1962 driver's seat too close to steering wheel or is it my belly | Ford Thunderbird club group 1955-2005 T-Bird models

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1962 driver's seat too close to steering wheel or is it my belly

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First of all I'm new here and hoping to find a great car so I can stick around.

I am currently looking to hopefully purchase a 1962. I'm a big guy 6'2" 300lbs. I am definitely a bit round. The owner I'm talking to suggested moving the driver's seat base back a couple of inches and reinstall it to fit me better. He says it's done all the time. That doesn't sound quite right but I figured i would ask and see. My wife has really fallen in love with the 1962.

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I’ll be interested in this post. I’m 6’2” 260lbs and have the same issue with my ‘55. I eventually want to put bucket seats in but moving the bench back for now would be ideal! It looks very doable.
 
Jim, I have a 1966 and yes there are two seat positions in the mounting bracket for the seat base. I had to move mine back as well. It gives you a couple of inches and is reall easy to do . Just get some PB blaster on those nuts under the car first.
Joe
 
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Joeomarsh said:
Jim, I have a 1966 and yes there are two seat positions in the mounting bracket for the seat base. I had to move mine back as well. It gives you a couple of inches and is reall easy to do . Just get some PB blaster on those nuts under the car first.
Joe
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hey Joe!
This welcome news! I inherited this car back in June and have had a steady list of issues to get squared away but haven’t delved into this but it was on the list. My uncle who owned it was much shorter(and slimmer) than me had it restored years ago so he probably had it installed in the forward position. I hope my ‘55 has the same arrangement as your ‘66! Thanks a million!
Jim
 
It can be done. I have had three Thunderbirds, 60, 61, 65 and none are made for tall people. Look at the bottom of the front seat back where it contacts the seat bottom. There are tilt adjusters there. They can give you a lot more "belly" room.
I'm 6' 3" and 220. The 61, I had for many years and moved the seat rail back on it. I moved it back in the 90's so I don't remember the details. You need to be careful and make sure that you have good large washers on the bottom and that the steel is good. My current TBird is a 65 and although better is still a bit cramped so I have tilted it back a little with washers under the rail and used the back adjusters to give as much tilt as possible. Takes away some back seat room behind the driver which is not roomy to begin with. I hope this helps.
 
That is great news. Thanks for all the replies. I'm looking at a 65 Friday and if I don't buy that I've got a 62 to look at next week. I like the colors of the 65 better but I like the styling of the 62 better.
 
One of the advantages of a 65 is that they have disc brakes, however, the booster is a one year design and getting a rebuilt one can be an issue. Mine is a convertible which can come with other issues. I had top system completely gone through by an expert in the tops and retractable tops of earlier Fords.
 
I an 6'4" and The first thing I did on my 62 was move the seat backward around 5 inches and shortened the frame around 1". The floor is not flat and the bottom of the frame is not either so it is not as simple as it sounds.
 
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