I'm looking for any other tall guys driving C3s. Has anyone found a way to enlarge the interior?

Some background on me: I'm 6' 5" with a 78 L82 4-speed. The seats are from a 79-82. I drive in a slouched, knees up position. Turning left, my knee turns off the turn signal as I let out the clutch. At stop lights, I sit up straight and look over the windshield to see the light. Bigger bumps cause my head to hit the back of the birdcage. I've only had the T-Tops on about three times in five years and had to remove the interior panel of the top to give myself that extra 1/2 inch. I've actually, driven the car without the driver's seat. Seatbelt still works, feet easily reach the pedals, and I can see straight out the windshield. And the sport mirrors are useless --I get a real good look at the door handles.

Any thoughts?

 

 

I did the same--drove the car without the seats Also well understand the watching stoplights over the windshield header. I'm a bit of 6'3" so it's worse for you

Possibly remove the seat adjusters and mount the shell directly to the floor?

If you ever do want to drive with the tops get some glass ones as they have more headroom.

 

I'm 6' 3" and have to slither down into position. Getting out would not be described as anything graceful. I have a tilt-tele column which helps. A smaller steering wheel might give you some extra maneuvering room. Always seemed to me that the later model C3 seats were bulkier than the ones I have in my '69 so maybe a set from an earlier model or aftermarket would give you a little extra. Mine need new foam but I think the fact that they are kind of flat is to my advantage, so maybe you could do something with the factory seats like thinner foam. Mine's a convertible so I always feel like I'm driving a tank with the top up so it's always down. I have to keep the sun visors at just the right angle or it sucks the hat off my head.

If you come up with something that works I'd be interested to know.

 

Im 6 , 2,
Im turning 54 but had my first vette a 72 convertible at 16 17, and sadly i dont hop in and out like i did in my 20s

I also drove many small kit cars one had a roofline of 38" from the ground, 4" ground clearance, do that math, lol,

I feel cozy not cramped in my c3s, but i liked sitting in my 66 better,

I think its mrvette who is a tall cat with modded c3, he did glass work to extend the foot well and seems he dropped the floor under his seat, a common kit car trick,

 

I am also 6'5" and also driving a 78! Mine is an auto, though, so no clutch issue. My plan is to get a smaller wheel that is compatible with my tilt/tele then mounting my seats directly to the floor (saves an inch or so). If I take my t tips off, my head sticks out the top, not a good look LOL

 

6'5" and age 74 with arthritis up the ***, AND an extra lower lumbar vert in my back, so a few extra inches, and one of the cartilage is gone so the verts are growing together, butting extra strain on my sac region....
SO, you have my sympathy and empathy......now, as for the car....

my car is a '72 vert, and owned it since '95.....many mods to it, see pix below....It has a TT wheel from a late shark, so the turn sig switch is on the column, and I cut the floorboard across the entire width, and up to the column height on both sides, pried the plastic forward about 3 inches, and glassed it in, your metal? flooring will require other ideas than simple glassing in.....after that, I cut the brake pedal arm and bent it forward about 3" worth, had a buddy weld it....and heated/bent the gas pedal lever too......another trick is in the back of my stock seats, I cut out the ~2" tall seat mount brackets off the slide tracks, and the end of the tracks just set on the floorboard...you maybe want to tie yours down, I never bothered, the front two bolts set on the floorboard not the carpet/padding.....I removed the seat belt cover for extra clearance, and of course used the OEM seat foam when recovering the seats, and deliberately weakened the seat bottoms a tad for another inch or so of lowered, and so at this point with the console pad I drive i the James Dean slouch position, right arm on the pad, hand on 8 ball shifter,....you just not cool unless you have an 8 ball on your shifter handle.....my car WAS a muncie 4 speed, but it got changed to a 200 4r auto for the overdrive here in Florida.... so the clutch pedal bit the dust long ago....small brake pedal is most convenient for my large shoe size....the late shark wheel with the pedals forward has plenty of clearance to my legs now....

the car rides like my lounge chair...it's a bit of a rub/hassle getting in/out with the top up, but not so awful evil, and certainly not any worse than any other car....better than most, even vans/pickups/suvs' etc.....

Mirrors are from a late shark, and moved forward far as possible on both sides, and they are stuck in position with RTV black and I have small bubble mirrors on them, so I see it ALL at a glance, they take some getting used to, but hate not having them in other vehicles....

 

I'm 6'3". I have an 82.

Use an AstroTop for tops on - it adds 2-3" of headroom
Use a Windjammer windshield extension to keep the wind off your forehead for topless cruising

 

Changing from the fiberglass to the glass T Tops will save 1-2 inches of headroom. I converted my 73 to glass tops and noticed the difference immediately.
You also have the issue with the seats, So going to a lower seat cushion, or decreasing the mounts may help. Since you obviously have the seat all the way back, then figuring out how to remove the railing and bolting the seat direct to the floor may give you added headroom.
kdf

 

I'm 5'8" and feel like the car is made for me, I have no idea how you bigger guys can even get in there!

 

Well, I'm 6' 3" and I (fortunately) fit just fine in my '73 if I slump down in the seat a little. It's not ideal, but hey, it's WORTH IT! Sorry you're having trouble, but 6' 5" is pretty tall, alright. You might look into having a custom "low riding" seat made just for you. Good luck!

 

I'm 20, 6'6" with a 75 L-48 automatic. I fit perfectly fine, this may be because of the automatic/manual difference. Are your seats adjusted all the way down? I've never messed with the interior of my car, but I believe I've read in here the seats can be adjusted up and down by some unconventional methods

 

I'll toss my 2 cent's in on this one... I'm 6-4 (and kinda on the thin side) but when I sit in any seat I'm no taller than someone 5-8... (My legs are long 36" inseam) I have a 70 mt conv, a 72 coupe AT and a 78 SA MT and the only one I have issues with is the 78.

The 78 is a 4 speed car and doesn't have tilt wheel so basically I can't drive it. When I let the clutch out my knee hits the steering wheel. I've often thought about adding tilt wheel to the car to solve this issue (I have a couple of used columns) but the car is so original and low miles that I don't want to mess with it. I've had other mt 78 and 79 cars and not had any issues but they all had tilt.

The other thing is the seats... the 79-82 style seat sits higher than the low profile original 78 seats so possibly you'd want to switch back to the original style seat.

 

Willard, Tom makes a point here. People are proportioned very differently. Your height happens to be moreso in your upper torso which explains why you can drive without a seats. If it were mostly in your legs you would still be snug as a bug -- as you knew full well when you bought it knowing your "condition" -- but you could accept that most people wear a C3 Corvette rather than simply drive it.
With due respect, I'll admit that this is one of the most bemusing strings I have ever seen on this awesome forum.

 

C3 Height Requirement...........

 

Thank you to all. I'm happy to see I'm not the only tall guy in a C3. I like the "wear it instead of drive it" comment. That pretty much sums it up.

​​​

 

6' 5" and a C3 is a no starter. Remove a T-Top

 

 

That POOR SEAT!!!!!