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Interior upgrades for the big and tall man.


FASTSS454

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I am 6'2" and built like a lineman so as I have aged some of my bulk has settled and I have been having a hard time entering and exiting the Monte. Now I know why I love my 09 Silverado so much.

 

I have removed the seat tracks and built new brackets that have lowered and moved the drivers seat back 2 inches in both directions making it easier to fit behind the wheel and see out the windows without having my head hit the headliner. I have this part done and it turned out perfectly. The seat will be fixed so anyone shorter than 6' will find it hard to reach the pedals, to bad the wife is 5'2". smile But she has her 83 SS to drive.

 

I ordered some new carpet and sound proofing material from Summit this morning. I need to replace the seat foam in the seats as it is crumbling with every use of the car, I find chunks if it under the seat so I will be ordering some from Legendary on Monday morning. I tried to go cheap when I redid the interior a few years back even though I knew better. I also ordered the ratchet gate for the horseshoe shifter from Shiftworks this morning.

 

I'll post up some pics as I work through this mod in the coming month.

 

Here she is before I started.

 

monte003.jpg

 

monte004.jpg

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Great information, thanks! I'm 6' 0" and built like Santa. My smaller "sport" steering wheel is all I need at this point to keep me behind the wheel.

Bruce

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I finally had some time to get back to work on the SS, my wife had to have some minor surgery so I was cooking, cleaning and taking care of her for a couple of days and then I got sicker than a dog but am feeling better now. Sucks to get old I tell ya. Anyways I got the seats out the carpet up and scraped all the old tar paper they used from the factory up off the floors. Surprised at how nice the were after 40 years. Only some minor surface rust and a little flaking in the wire harness tray. I cleaned the floor up and gave it a coat of paint and when it dries good I'll start laying down the sound deadener and carpets. I also install the new shifter gate I ordered from Shift Works, I like it a lot.

 

71montefloor002-1-1.jpg

 

71montefloor001.jpg

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That is a great looking interior and floor!

 

I have an uncle that could probably use a similar mod but I think in his case you can only move the seat so far back, once the girth exceeds the reach of the arms, it's game over or at least it becomes more of an engineering challenge. A possible option is to change the angle of the steering wheel to have it sit more parallel to the ground, sort of like some old trucks or buses then have it sit higher, and then select a larger diameter steering wheel to solve the reach issues, I'm not sure about the pedal reach in that scenario though.

 

Hopefully your solution works and doesn't force too much in terms of redesign. Looking forward to pics.

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I have the seat mounts done and did a trail fit while I had the carpet out and it is perfect for me, but then I have been accused of being a knuckle dragging neanderthal so arm length shouldn't be a issue. smile I'll post more pics as the work moves ahead.

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I have been accused of being a knuckle dragging neanderthal so arm length shouldn't be a issue. smile

Actually, it looks like your wife's arms are longer..

195612_100002195068714_3972393_n.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

I am 6'6" tall also but a 38" waist. I am not all legs or all torso rather equally long in each!

 

I plan on moving mounts back a touch for some add'l legroom (38" sleeve so reach no problemo). One thing I also purchased, which I believe will be a huge benefit is a 6-way power seat base (any A-body 6-way bucket seat base should fit - keep in mind skylarks/cutlass's are more likely to have 'em). Rather than the common 4-way (back-forth/up-down) it allows you to adjust front and back height of the seat independently. This way I can raise front for add'l legroom and lower back for add'l headroom. Not sure I'll fit under headliner with a helmet ..... but time will tell.

 

Dan

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  • 3 months later...

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