News:

Due to a technical issue, some recently uploaded pictures have been lost. We are investigating why this happened but the issue has been resolved so that future uploads should be safe.  You can also Modify your post (MORE...) and re-upload the pictures in your post.

Main Menu

1940's Cadillac and LaSalle leg room

Started by gary griffin, January 24, 2014, 12:10:03 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

gary griffin

    Owning a 1940 LaSalle, and a 1942 Cadillac I have a little problem with both cars, but it is worse in the LaSalle.

    These cars have a fixed and curved bulkhead behind the front seats, which limits the seat movement rearwards to a specific dimension which is very uncomfortable for me especially on long drives. 

     I have relocated tracks to put seats back further in  a couple of cars, but it is not feasible in the "bulkhead" equipped cars.

     Background information I am 6' 2" and fairly long legged. The army assigned me to a car company to drive high ranking officers at corps headquarters.  I ended up doing many other things because generals and colonels do not want to ride behind a PFC with the seat all of the way back!

     I wonder if anybody has ever worked on or discovered a solution for this problem? (Shortening my legs is not an option!!) I can drive the cars short distances but would suffer cramps and discomfort during long cruises.  My "old lady" is much shorter than I am and a wonderful driver and I could put a chauffeurs hat on her and ride in the back seat also but I still want to enjoy driving my cars especially on long trips.

     I am thinking of storing the newly reupholstered front seat back and fabricating a much thinner one from plywood with foam rubber cushion thereby gaining a few inches, or finding a similar seat back from a different brand of car.

    Any suggestions will be appreciated. 

 
Gary Griffin

1940 LaSalle 5029 4 door convertible sedan
1942 Cadillac 6719 restoration almost complete?
1957 Cadillac 60-special (Needs a little TLC)
2013 Cadillac XTS daily driver

Martin Michaels

I too suffer from that situation however I can just pop one of my legs off. What about the guys in the 20's, they must had suffered from near beer gut. They had the tilt steering wheel to help in and out. Marty.
Marty  CLC#26833
1947 6269  Cavern Green
1980 CDV D Elegance  White

Steve Passmore

Are we talking about convertible sedans here or something else. I have 36/37/38/ and 41 Cadillacs and none have a fixed bulkhead, even my convertible coupe has a free moving seat. perhaps thats the answer, change the model  Gary >:D
Steve

Present
1937 60 convertible coupe
1941 62 convertible coupe
1941 62 coupe

Previous
1936 70 Sport coupe
1937 85 series V12 sedan
1938 60 coupe
1938 50 coupe
1939 60S
1940 62 coupe
1941 62 convertible coupe x2
1941 61 coupe
1941 61 sedan x2
1941 62 sedan x2
1947 62 sedan
1959 62 coupe

las39

I'm almost 6' 6" and no problem in a 39 Coupe. Seat is adjustable like Gary's. My legs surround the steering wheel and not under it, but that's normal for me with any car ;) No problem with windshield, probably to due with my weight and worn springs ;)
1939 LaSalle 5027
1941 Chrysler Royal Coupe
1934 Oldsmobile F34
1976 Moto Guzzi Convert

hschwaller

I have the seat in my '41 Sixty Special all the way back - I'm 6'3" and 190 lbs - and it's a tight fit.   My grandfather (born in 1918) was 5'4" so I think it's a generational thing. 

gary griffin

  Steve, 
      The 1942-6719  has a bulkhead I assume because divider window and jump seats were an option, but I am not sure why the Convertible 4 door sedan has the bulkhead but it does. Maybe someone will come up with an explanation for that. 

   I have an extra seat for the 1942 in my parts car and I may try to modify it to get  a few more precious inches of leg room.
Gary Griffin

1940 LaSalle 5029 4 door convertible sedan
1942 Cadillac 6719 restoration almost complete?
1957 Cadillac 60-special (Needs a little TLC)
2013 Cadillac XTS daily driver

Quentin Hall

       The bulkhead on the conv sedan is to offer support for the rear door hinge pillar. The body would be a wobbly ol' bowl o' jelly if it wasn't there.
        I watched "Air crash Investigation" the other day and the "standard average" passenger weight that was used by all airlines to calculate takeoff/ landing/luggage/cargo positioning , amazingly,  hadn't been updated since the 30s. It took the loss of 22 people in a crash in 2003 to determine that the liftoff calculation based on "standard average" weight caused a substantial weight imbalance on this flight, once the wheels were retracted.
        If I recall the "standard average weight" for US passengers was raised by 23 lbs.
           
53 Eldo #319
53 Eldo #412.
53 Eldo #433
57 Biarritz
53 series 62 conv
39 Sixty Special Custom
57 Biarritz

Alan Harris CLC#1513

I am 6' 6" tall. I can fit in my 1940 LaSalle 5219 very well. I once tried on a 1939 60 Special for size and could barely cram myself into it.

Years ago, I owned a 1950 6219 sedan which was a tight fit and a 1951 6267 convertible that was an extremely tight fit. On that car, my head stuck up above the windshield when the top was down.

I honestly don't understand why such large cars were so cramped inside. Harley Earl was supposedly 6' 3" and I don't know how he could have driven some of his cars.

By the later fifties this situation improved and the cars got a lot roomier, although I wonder about the amount of headroom in the 1959 and 1960 flat top sedans.

Steve Passmore

Quentin is absolutely stop on there Gary, the seat supports the body in those convertible sedans and as you say, if a division is an option that explains there use in other models.
I'm only a short 5' 10" and was just comfortable in my 37 V12 limo with division, I would have had sympathy's for anyone taller.
I guess chauffeur would never have been that large maybe back in the day?
Steve

Present
1937 60 convertible coupe
1941 62 convertible coupe
1941 62 coupe

Previous
1936 70 Sport coupe
1937 85 series V12 sedan
1938 60 coupe
1938 50 coupe
1939 60S
1940 62 coupe
1941 62 convertible coupe x2
1941 61 coupe
1941 61 sedan x2
1941 62 sedan x2
1947 62 sedan
1959 62 coupe

gary griffin

  Thanks for the comments everyone.

  Martin, I am long legged and when I sit next to  friend who is 5'-10" he is taller than me though I am obviously taller when we stand up.  I have another facet to my problem is that I am overweight and that does not help the situation but losing weight would not shorten my legs which are affixed to my body.

  Steve, too late to change models but if I buy another one I will look at this issue more carefully. The LaSalle seems to have less leg room than the 1943-6719.

  Mo, I suspect your Coupe does not have the bulkhead I am talking about here. If you were to remove the front seat in a bulkhead car the bulkhead would still be there. The seats in my sedan are out and I will add a picture of the bulkhead next week to clarify the situation for those who are not familiar with the bulkhead I am mentioning here.

  Henry, I agree that size is generational. In 1960 I went to Germany in the service and toured a castle and there were suits of armor displayed on dummies.  I first thought they were for children they were so small.  I am the oldest of 25 cousins and the next to tallest but all of the males are taller than our grandfather and great grandfather were.

   Quentin, As a pilot for 40 years especially in small planes I can testify that weight and balance are critical and  often not taken into appropriate consideration. My children used to be irate when we went on vacations and I limited luggage to 12 pounds each and weighed each of them prior to the trip.

  Alan,  AS I mentioned earlier in this post I was not allowed to drive sedans for officers in the army and I assume all chauffeurs were short legged back then.
 
Gary Griffin

1940 LaSalle 5029 4 door convertible sedan
1942 Cadillac 6719 restoration almost complete?
1957 Cadillac 60-special (Needs a little TLC)
2013 Cadillac XTS daily driver

Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373

Forgive me for not knowing but when you say you can't put the seat back further are you talking about the track slide itself or does the back of the seat physically hit this bulkhead (thinking like an old regular cab pickup where the seat just can't go back further because it hits the back of the cab)?
Jeff
Jeff Rosansky
CLC #28373
1970 Coupe DeVille (Big Red)
1955 Series 62 (Baby Blue)
Dad's new 1979 Coupe DeVille

gary griffin

#11
Jeff,

   The bulkhead is fixed crossing the interior of the cab transversely. Jump seats ash trays, cigar lighters, and divider windows would be mounted in and on the bulkhead but they were optional and not installed on my cars.

   The bulkhead is curved and apparently made of plywood that was compressed in a form during the curing process. 

  The seat is prevented from backing up as far as I would need it to as it is designed to stop at the bulkhead. If it were not for the bulkhead I could reposition the front seat tracks back a few inches and  solve my leg room problem.

  The bulkheads  are about as high as the back of the seat and upholstered and trimmed with finish metal or wood as the model requires.  The upholstered bulkhead is what you see as the rear of the front seat when in a limousine.  The bulkhead  provides stability from side to side also especially supporting the B pillar in 4 door convertibles
Gary Griffin

1940 LaSalle 5029 4 door convertible sedan
1942 Cadillac 6719 restoration almost complete?
1957 Cadillac 60-special (Needs a little TLC)
2013 Cadillac XTS daily driver

Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373

That's what I thought but I wasn't sure. 
Are you able to construct a new seat mount to raise the front of the seat while keeping the back lower? a 5-10 degree nose up pitch on the seat would make the back of the seat straighter up but it would raise the front and maybe allow your legs to bend a little more.
I aways hated being short but there are times when it isn't too bad!!
Jeff
Jeff Rosansky
CLC #28373
1970 Coupe DeVille (Big Red)
1955 Series 62 (Baby Blue)
Dad's new 1979 Coupe DeVille

C.R. Patton II



Hello Jeff

Cushion reconstruction. Good suggestion! Thank you for sharing.
All good men own a Cadillac but great gentlemen drive a LaSalle. That is the consequence of success.

harvey b

I remember seeing a similar problem in a hot rod magazine back in the 80's, the guy had a 32 roadster,he was 6'4 and his head was level with the top of the windshield.They made him a stock looking seat,but was "fluffed up " to look real,when he sat in it he actually sank in about 4 inches and his problem was lessened.You might be able to modify your spare seat to do that,modify the back to let you sit further back in it.And I do know about the fixed seat problem,on my 37 I do fit,but would love another 2-3 inches to move the seat back,I am5'9 and suffer from having to many good meals too. Harvey
Harvey Bowness

gary griffin

#15
 Jeff,

   I have an extra seat and mechanism for the 1942-6719 and think I can make the seat backrest thinner in some way and save the original and reupholstered seat for use by future owners. The car is in the shop and the seats are at the upholsterers and I am a few months from having to solve this problem.

   I am planning on bringing the LaSalle home today.  It was in the shop getting a new dual master cylinder brake system including renewed wheel cylinders and drums, and shoes.

    I do not know if any  series 50 LaSalles than the 4 door convertibles had the bulkhead. If so possibly someone with a parts car could possibly have a front seat backrest to sell. If not I could probably make one with plywood and foam rubber and have it upholstered. 

    I am paying the price for growing taller than my ancestors and 32 years of sitting behind a desk along with a taste for good cuisine.
   
    Any ideas will be appreciated
Gary Griffin

1940 LaSalle 5029 4 door convertible sedan
1942 Cadillac 6719 restoration almost complete?
1957 Cadillac 60-special (Needs a little TLC)
2013 Cadillac XTS daily driver

Jeff Maltby 4194

Buy a 900 lb gl1500 Gold Wing and forget about yer old car fetish @ born to be wild  ~:<)
Jeffo 49er chapter

CLC 1985
Honda Gold Wing GL1500

gary griffin

#17
AS you know Jeff, I have had a couple of 1500's along with a plethora of other motorcycles through the years.  Back and knee problems are making me a little uneasy about riding a heavy cruiser but I have one 76 LTD still,  actually 2 because son Mark has the one with the side car and he wants to send it back to me. The 1976 GL-1000 are nice and much lighter as you surely know. 
Gary Griffin

1940 LaSalle 5029 4 door convertible sedan
1942 Cadillac 6719 restoration almost complete?
1957 Cadillac 60-special (Needs a little TLC)
2013 Cadillac XTS daily driver