Tall Guy looking for options

[thedahmer]

Newbie here in Illinois, Looking to get an M35 Bobbed, so, first thought, was to go and look at one- and would like to thank SS member Russ / rwbrown72, for his time to show me his m35a2, which i must say is NICE~ He is located a little over an hour from the house, and let me go for a ride in it. So, after sitting it, i have realized that these M35's are made for small people, i am 6'4 and will go 320. So my question is that is there more room in a m35a3, more room as in A. not having to shift~ and B.with the automatic as opposed to the stick. my legs are a little long to raise up to push in the clutch and still be comfortable, dont get wrong, if i was enlisted and had to drive i could, i am looking for something that has comfort as well as style. So i guess after all the hub-ub, is it easier for us big guys to drive an m35a3 as opposed to the m35a2. I love the look and the overall feel of the truck, just need some more room. any thoughts?
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[hoop]

loose a bill..You will love the M35, and your heart will love the rest.

 

[AceHigh]

The A3 has two plusses. First the seat can be dialed down to say 140 pound driver, then you would be a little lower but it is fine.

Second it has Air O Matic steering and the steering wheel is 2 inches smaller in diameter, so there you have a little more tummy room. Bottom line, though, is both trucks are pretty tight!

 

[nk14zp]

I am taller than you and I fit fine.

 

[Sirblissfull]

Could always get a fabricator to extend your cab a little. Look at some of the fab work done on the quad cab Deuces and 5 tons.

 

[scootertrs]

I think a lot has to do with ... where you are taller... if you have long legs, you are in trouble... I actually took my pedals off the deuce and the 818 and added extra pedal notches in both the brake and clutch pedal and now I can shift without opening the door. Interestingly enough, the cab in the 5 ton seems to be "crampier" than the deuce fire truck. Check the pedals, they are adjustable up to a point (look under the truck where they attach to the bracket) and if not low enough, you can machine a couple of notches... do not go too far or the clutch will not disengage.
Good luck.

 

[KsM715]

Could always get a fabricator to extend your cab a little. Look at some of the fab work done on the quad cab Deuces and 5 tons.

Thats what I was thinking. If your going to mod it into a bobber then the money you save by buying an a2 vs an a3 should be more than enough to make up for the cost of stretching the cab.

 

[m16ty]

I'm tall with long legs. I could ues a little more room but I get by. The higher the seat, the better for me. That way I don't hit myself in the chest with my knees when I push the pedals. I'm very thin for my height so I don't have a problem with the steering wheel but I can see where people with big bellies would.

 

[flyxpl]

If you take the time to stretch the cab , I would go 4 door .

 

[XanRa]

as many have quoted " the belly holds the steering wheel for you"

 

[menofiron]

We streched my dads cab 11 inches, and it was a simple job. It took us about 3 days, and we are not body men by any means. We haven't finished the hard top yet, but the bottum went quickly. By the way I can drive it easily and I'm 6'8" about 400 lbs with long legs.

 

[bratpackdad]

6'8" 400 pounds???? NFL or WWE?

 

[Recovry4x4]

A few things you can do that haven't been mentioned. Seat back, slice it in half. It just doesn't need to be that thick. The extra 2" are nice. The taller seat was mentioned but that puts you staring at the wiper air motor. These can be flipped upside down for better visibilty. I've also heard of folks chopping the seat back clean off anf bolting a cushion to the back of the cab . As mentioned, pedals are adjustable.

Scooter, pedal come out in different locations of the floor between the deuce and 5 tonner.

 

[scootertrs]

Recovry4x4 sez... Scooter, pedal come out in different locations of the floor between the deuce and 5 tonner. ...I sez ... yah... I know... maybe that is why cab in 5 tonner is so much tighter... but I lowered the pedal on both

menofiron stated...
We streched my dads cab 11 inches, and it was a simple job. It took us about 3 days, and we are not body men by any means. We haven't finished the hard top yet, but the bottum went quickly. By the way I can drive it easily and I'm 6'8" about 400 lbs with long legs

Gotta Love that! I thought beyond my metal bending/welding skills-now Ihave to worry about room behind cab of Fire Deuce and relocate 818 goodies and spare behind cab - I like/... Now to QUIET this mother down and put a/c in it. Thanks

 

[Stretch44875]

I'm 6'8, but no wieght. Flipped the wiper motors and installed the older style box seats in both trucks. At first I modified a spring seat to move the back of the seat rearward. But box seats slid all the way back without mods, and seem to fit better.

 

[4x4e350]

We streched my dads cab 11 inches, and it was a simple job. It took us about 3 days, and we are not body men by any means. We haven't finished the hard top yet, but the bottum went quickly. By the way I can drive it easily and I'm 6'8" about 400 lbs with long legs.

That looks great. More pics?

 

[menofiron]

6'8" 400 pounds???? NFL or WWE?

Neither. Tall genetics and no will power around food.

Here are some more pics of the build. I'll have to take a couple of it now with the skin on it.

 

[LowTech]

wipers

The taller seat was mentioned but that puts you staring at the wiper air motor. These can be flipped upside down for better visibilty.

Our 109 (the "She Beast") had the driver's wiper motor flipped over. The first time we ran into rain it didn't work, the pass one did. So I did a quick, in the rain, change over . . . the pass motor, now on the driver's side, didn't work After playing around a bit it seems that it worked fine if the windshield was open (not the best in the rain). If we closed it put pressure on the motor and prevented it from moving. At the time I thought it was just on wrong

 

[thedahmer]

So does anyone have a bobbed m35a3? i would like to see some pics of someone sitting in it to try to judge the "roominess" of it- or is there anyone around Southern Illinois or the heartland that has one that i can sit in??

 

[scootertrs]

The way I look at it is... if you don't have to use a clutch... + points... if your steering wheel is smaller... ++ points... My biggest biggest problem is using the clutch... where my left leg gets into a bind with the window winder or the door... I took care of my needs with shifting the pedals down by a couple of notches... but I suspect that if you have an auto tranny... you are ahead of the game. Also the air assist and the smaller steering wheel of the A3 makes it more attractive