tall person seat/ EFI question

ERA289FIA · #1 (**permalink**) 03-26-2009, 07:27 PM

i am the proud owner of era fia 2110 and I am going to finally get it on the road this spring in theory. I put a few miles on it in the fall and realized i had a slight problem. I am 6' 4" and need to remove the stock seat as i cant ever take my foot off the clutch

. I plan on pulling the rails, and moving the pedals as far back as they will go but i am still back as far as possible with the current seat and I fear making it lower will not help. If anyone has any seat suggestions I would love to hear!
thanks!

I am researching EFI as well, any advice is appreciated. If it happens it is a while out though, the seat is much more immediate as it's getting warmer and I want to be able to drive more that 10 minutes without getting a cramp

Got the Bug · #2 (**permalink**) 03-26-2009, 07:40 PM

Congrats on the FIA! One of our local club members and future owners is about your height and he's struggling with the same issue.

A Kirkey Racing Vintage racing seat without rails might sit a bit lower than the standard seat.

http://www.kirkeyracing.com/index.ph...code=Series41V

ERA289FIA · #3 (**permalink**) 03-26-2009, 07:42 PM

that seat is pretty!
the only problem, and i forgot to mention this, is that the rear wheel arch is what is preventing me from moving back, so I will probably have to be a softer backed seat or start cutting, i don't know.

FIA-ERA · #4 (**permalink**) 03-26-2009, 07:44 PM

Well I will tell you what I did and it seems I have a lot of extra room. I'm about 5'9" or less with short legs to boot and I'm putting a Kirkey "Vintage Bucket" seat in mine. I had to make my own brackets to mount the seat but it now sits maybe 1 1/2" off the floor and I have probably 4" to 5" of travel rear ward. These seats are not as padded as a FIA seat or 427 seat. They still look great and the aluminum construction I think makes them "safer". I assume you've adjusted the pedals as far forward as you can. You should be able to gain a bunch there as well. I will try and get some pics if needed. I did get the extra wide seats (19") and I think the 18"s would have fit better. I always felt I was sitting on a padded phone book or something. Now, it's low and it works for me! Great looking car! Matt

Got the Bug · #5 (**permalink**) 03-26-2009, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERA289FIA

that seat is pretty!
the only problem, and i forgot to mention this, is that the rear wheel arch is what is preventing me from moving back, so I will probably have to be a softer backed seat or start cutting, i don't know.

Got it. I don't have any experience or firsthand knowledge of the ERA. I know that Tim (tkb289) was researching this during "DangerousDoug's'" ERA FIA build, so maybe those guys will chime in here.

FIA-ERA · #6 (**permalink**) 03-26-2009, 07:49 PM

Well Doug beat me to the punch! The hardest part is making the bracket and getting the proper angle. They come with a layback already. I will have enough room on the passenger side that I could have installed the twin 6 volt batteries behind the seat! The seats have good padding and they are more form fitting. Th FIA seat is not as thick as the 427 seat but still has a lot of material. Matt

FIA-ERA · #7 (**permalink**) 03-26-2009, 07:52 PM

I forgot to mention, if I mounted my seat and adjusted it all the way back I can not even touch the pedals! Not even close! I wish I had a longer inseam cause I feel like Grandma all forward and up on the wheel! Matt

ERA289FIA · #8 (**permalink**) 03-26-2009, 07:55 PM

there is always the option to hack away at the stock fia seat. I do know a very good metalworker who could modify the kirkley and probably help me with brackets if i went that route. I will have to go have a good stare at the car(its in winter storage) in the morning and think.

with my seat all the way back I can never take my foot off the clutch!

tkb289 · #9 (**permalink**) 03-26-2009, 11:51 PM

ERA289FIA

I am the guy Doug (Got the Bug) was referring to. First off, congratulations on your beautiful ERA!

I am 6'-4" as well and hopefully soon, will be an ERA 289 owner. I have had the opportunity to look at Doug K.'s (Dangerous Doug) FIA during his build and looked into some seats as well.

I also have traded a few emails with Bob @ ERA. If not done so already, the linkage for the throttle can be moved a bit closer to the motor, giving a bit more leg room. The clutch and brake pedals can be moved a bit as well, I would assume that you already went over this when the car was being built.

When sitting in Doug's ERA with the seat removed, I actually fit pretty well !!?! Not very comfortable mind you, but I feel like I am sitting 'in' the car, not 'on' the car, as when the stock seats were installed. The bottom line for someone our size is to sit lower and further back in the car.

The seats that came with Doug's car are probably the same ones you already have. From what I can tell, the seats have too much of a layback angle and too much padding. That puts the hips too far forward and your shin or knee will hit the bottom of the dash. For me the location of the gas pedal was worse than the clutch, and you have the dropped dash, which would make things even tighter.

What you might want to try is take the seat out of your car an sit in it without a seat ... how does it fit? From there build a 'mock up seat' of sorts using some wood scraps, cardboard or carpet pieces until you have a seating position that works for you. Then take those 'seat' dimensions, like they are listed in the Krikey catalog, and see what you get.

As mentioned above, the Kirkey 'Vintage' 41 series seat would be the most correct looking seat and probably a reasonable fit. On the other hand, some of the other seats offered have more of a flat to the floor mounting scheme and less layback angle, so you can have more of a straight leg sitting position and less of the shins into the dash problem. One thought would be to call up Krikey and see if they can make a custom seat, or modify one to suit your needs, based on the measurements from your seat mock up.

Here is a link to the Krikey racing seat catalog.

http://www.mopacautosupply.com/catalogs/kirkey2006.pdf

Not having gone through the process yet, I don't have all of the answers, but it's probably finding the right combination of little tweaks to get things dialed in just right.

Keep us posted and let us know how it goes!

Regards,

- Tim

ERA289FIA · #10 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 06:21 AM

Thanks for all the responses, It seems modifying the existing seat and rocking it back a bit may help. I will put up anything I do that works. Unfortunately my work schedule is not permitting copious time this week but I will let yall know.

Kramer · #11 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 08:44 AM

At 6'3" here is what I did for my 427 ERA.

1) Put in a ken miles racing seat from..like Kirkey only more vintage looking
2) Made my own brackets for the seat and rocket it back as far as I could
3) Swapped my 15" steeting wheel for a 14" wheel
4) " I know I should not do this....however I sometimes drive with just socks b/c it gives me a better feel for the pedals (those suckers are so damn close together).

PM if you thing I can help. FYI..I run a stack EFI TWM system...see my pics.

Kramer

Kramer · #12 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 08:48 AM

PS...I forgot to mention...I havent driven my cobra a tremendous amount, but I have all but decided to not run the full windshield again. I have tried it (for my passengers sake) a lot of times but it is actually harder to see the road b/c the top line of windshield is constantly in the way at our hieghts...I always have a headache with the full windshield and finally realized it was because I was always hunched over when driving.

Kramer

Got the Bug · #13 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kramer

At 6'3" here is what I did for my 427 ERA.

1) Put in a ken miles racing seat from..like Kirkey only more vintage looking
2) Made my own brackets for the seat and rocket it back as far as I could
3) Swapped my 15" steeting wheel for a 14" wheel
4) " I know I should not do this....however I sometimes drive with just socks b/c it gives me a better feel for the pedals (those suckers are so damn close together).

PM if you thing I can help. FYI..I run a stack EFI TWM system...see my pics.

Kramer

Kramer,

Have you tried any narrow flat shoes like Puma's? I've got big feet and there's no way I can drive my car unless I'm wearing my Puma's. I also tried the Piloti racing shoes, but didn't like the thickness of the sole.

patrickt · #14 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 09:50 AM

I don't know about fitting in to FIAs, but I did take the time to fly up to ERA and visit with Doug for a true butt-in-seat test on my 427 car. Peter was doubtful that Doug could fit all 6'4" of me in to the car comfortably -- and I told them that I wanted to look squarely through the windshield, as if I was 5'10". Doug said he could do it... and he did. The driver's seat is moved back, bolted directly to the floor, and has reduced padding. The pedals are moved forward with a special Tilton clutch master cylinder -- slight additional effort, but if you're 6'4" you don't really care. The pedals are spread a bit to accomodate my 12 EEE feet (pics in my gallery along with a tape measure). 15" Moto-Lita wheel and I'm good to go. With my top up (on the very, very rare occasions that I drive with the top up) I have more headroom in that car than I do in my full size GM car.

It can be done. There is a small downside though, when Danny D. brought my car down to me he crawled behind the wheel to back it out of the trailer and exclaimed "My feet won't even touch the pedals -- and there's no adjustments on anything!" So I had to back it out for him.

BTW, Doug told me that he had to craft a sort of "baby seat" to sit in the driver's seat itself so that he could then drive the car. Now that's funny.

Steve Gallegos · #15 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 10:19 AM

If you're running a 302 or 351 look at the Edelbrook Proflo EFI. I have one on my 351 and it works great. You can program it with a lap top or with the hand held device they give you. Their support is also very good. Through your computer Edelbrook can then look at the performance and help you set the parameters that you want. The cost is around $3500.

Kramer · #16 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 11:27 AM

Doug,

I have recently purchased a host of the PUMA cat shoes...they do seem to work great so I am sure I will start using them this year. I liked them so much I bought a couple extra pairs.

Patrick...so you are 6'4" and you look through the center of the windshield???? does your drivers seat practically sit on the floorpan. I just can't imagine that is works (unless you simply have a very short torso and super long legs).

Mdman352 · #17 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 11:29 AM

I am 6'3" 285#. the only way i could drive my car was to remove the seat. You will go down about 7"-8" and back about the same amount. I tried the fiberglass seat from Cobra Restorers but the didn't fit my frame, even after taking a cutoff saw to one of them. I still have the one and an unmolested one if you are interested. I am having my motorcycle seat guy craft various densities of foam to form a "seat." Nick Acton is performing surgery on the transmission tunnel in an attempt to get more room in the foot box as well. I have size 14 EEE and found that Simpson racing shoes are the only way to be safe when driving. They have the smallest "foot print" of all of the shoes. Before I removed the seat I was always thinking about getting too much air under my nose and performing a self ejection.

patrickt · #18 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kramer

Patrick...so you are 6'4" and you look through the center of the windshield???? does your drivers seat practically sit on the floorpan. I just can't imagine that is works (unless you simply have a very short torso and super long legs).

Yes, it sits right on the floorpan with just the black bladder and little bit of foam between the leather and the aluminum floor. That gets you about three-plus inches of additional head room. Now the seat is not as comfy as Peter's ultra-cushioned seat, but in that car I looked clear over the windshield.

Additional Thought -- In my gallery I believe there is a shot of "How To Make an ERA Seat" and it shows the frame, bladder, and the foam. If you pull your seat out and just sit on the floor, that will give you an idea of how far down you can get. If you try, I believe you can get to within 1 inch of the equivalent of sitting in the car with no seat at all. Then add in a little angle back and 6'4" is very doable.

xracerbob · #19 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 11:51 AM

I am 6'3" and also have the seat sitting directly on the floor. I have not removed any foam yet but may do that. The seat is so comfortable, I wanted to see if I can leave it as is. You can also put some shims under the front of the seat to get some more "rake" in the seat which helps.

patrickt · #20 (**permalink**) 03-27-2009, 11:52 AM

Kramer, I made a big deal about the "fit" issue before I flew in to visit with Doug and Jack (who custom built the seat) -- so they were ready for me. We've all seen guys driving Cobras that, because of their heading poking up above the windshield, look like "clown cars." Here's a shot of me driving away that kind of gives you an idea of where my head is in relation to everything else. Not a great shot, but it gives you an idea.