47-55.1 Stretching the cab

[mr48chev]

I just am not seeing a good image of stretching the cowl or hood to move the foot board and firewall or part of it forward. If one was using a 4.3 or other V6 you could set it forward where it would set like a V8 would normally and move the footboard and part of the firewall forward. You would just have the reverse of what a couple of the recessed firewalls do now.

[_Ogre]

This is why we need to go electric, lots of leg room

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

This is why we need to go electric, lots of leg room

Just use an engine and transaxle out of a front wheel drive Eldo or Toronado and put it in the bed and problem solved. A friend of mine had his 460 Ford under the tilt bed of his 40 Ford COE and drove it all over the US had what looked like a wood crate sitting on the bed that was his engine cover/dog house. The truck had a regular hoist setup for a flatbed dual wheel truck on it.

[dsraven]

I am a bit of a lowrider so maybe I don't understand it but I always wonder why guys that are tall buy vehicles that are small inside. one kid I worked with is 6'6" tall and his project car is a mazda mr2 from the mid '80's. then there is the lowrider guy who has a super lifted 4x4 and can barely get in the cab. lol.

[fauXGT]

Originally Posted by dsraven

I am a bit of a lowrider so maybe I don't understand it but I always wonder why guys that are tall buy vehicles that are small inside. one kid I worked with is 6'6" tall and his project car is a mazda mr2 from the mid '80's. then there is the lowrider guy who has a super lifted 4x4 and can barely get in the cab. lol.

The stature of the population of the 40's-50's were a bit shorter. I was 8"+ taller than my grandfather before he passed, and he had an 52' 3600, but I still like the old classics. Being 6'1" now(have shrunk 1.5" since H.S.), We kinda get a bit soft in our old age and want some leg room.
Just sayin'.

[8man]

My thought on the 54 was not to stretch the cowl or the fenders, just inside the cab where the firewall can be moved into the engine bay a couple of inches.

I'm going to keep thinking on this one and measuring inside the engine bay for ideas.

[jwhotrod]

as soon as i can find the pictures, i will post them. we chopped and stretched a friends 46 cab chopped 2-1/2 and stretched 8" in the doors. looks exactly like GM should have built. no goofy quarter glass it just looks right.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by dsraven

I am a bit of a lowrider so maybe I don't understand it but I always wonder why guys that are tall buy vehicles that are small inside. one kid I worked with is 6'6" tall and his project car is a mazda mr2 from the mid '80's. then there is the lowrider guy who has a super lifted 4x4 and can barely get in the cab. lol.

"little man" syndrome in reverse maybe? i love 4 cylinder engines in tiny little packages. i drove standard cab minitrucks for years too.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by 8man

My thought on the 54 was not to stretch the cowl or the fenders, just inside the cab where the firewall can be moved into the engine bay a couple of inches.

I'm going to keep thinking on this one and measuring inside the engine bay for ideas.

A lot of small and maybe not so small sporty cars have the footwells up beside the engine a bit. That would depend on how much room the engine and trans let you have.

[mr48chev]

My plan on my 48 has been to stretch the doors first and build the cab to the doors to get the gaps right and alignment right. That is going to tell me how much I need to widen the cab at the back and at the same time compensate for the chop. The good thing is that I have three cabs to use for the parts, the bad is that the free for local pickup left overs might not be as complete as they would have before.

[8man]

This has turned into both an informative and entertaining post.

I'd love to see the pictures of the cab extension. I know with a cab extension, the doors and the windows and the frame and the running boards have to be extended. If I can sneak a little room from the inside of the engine bay, that might be the easiest. I'm going to finish the 48 and drive it a bit and then decide.

[mr48chev]

Long legs = thin seat back that doesn't have a lot of angle to it. Back when too many guys thought that they had to have the 70's Camaro high backs in their trucks they lost several inches of leg room because of the angle of the lean back and how high it rose up.

A guy about 10 miles from me has these freshly upholstered seats for 1000 but I think they are for a 4 door. They would go back and then be adjustable to be seriously comfortable. I've got a pair of Audi 5000S seats saved back for mine but they may have been out in the storage trailer way too long now.

[dsraven]

here is how I stretched the roof on a 57. 16 inches. small window behind door for visibility when shoulder checking and also for ambient lighting. I used those panel clips and some longer keystock instead of the short piece that comes with the clips. I was going to use a strip on the inside with cleco's but went this way instead. I used a B pillar from another junk cab for something to mount the rear wall panel, then hand formed the side wall from 18ga cold rolled. the top profile is actually stolen from the junk cab rear wall window opening.
man, I wish I had a few days in the martin customs shop with all the cool tools.....I gotta win the lottery.

[8man]

Thanks. That should give that cab a lot of room.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by dsraven

I am a bit of a lowrider so maybe I don't understand it but I always wonder why guys that are tall buy vehicles that are small inside.

my 6'7" son drives a 68 elco, i laughed the first time i saw him climb in by placing his leg over the steering wheel

Originally Posted by fauXGT

The stature of the population of the 40's-50's were a bit shorter.

my father, b 1930 and grandfather, b 1903 were both 6'3".
at 6'5" i'm the shortest male ogre in my extended family of 2 brothers, son and 3 nephews

tall peoples really don't have a choice when it comes to vehicles
we're basically in a 3 point contact, butt and 2 feet. no leg support
even my 90 gmc sierra extended cab gets cramped after a couple hours of driving.
electric seat helps by tilting the bottom to support the leg minimally

when i drove 59 panel, i moved my seat way back and bolted it in, you couldn't see me in the cab
i couldn't look out the side window without leaning forward

short people have lots of options, booster seats, pedal extensions or having a parent drive them

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by dsraven

here is how I stretched the roof on a 57. 16 inches.

sweet build dsraven, is there a build thread for that truck?

[dsraven]

Sorry, no build thread. It's been 12 yrs now so a thread would have gone stale long ago. Too many other peoples things to fix, lol.
I used to change shifts with a guy at work who is 6 ft 12. Lol. He put the seat back like ogre does and I felt like a kid, couldn't reach the pedals. Haha. He always moved the seat back before getting in.

[mr48chev]

That is when it is done right, That small window looks like a factory designer spent more than a few hours getting it right.

This 57 has been around the area for years. It has a maybe 2 or 3 inch stretch behind the doors but just does not have the "perfect" look that Dsraven's does.

oops images 4268 and 69 not 4668 and 69.

[Rickysnickers]

Agreed, that truck looks odd.