[pixelvandel]

Hey lads. I owned a swb Sierra a while back with a gti motor and some other bits and bobs.long story short, sold it. Miss it. Want another one haha. I've been trying to find a lwb, cos I need to cart some stuff Round nowadays, but I've found quite a nice lwb ute for sale, but I'm a tall bugger at 6'4.... Will I even fit in a regular ute cab? And how hard would it be to source a maruti style kingcab extention if not? Or rig up a hole in the back with a softtop style cover when it rains?

Appreciate any input guys. Cheers!

[zukmeista]

From what I've heard, utes are very uncomfortable for tallish people

[beerhound]

haha thank the gods for my height inpediment

[Scrawny]

Fatzook has a ute and he ain't short!

Don't expect to be in it for long periods. You'd be better off with a LWB soft top, at least you'd have more leg room then

[SuziBlu]

I have a Maruti, im 6'3" an fit well.

Drove it from Berri to Adelaide, then from Adelaide to home, bout a 10 hour run, was a bit cramped on that run, but no real issues.

[pixelvandel]

Haha yeah I sat in a friends Darin 1200 ute and I had no headroom lol. I was thinking of maybe cutting the rear of the cab so I cab lean the seats right back and out, and making up a basic rubber sealed canvas softtop with button clips. Should be easy enough? Just a flat piece....ahhh. It's a offer too good to refuse for this little ute!

[BlueSuzy]

Find a late model maruti. Will give you the space you need, OR go for a drive in the one you have seen, then judge.

[Fatzook]

Yeah as scrawn said, I have a tin top ute. Very cosey I'm 6'4" also, and have had to make a few alterations to make it drivable. First was a set of recaro seats. You WILL NEED these. Second was to move the radio up to the roof. My knee occupies the entire space that the radio used to.

Even with these two things done, maximum seat time is still 2-3 hrs. Thats not a problem for me. I am happy to get out after a few hrs to have a break and a stretch.

[bohuler]

If you use enough lubrication, anything can be made to fit in anything Not to sure on how it would go greasing yourself up to get into you zook every day, but what ever floats you boat!!

Dave

[Scrawny]

bohuler wrote:

If you use enough lubrication, anything can be made to fit in anything Not to sure on how it would go greasing yourself up to get into you zook every day, but what ever floats you boat!!

Dave

Just because it can fit doesn't mean it's supposed to

[mnemonix]

Marutis have SOO much more legroom than a regular tin top.
I used to bludge a mates hard top '89 ute and drive it. Bloody cramped with legs fouling the steering wheel and I'm a short ass at 5' 7".
I own a maruti and I drive with the seats several clicks forward because there is so much legroom. Got a mate who's 6"2' who drives it with no issues at all.

[Fatzook]

mnemonix wrote:

Marutis have SOO much more legroom than a regular tin top.
I used to bludge a mates hard top '89 ute and drive it. Bloody cramped with legs fouling the steering wheel and I'm a short ass at 5' 7".
I own a maruti and I drive with the seats several clicks forward because there is so much legroom. Got a mate who's 6"2' who drives it with no issues at all.

Agreed. I've owned a MAruti also, and the internal space is much larger. Still love my tin top though

[SuziBlu]

I have a drover, soft top, can't say as their is any more room in either.

[Fatzook]

The maruti uses the WT floorpan. With this you get sliding seat rails and the ability to shift the backrest of the seat well past the B-pillar.

The tin top ute has fixed seats. No slides at all. The rear wall is some 50mm forward of the rear edge of the B-pillar, and the seat literally rest against the rear wall. Infact the OEM headrests are bolted to the rear wall of the cab. I'd estimate that there is more than 150mm extra leg room in a maruti over a tin top ute. Atleast!

[SuziBlu]

ye gods, that would suck. Definitely too small.

[Fatzook]

SuziBlu wrote:

ye gods, that would suck. Definitely too small.

Yep. mm's to spare in every direction Fortunately I still have some headroom

[stockman]

BlueSuzy wrote:

Find a late model maruti. Will give you the space you need, OR go for a drive in the one you have seen, then judge.

Bingo!

[pixelvandel]

Problem is the one I'm interested is a few hours drive away! Haha. Anyone on the gold coast have a stockman I can hit up to go for a sit in??

[303zuke]

Fatzook wrote:

The maruti uses the WT floorpan. With this you get sliding seat rails and the ability to shift the backrest of the seat well past the B-pillar.

The tin top ute has fixed seats. No slides at all. The rear wall is some 50mm forward of the rear edge of the B-pillar, and the seat literally rest against the rear wall. Infact the OEM headrests are bolted to the rear wall of the cab. I'd estimate that there is more than 150mm extra leg room in a maruti over a tin top ute. Atleast!

The late 1.0 (type 3) and 1.3 hard top utes have the same floor fittings as the SWBs and LWB soft tops. Yes, the seats in the hard top utes are on fixed rails, but you can simply swap in sliding seat rails. You don't have the full amount of travel of the rail, but you do gain about 50mm of legroom. By removing the fixed Ute headrest, the complete WT seat will fit in allowing you to slide the seat further back, and also tilt it forward to store items behing the seats.

I'm 6'4" also and used to fit snugly in my ute with WT Sierra seats. While not as good as Recaro's, they certainly made long trips bearable.

An LJ81 though is simply torture for a taller person, much less room than a Sierra hard top Ute. Be on good terms with a Chiropractor!

[Samwich]

Hey guys, What seats will give the most room in a Tintop Tray back? im 6ft3... Fatzook hasnt replied to PM hahaha

[Gwagensteve]

A fixed back race seat like a Sparco Sprint. These are both upright and thin so you can get your back much closer to the back wall of the cab.

A kirkey would probably be the best but their neither legal or practical for road use

[Samwich]

sounds very uncomfortable :/ ... Might have to get a smaller steering wheel aswell

[Scrawny]

Samwich wrote:

Hey guys, What seats will give the most room in a Tintop Tray back? im 6ft3... Fatzook hasnt replied to PM hahaha

Pete had these in his ute

[Samwich]

They Recaro SE's?

[Gwagensteve]

Which would have to be the least space efficient seats ever. I have them in piggles and they soak up heaps of room.

Scrawn- decent fixed back race seats are far more comfortable than most recliners, they're also good value because they're much cheaper to make than a recliner. Sit in a Sparco Sprint- you'll be surprised.

Steve.

[Samwich]

Cheers Steve, Ill have to find one for sale and go check it out

Much work needed on the rails? or just the usual cut+ weld to fit

[Gwagensteve]

Not hard at all. I made fixed rails for piggles, drivers to suit my stumpy legs, passengers with the seat all the way back. If required, it only takes 5 minutes to swap left and right to suit a taller driver. This was only because utes don't come stock with sliding rails.

My SE Recaros are on recaro sliding rails.

One of the problems with the Recaros for a tall driver is that the squab is quite thick, which sits the driver up high.

Steve.

[Samwich]

Sounds like the way to go,

Are there any seats that arent full "Buckets" but have the same sort of profile as the Recaro Sprints? (Im a lil wider aswell) hahahaha

I have sat in a race seat in my old race gemini and fitted fine. But was shit for longer periods...

[Gwagensteve]

Sparco sprints are pretty wide- they're much wider than most race seats. I think there are wider versions available too. Look for "XL" in the model name.

Recaro's fixed back seats are generally very tight (as race seats should be) and come in three widths, but I've tried the Fixed back recaro off road and it's too tight to be practical for recreational use.

[Scrawny]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Scrawn- decent fixed back race seats are far more comfortable than most recliners, they're also good value because they're much cheaper to make than a recliner. Sit in a Sparco Sprint- you'll be surprised.

Steve.

No arguments there! Unfortunately, fixed back seats aren't practical for most applications, especially if you have a gf or other females needing to drive occasionally.

I do like the look of these seats tho!