[ptiflipiou]

Happy New year to all!

My girlfriend is very cute and she is also very short! I moved the driver seat, of my 308, all the way forward for her but she still needs to prop herself forward with pillows to barely be able to reach the pedals (the clutch is the farthest) and drive!

Is there a simple way, or an already made kit, to position the driver seat forward more? I would assume that not all Ferrari drivers are tall people...

Thank you for any help!

 

[Pete04222]

First of all, Ferraris are not cars for the girlfriends to drive, they are cars for the boyfriends to drive. You said that you assume not all Ferraris are made for tall people, they actually fit a narrow range of heights, from about 5'6" to 6'2" is the max either way. I assume your girlfriend is less than 5'6"? So if getting a taller girlfriend is out of the question (I assume it is), your options are to: 1- custom mount the seat, which would cost a few bucks but would work provided you are not over 6 feet tall; 2- live with the pillows and phone books, or 3-just not let her drive the car (probably the best option but the one that will get you laid the least.)

I remember when my wife was my girlfriend and she was getting out of the Ferrari and she noted, "Well this isn't a car a pregnant woman could get in and out of." Of course my other cars are a lifted Jeep and a full size Dodge truck so I am like, "Honey, none of the cars I own are easy for pregnant women to get in and out of."

 

[ptiflipiou]

I'd like to keep the girlfriend! She's pretty good! The pillow and phone book won't do (question of pride) I'll try the custom fit then! Thx for the input!

 

[Pete04222]

Any quality body shop should be able to relocate the seat. It is not that hard of a job, I did it myself on my '69 Jeepster.

Just out of curiousity, how tall is she and how tall are you? Just thinking what it would take for a seat to fit you both. Might take a new slider.

 

[Ferrari328GT]

Moving the Seat

I just happen to have the seats out of my 328, which I'm guessing has the same floor pan as a 308QV. Because of the shape of the floor, it isn't quite as easy as just drilling new holes. There is a pretty easy solution, though, I think. Buy two steel strips that are 1" wide, 1/2 " high, and 18" long. Countersink two holes and use two 6mm allen bolts to hold the strips to the stock holes in the floor pan. Then drill and tap the strips where ever you want to relocate the seat. With 18" strips, you will be able to move the seat forward up to 3 1/2". It will also raise the seat 1/2" (thickness of the strips), but I bet you can handle that. And, you haven't modified the car at all, so it can be put back to stock without any extra holes. What do you think? -Steve

 

[ptiflipiou]

She's 5'1 and I am 5'10.

Can I by a new slider or do I have to have it custom made?

 

[ptiflipiou]

I like the idea of the steel strip!

 

[Ferrari328GT]

I also took a look at the bottom of the seat to see if you could just move the sliders on the seat. The answer is no, it would be very difficult. Remember that there is a safety issue as well. We don't want the seats coming out in an accident, heaven forbid. -Steve

 

[ptiflipiou]

Well. I did it! Thanx to your good advice.
I got 2 alluminum bars 1/2"x1"x19" which allowed me to move the seat 5" forward and it works. My girlfriend, we'll call her Robyn, moves the seat forwardmost and she's comfortable driving. Luckily enough, the right setting for me with the new seat position is all the way back. We're at both ends of the spectrum. YAY!

 

[Ferrari328GT]

All right! Well done. Do you feel comfortable that the threads won't pull out of the aluminum in a crash? Now that you know it'll work, how about replicating it in steel? -Steve

 

[ptiflipiou]

you don't think that alluminum would hold?

 

[Ferrari328GT]

Well, I'm really not sure, but my gut feeling is that it is not worth the risk. Aluminum is pretty soft stuff. -Steve

 

[ptiflipiou]

thanx for your safety concerns. I'll get to it this week end.

 

[Hans308GT4]

Just for interest sake: In aviation, 9 G's is the norm for crash protection. I'd use steel.

Incidentally, my girlfriend is 5' exactly, but she's very comfortable at my 308 GT4's forward seat position. This while my 6'4" will fit nicely on its aft position. Seems that the GT4 has a somewhat larger range...

(And yes, people do tend to stare at us when we walk alongside each other )

Hans