The main thing that keeps me from being interested in a 308 is the lazy boy seating position. I like to sit up and see where I'm going. Has anybody had any experience with bolting an upright racing seat to the floor of a 308? Dale
You'd have to be pretty short to sit upright in a 308--GTB anyway..... Just bring the seatback forward, should be pretty upright.. Greg
The seatbacks are adjustable, and can get pretty vertical. If that doesn't work for ya, talk to enjoythemusic about his conversion
Of course, when I do this, there is not enough head room. What I'm wondering is whether you gain more head room by bolting directly to the floor? This is what we did in my Spec Miata, and it worked like a charm. Dale PS. We also trimmed the seat cushion in the SM.
Find a racing seat that you can fit into, get Sparco seat adjusters and mounting kits and you can set the seat any way you like. I have OMP seats bolted directly to the floor with a slight tilt backwards. I ended up not using the slide adjusters in that I wanted the seat lower. There is still not alot of headroom. I'm 5'10".
Hi, my name is Steve and i am an alcoholic. Oops, i mean "My name is Steve and have WELL DOCUMENTED mounting a Sparco Roadster within a 308 including How To and photos." Please feel free to use Fchat's SEARCH function. Hmm, am 5' 11 and use the OMP 'low' side brackets and have the rear of the seat bolted at the VERY bottom hole. The rear of the seat is virtually touching the floor and so i have good headroom sans helmet, and ok headroom with helmet. Did you cut the top piece off of the REAR of the OMP mounting bracket so you can use the very bottom hole on the OMP low bracket? Just curious as you MUST cut it to be able to mount seat on the lowermost hole. i did previously use the second to lowest hole and agree the headroom suffered, but now using the lowest hole, which also causes the seat to be at a slightly more angled backwards position (my preference), i now have added a surprising amount more headroom than was previously available. Hope this helps. FYI PT 1: drove the car for four hours yesterday with this 'new' lower setup on public roads and it is surprisingly comfortable. Add to that it now feels like my body is directly at or maybe a bit below the car's CG. Am AMAZING feeling, can't wait to track her April 6, 8, 9, and 27 and May 1, 2, 3 and 4... and... FYI PT 2: If you have the rounded Euro rearview mirrors, this new very low seating position will render the sideview mirrors useless due to their inability to adjust to a proper viewing angle. It is VERY EASY to change out the sideview mirrors with your choice at http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/group.asp?GroupID=MIRRORSVINT (i used http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecId=1555 ). To remove stock electric mirrors all you need to do is remove mirror boot, use Philips screwdriver and remove front/rear bolts. Pull mirror off and the wire will pull too so you can disconnect the round electrical connector. While the above replacement mirrors are not electric, once you set mirrors how many times do you readjust them? If you are me, none. HINT: when you get the aftermarket mirrors, tighten the mirror bracket to main mirror body Philips screw to firm it up within the housing. PHEW! Hope this helps.
Well, I'm 6' 2". How will I fit with a helment? Reason I ask is that a buddy has a 77 that was hot rodded by that guy who works on Letterman's car, i.e., hot cams and whatnot. I'd love to JV this into a play car, but... Dale PS Have YOU ever input "308" into the search feature on F-Chat? As someone who does research for a living, I refuse to waste my time scrolling through hundreds of hits. I'd rather waste yours.
I can't hep it if my pee pee is longer than yourn. Actually, I'd love to have a Ferrari track car. It is kinda hard to justify when a SM, for $15K, comes within 30 seconds of the lap record on a converted NASCAR oval. Dale
Odds are, not very well i believe some race legues ask for at least an inch or two clearance. You could take the top off of course, but odds are you'll need to be King Of The Slouches to pass the broomstick test
2 inch clearance is required for most competitions. The rear of my seat is on the floor, and with a helmet and belted in real tight, I'm just under the "broomstick". There's just not enough headroom with a helmet and the top on. (Of course, you can not go out on the track with the top on anyway). I've been looking into lowering the floor. I believe the Magnum car had the floor lowered. I'd like to see how that was done. Anyone have info on that?
Funny...I have a Spec Miata as well....no Ferrari though. Although I am looking at a 400i 5-speed currently and considering other options such as a Mondial or 308 GT4. I almost bought a sweet 78 308GT4 a few years back (bought a 97 R package Miata instead). It was red on black with 308QV wheels and a factory sunroof. Nice car.
Bang for the buck, you can't beat a SM. I have $13k into mine, which is a 99. While this means that I'm upside down by about $4k, compared to taking a Ferrari on the track, cheap. Sad to say, not all of us are rich guys like Stephen! Dale
