what about us BIG guys ? cab fit.

howdy boys and girls ..
I've a question or two ..
bought a 47 international cab . im six foot two inches .. and pushing 288 pounds. ever try to diet as a long haul trucker ?
anyhoo.
I'm having the local speed shop build my truck. (I'm not home much)
but someday I'll go home for good.
how you big guys fit into those chopped cabs ?
I'm thinking ? just leave the cab stock .. and try for as much room as possible. smaller steering wheel ? lower seats ?
will it look ok with at least six inches of ground clearance ?
(got a few miles of gravel road to the farm)
wanting to keep the wipers and maybe get vintage a/c ...heater too !
y'all have any pointers for me ? a picture or two ?
thanks.
Peabody

here's one that might kinda work ?

Two ideas I have right off:

1. Extend the cab behind the door several inches. Not sure how that would look on a 47, but on the early 30's cabs, it comes out great.

2. Push the firewall forward to give more foot room. Works great if you run a hood, otherwise it might look weird.

What I did on my Olds was dropped the drivers side floor pan 2" inside the rails and took out some of the angle part of the firewall.

Sam_r said:

Two ideas I have right off:

1. Extend the cab behind the door several inches. Not sure how that would look on a 47, but on the early 30's cabs, it comes out great.

2. Push the firewall forward to give more foot room. Works great if you run a hood, otherwise it might look weird.

What I did on my Olds was dropped the drivers side floor pan 2" inside the rails and took out some of the angle part of the firewall.

Click to expand...

thanks ! ill talk that over with the shop.. was needing to call them anyways.

If you don't go crazy lowering it, stock cab looks ok. But those tall 40s cabs look like a telephone booth fenderless and bagged, IMO.
One thing I always thought about ( a little out of my capabilities) was to add 3-4 inches to the cab but stretch the doors too. It would probably take 2 cabs to pull it off. I think it would be subtle and look a lot better than adding to the back of the cab.

Any good trucker that ain't no steering wheel holder sits with his seat on the floor and all the way back.... right hand?

I'm 6' 2-1/2" tall and over 300 lbs.
My cab is chopped 4" and channeled 6". My seat will be just slightly off of the floor.
My biggest problem in any vehicle is getting my head in under the top of the door opening. On my truck Once inside there is plenty of head clearence due to the domed shape of the roof.
Making the cab an extended style is fine but it also can put your seat too far back in relationship to the door glass making your side visability limited.
The doubled Z frame that you posted is one way to get a lower look with out channeling the cab and losing verticle space.
The bigger problem in mine is the amount of space between the top of the seat bottom and the bottom edge of the steering wheel. A tilt coloumn would help with that issue. Or a smaller whell.
Dropping the floor plan in between the frame rails can help also but the you will have to deal with the trans tunnel taking up space as well.
I would strongly suggest that you make a point of getting to the shop that is building your truck for some mock up time with you in the cab. Steering wheel angle,pedal placement and seating are all tied in together.
Nothing is worse than a vehicle that is too uncomfortable to drive in. As you well know doing what you do for a living.
Good luck with your build and post some pics.
Torchie.

I tryed to diet when I was OTR.I gained 30 lbs!

Im only 5'11 so When I chopped mine 4" and the seat is around 5" off the floor . its pretty comfortable, as far as hanging your arm out the window and being able to see the traffic light threw the windshield . Like was said too. it has a dome roof so you will have room after you get in .. just being able to get in easily will be the deal. Not sure on leg room Im good on mine like it is .. My 30 chevy truck ??????? you wouldnt fit in it . I feel like a sardine in that thing knees hit the dash ,, dont know how them tall folks back in the day ever fit in them trucks (maybe thats why you always seen them on the back ) Mine is 5&1/2 inches off the ground

Good way to check is to use a bucket and boards or such as the seat and under your feet. And tape up some cardboard where the roof will be cut to. Sit in it.

Peabody a thin back on the seat will help some on leg room .. I set my bucket seat on a 4x4 and it needed a little taller so I put it on a 6x6 and its about right .. so mine will set about 5&1/2 ' off the floor and I will find a tilt wheel to go in mine too so I can bring my wheel down to lineup with me .

Probably wanna go with a bench seat! [ddd

BoB

I want to repeat most of what Torchie said. He's the man, so his advice is solid. A tilt wheel is better, because the angle and position of the wheel is important, as is the angle and height of your seat and it's relationship to the wheel. Also the positioning of your pedals in relation to both wheel and seat is important. Mock up your cockpit area quite a bit. I'm six-foot-four, but horizontally challenged so was a little cavalier about mocking up the interior enough times and ended up with my knees right up under the steering wheel. It seems that head room is not as big a worry as leg room, although I did not chop my '30's truck. Keep on tinkering.

My advice is to just start mocking things up. I used an old boat seat and spent lots of hours setting in it deciding where the seat, steering wheel and pedals would be optimal. Also, one persons comfort level will be a lot different than another's. I have seen guys claim they are 6'4" and they fit fine in an A coupe that was chopped 5" and channeled 7". Well, maybe the guy was 25 years old and never drove more than 20 miles at a time. But if you are an arthritic 60 year old who wants to drive it cross country, that advice is useless.

Hey buddy!!! I can relate!!!

I am 6'4" and push 290. My cab is stock length and 4" chop. I fit just fine. I have crown vic seats in mine and chopped the seat frames down a couple inches (can't remember how much) but they pretty well sit on the ground. None the less my head clears the top by 2" and I am pretty comfortable in it.

Don't be scared build it how you want it!

Check out my link at the bottom of my post! Plenty of pics you can see me in the truck and standing next to it, I am not lying!

sometimes i wish i didnt channel mine
for the simple reason none of my friends can even get in the darn thing!
i daydream of stretching it
but then that would mess with the overall look (that is a real crowd pleaser)
i am 5.10 145lbs and it is a snug fit.
and i had to search high and low for a seat that sat low enough and was narrow/short enough.
i went with a boat seat with no mounting brackets because the brackets took up too much room.
the really old trucks are simply too small for this stuff.

If you plan on driving it a lot, I wouldn't chop it. Those cabs are tight to begin with, and you don't want to make it even smaller and have something you only want to drive 20 minutes or less. Just my 2 cents.

I am 6' 7", so know how a good fit is important. I did a lot of mock up on my Terraplane, and things turned out fine. My next project is a 48 International KB3 cab. Good to hear ideas from you guys.

My '46 is chopped 6" and channeled 6"
I am 6"3" and weight 275
my son is 6' 2" and weighs 225
We both fit fine.


weld on..........[

hey thanks guys .. been a big help .
one of the shop guys is almost same size as me ..
so they are keeping fitment on the burner.
again . thank you.
Peabody