My seating dilemma...a hijack prevention spinoff

[Zandoz]

One thing I probably need to spell out...as Ron can testify to, putting it bluntly, I'm fat. A narrow conventional bucket seat does not cut it. I need a bench seat or flat separate seats....like Potvin's. Bench or separate I have to deal with that drive shaft loop...not only in fitting the seat around it, but minimizing it's intrusion into my hip.

 

[Zandoz]

Here is an illustration of the current seat plan

 

[RPM]

I agree 100%, Ron. That is the exact advice that I gave in my post on how to build a seat. The factory KNOWS a thing or two about ergonohmics and how angles help. As for springs, they tend to make you sit higher in the car than I like to be. I only have foam in my seat construction and, as you know, Nan and I have very little "natural" padding in our rears and the ride in our car is very comfortable even for extended rides.

Jim

Having had the pleasure of riding your car, I can say it is very comfortable.

 

[EX JUNK]

Having had the pleasure of riding your car, I can say it is very comfortable.

I don't mean any disrespect, Ron, but you are not exactly a "small" guy. If a guy your size says that it was comfortable, that to me says a lot.

Jim

P.S. If you are ever down my way again, don't be afraid to give me a call. Maybe we can go for a little cruise again.

 

[EX JUNK]

Here is an illustration of the current seat plan
View attachment 11563

Bill, in your drawing, where exactly will your drive shaft be in the at rest position? After showing that, show the maximum height that it will be in relation to the rear suspension in it's maximum upward travel. Then show the same for the lower travel of the rear suspension. How many inches of total travel is that? ( You really don't need a lot of travel on the rear suspension unless you're planning on driving it off road.) Does the drive shaft come in contact with the drive shaft safety loop? If it does not hit the loop you can easily reduce the size of the loop thereby gaining your needed butt room. IMHO

Jim

 

[PotvinGuy]

The safety loop extends roughly 7" above the level of the frame rails, and is 8" wide. The height and width of the tunnel depends on if it is run inside or outside the loop.

Why so wide? The driveshaft can't be more than 3". And does the tunnel need to be full height from tranny to rear? My tranny only sticks up about 1" at the front of the seat box.

 

[Martin72]

Have you thought about mounting the body high-boy style....that is on top of the frame rather than channeled over the frame? I know that may not be "typical" of most T builds, but it would reduce or eliminate the tunnel needed in the floor and under the seat. If you look at my old car, the body is sitting on top of the frame and the floor is just about flat from the transmission back. It was a center seat out of a small Ford van with the rear most bottom of the seat on the floor and the front raised a bit to get the correct angle. The front is hinged to allow the seat to fold forwards when it's necessary to get under the seat. I'm not a small guy....some say too big to ride in a T-bucket, but I manage to get in/out.....even if my son-in-law's friend says I look like a fat guy sitting in a bath tub going down the road.

 

[Zandoz]

Bill, in your drawing, where exactly will your drive shaft be in the at rest position? After showing that, show the maximum height that it will be in relation to the rear suspension in it's maximum upward travel. Then show the same for the lower travel of the rear suspension. How many inches of total travel is that? ( You really don't need a lot of travel on the rear suspension unless you're planning on driving it off road.) Does the drive shaft come in contact with the drive shaft safety loop? If it does not hit the loop you can easily reduce the size of the loop thereby gaining your needed butt room. IMHO

Jim

Here is an illustration with the drive shaft in yellow at rest..along with the transmission and rear end. The red line is the driveshaft and rear end at maximum travel plus 1 inch. I do not have anything handy on the lower travel, but the shaft will clear by about 2"

The rear suspension will be Slam specialties SS-5s that have 5.925" travel, with internal bumpstops. The shocks will be Pro SM600s with 5.75" travel. The reason for the long travel is I've designed this setup to effectively kneel down to allow easier getting in and out, with my mobility issues. In normal driving a good portion of the travel will not be used, but I need the drive shaft and rear end clearance for when it kneels.

 

[Zandoz]

Why so wide? The driveshaft can't be more than 3". And does the tunnel need to be full height from tranny to rear? My tranny only sticks up about 1" at the front of the seat box.

The short answer is that is the size loop the crossmember came with. Plus 2" of that width is taken up by the 1x2 tube the loop is made of. The tunnel will slope down towards the transmission.

 

[Zandoz]

Have you thought about mounting the body high-boy style....that is on top of the frame rather than channeled over the frame? I know that may not be "typical" of most T builds, but it would reduce or eliminate the tunnel needed in the floor and under the seat. If you look at my old car, the body is sitting on top of the frame and the floor is just about flat from the transmission back. It was a center seat out of a small Ford van with the rear most bottom of the seat on the floor and the front raised a bit to get the correct angle. The front is hinged to allow the seat to fold forwards when it's necessary to get under the seat. I'm not a small guy....some say too big to ride in a T-bucket, but I manage to get in/out.....even if my son-in-law's friend says I look like a fat guy sitting in a bath tub going down the road.

The illustrations I've shown are based on a high-boy configuration. What you describe for the configuration of the seat mounting is spot on for what I'm planning.

Actually I have 2 sets of plans for this car. The other set have the frame (and thus the floor) riding around 4" higher off the ground, and the body channeled in a low-boy configuration to keep from looking like an off road vehicle. That configuration would be a lot simpler to build, and would eliminate most of the seat issues. The problems are that configuration would require the full automated air ride set up from the very beginning...costing close to $1k. Otherwise I'd not be able to get in the car. Plus, I just don't care for the look of the car riding that high, even with the channeled body.

If at all possible I want to make the low riding high-boy configuration work. It's closest to my original vision for the car, and it's workable now for me getting in and out without the expense of automating the air suspension.