Skinny People Back In The Day??

[capeclassics]

I'm 6'1" and 190 with a 40" waist and barely fit under the steering wheel of my '70 Sport Custom.......were people alot thinner back in the day???Just a random thought............

[qman]

You probably have collapsed cab mounts and your cab has dropped. Look inside and behind the front tires. There is a bulbous looking piece of sheet metal that is part of the cab (welded) and sits on a steel/rubber piece of the frame. If it's all rusted away then you need new ones. This is how my truck was when I first got it. I had to squeeze my thighs between the steering wheel and the seat. Now I have plenty of room. You'll wanna fix this cause it can break your steering column.

[dcbullet]

But yes, people were skinnier back in the day.

[qman]

Maybe, but even big ones would fit between the steering wheel and seat. And cape is 6'1 190. That ain't that big.

[HOWDY69]

When my Dad first got the truck from my uncle I was 17 6'1" and weighed 135. I wore Levi 501's in 30 36 so my waste was about 28.

So I can say with authority that yes some people were thinner back in the day.

[Joe Kriston]

I think that's why the tilt column was invented,Cape...

Qman,if the cabmounts were collapsed--wouldn't there be more room instead of less?....Actually,Cape's truck is an Arizona truck,and I've had several others ,and they all seemed like they could use a little more cab space....I don't know if people were thinner back in the day,but some of the women seemed homelier...I did notice that back in the '50's and 60's when guys wore Fedora's the cars seemed to have much more headroom...

[fordman]

those were cool hats

[capeclassics]

Yeah Joe...but I don't wanna go tilt.All I know is my dearly departed Dad who was 250lbs could no way fit behind the wheel of my truck.I was just kinda wonderin how Ford addressed the situation back then.

[BigRedTruck]

I guess thats about the time companies started installing workout centers in their offices

[qman]

Qman,if the cabmounts were collapsed--wouldn't there be more room instead of less?

It would if the steering column position was fixed. The bottom end of the steering column is fixed where it attaches to the steering gear or box and it won't be affected by a collapsed cab. But the part that is affected is about the middle of the steering column where it goes through the firewall. As the cab collapses, it pushes the column down. When I bought my truck the steering column was a mess. The collapsing cab had put enough pressure on the column that the bearings fell apart and then the shift tube rubbed on the steering shaft (I think) and broke. The steering shaft also had a big ole gouge wore into it. I had to rebuild the darn thing with new bearings, shift tube and I got a used shaft. There was only about 6-8 inches of clearance between the steering wheel and the seat. After I replaced the mounts and lifted the cab back up, there's plenty of room, even for the big fellas.

[rjewkes]

is the seat positioned all the way back? just a stray thought.

[binder56jd]

please don't hit me- but 40 in. is a pretty good sized waist-jd

[rjewkes]

sadly enough at 235 lds and 6'2" I obnly hav e a size 38 except when i go to church and then i squeaze into a size 36 of course most of my excess wieght is in my gut and my pects.

[qman]

cape says he can't fit under his steering wheel. I took that to mean his legs were getting squished not his gut. My neighbor has at least a 40 in waste (and I'm thinking more like 50) and he fits between steering wheel and seat back. He's probably 5'9 and 300. Maybe cape has running back thighs. The 40 inch waste shouldn't be a problem but 30 inch thighs may be.

[binder56jd]

shorter seat & smaller steering wheel, maybe? jd- there's got to be a solution because i remember some of the farmers that drove these things where i grew up in KS and they were not small men!