I really appreciate it. Sometimes, as the light at the tunnel gets brighter, I start thinking of ways to get her done quicker. I just need to slow down and stick to my original plan.
Now. who was it that told me that a while ago? Name started with a "R". Hmmm....