by Santee Brown » Sun Nov 08, 2020 11:13 am
I know this isn't a new thread, but I hope my input will help someone else who is looking for legroom.
This seemed so obvious to me, I don't know why I haven't heard of anyone doing it before. I'm 5'11" so the original Crown setup just wouldn't work for me.
I got 3 more inches legroom in my Crown conversion by lopping off 3 inches of the sub-frame where it attaches to the front cross member. I moved the cross member back and re-welded it, and made tabs for the ends, welded on and bolted down to the same seat belt holes. I also extended and reinforced the two tabs in the middle area. There is about an inch space between the cross member and the crank pulley now. If I have to change the harmonic balancer, I may have to lift the front of the engine so it will clear the cross member, but otherwise I have no issues. With some cheap racing seats and a flat GT steering wheel, the fit is perfect!
I don't have a firewall built yet and there isn't a lot of room, so it will be against the back of the seats, with a hump in the middle for the water pump pulley. I mounted my alternator low behind the driver's seat. I will post pics when it's done.
Toby
Toby Brown
Rust-Free Santee CA