Tall people, some questions

I've wanted a 308 for some time and I'd like to start seriously looking for one. I was fortunate to be able to sit in one over the weekend and found I physically cannot drive one in stock form. I'm 6'-4" (I've read Tom Selleck is the same height, how did he drive one) and there is not enough room between the steering wheel and the gear lever/knob for my leg. I couldn't put the car in reverse and then be able to operate the brake or gas pedal. The forward gears aren't great either.

Question. How hard is it to remove and replace the gear shift lever? Would it be possible to replace the stock long straight lever with either a angled lever (to the right) or a shorter lever? Anyone ever done that?

Also, the owner of the car I sat in said the steering wheel is adjustable, but he could not elaborate. Is that true?
Thanks for any info.

 

My son and I are your height, I fabricated a 3" spacer that I put behind the steering wheel to give us the room needed. I can tell you we have done some spirited driving on Tail of The Dragon with that set up and it works fine. Go find your car and you'll find a fix

 

You need to get a spacer - this is the single best thing you can do and it takes 15 minutes to install. That was entirely life changing for me (6'2") when I didn't have to drive the car with my legs splayed open...

I bought the 1" spacer and the 2" spacer from Hill Engineering, and was happy with the 1" so I never needed to use the 2" one - let me know if you want it or you can also test the 1" first. There's obviously a bit of a trade-off with he seating position in bringing the steering wheel closer to you

https://www.ricambiamerica.com/sws01b-25mm-steering-wheel-spacer-black-finish.html

https://www.ricambiamerica.com/sws02b-50mm-steering-wheel-spacer.html

 

Thanks for the replies. I didn't even think about spacers for the steering wheel.

 

It's harder to deal with the narrow pedal box when you have larger feet... There are only 2 or 3 pairs of shoes I can wear to drive the 308. Narrowest possible sole

 

Selleck's seat was apparently modified to place it farther back in the cabin.

 

I am 6'2"-250lbs-33" inseam, fit fine and have done many long distance trips with zero issues. Here are the things to do:

1. Get a Hill Engineering 25mm or 50mm steering wheel spacer. There are some concentric spacers made also that raise the wheel a little more but I don't think they would be optimal for any "spirited" driving.
2. The steering column tilt is "slightly" adjustable. It requires loosening some bolts on the column mount and shaft under the dash.
3. I have the seat position 1-2 clicks forward from all the way back and the seat back reclined all the way to the package self.

The shift lever is not straight and is already angled to the right Shortening it I believe would make shifting a "chore" and not "enjoyable".



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This question has come up before.
I'm 6'3, 170lbs and a 34" inseam.
I also have a GTB.
My seat, steering column, and shift are unmodified. I have never noticed an issue.
Put the seat all the way back and go!
I've driven from NJ to Canada for F1 a couple of times with no issues.

 

I've read that it's not only your height but your proportions. I have a spacer that I haven't installed. I can drive comfortably at 6'1" but my legs are splayed

 

The wheel spacer is the most significant thing you can do for overall driving comfortability if you are tall! Not only does it help provide more space for your legs, it also puts the wheel in a better position for your arms when the seat is positioned all the way back!

 

Put on the spacer and tell me that it's not a noticeable improvement in comfort and driving position

 

There are also a variety of additional things that can be done. Here at Bobileff Motorcars, over the years we have fit clients that are 6'5 in the cars. We can lower seats, thin out seats, spread the pedals for more foot room, alter the shifter to the right for more room between the steering wheel and the shifter. If you're under 6'5, I can make you fit comfortably.
Gary Bobileff
Bobileff Motorcar Company in San Diego

 

It's slightly more complicated than just being 6' 4" - You also have to take into account how the height is distributed over the body.

most people's height is made up of 50% body / 50% legs.

Some people though, have short bodies and long legs, and others have long bodies and short legs.

That's why you get some people replying that they're 6'4" and fit perfectly in a 3*8 GTB/GTS, and others saying that they're 6''3" and can't fit at all - There's a lot of variations when it comes to height.

Tom Selleck is 6' 4", and to get him more comfortable, lower (and more importantly for filming - More visible) in the car, the seat runners were removed from the driver's seat, and some of the padding was removed from the seat base.

What should be remembered in Tom Selleck's case is, he never drove the cars for anything more than a few minutes at a time, for scenes of him turning up somewhere, leaving somewhere or driving along a section of road - He never really drove the car over any great distances to get from A to B as the storyline indicated (in some episodes where the car is shown being driven along a road, you can tell that it's not Tom Selleck driving the car.

In some scenes you can see Tom Selleck driving away from a location, but as he accelerates, the brake lights come on, indicating he was clipping the brake pedal as well as the throttle pedal.



As noted already, the gear lever is already angled to the right (for LHD cars - RHD cars have them angled to the left), and to get the best out of the gear changes, you really need the length of the gear lever to provide the required leverage to engage the gears smoothly (I really wouldn't recommend cutting the gear lever down).

A drastic (and possibly expensive) solution would be to replace the LHD centre console and gear linkage/ gate with a RHD version (with the LHD gear lever)

In standard factory form, the gear lever is always next to the driver and the ashtray next to the passenger. If you replace the LHD centre console and gear lever arrangement with a RHD version, the ashtray will be next to the driver, and the gear lever will be further away, next to the passengers seat.

This was a LHD car partially converted to RHD, but it kept the LHD centre console and gear lever position, which put the gear lever next to the passenger's seat: https://www.iconicauctioneers.com/1981-ferrari-308-gtsi-rec11468-1-sywell-0622

So a RHD centre console and gear lever set up in a LHD car, would move the lever away from the driver's right leg (if you look at LHD and RHD Ferrari 512 BB/512 BBi /Testarossa's, you'll see that the gear lever position for all of them is in the exact same position [the LHD position], regardless of the car being LHD or RHD, much the same as fitting a RHD centre console to a LHD 308 GTB/GTS)

It would be a fair old bit of work but if it means you could own and drive your dream car, it might just be worth it.

 

Nice summation Phill.

One of my best friends for 65 years is well over 6'-6" tall (think Edd China), he can't fit in my GT4, at least in the driver's seat. Back in the day he drove a MGB and amazingly enough he fit fine. Last summer we were at a British car show and he found a MGB for sale. Remembering how well he fit in his old MG he tried sitting in the car, didn't fit at all anymore. He blamed it on the 70 lbs. that he gained over the years since being a lanky college student. Myself being of perfectly average dimensions (and the target size for just about everything designed) I have to sympathize with his plight, there are so many cars that he would like to own but he just doesn't fit.