Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

You can discuss anything here, Jensen related or not. Technical discussions / questions may be moved to the correct Forum.
CF-105
Posts: 102
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2017 3:25 pm
Location: Toronto

Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by CF-105 »

Had a heartbreaking day recently. For the first time, I tried an Interceptor on for size, and discovered I don't fit. I'm a big, tall guy. 6'4 and about 16 stone. I've learned from past experience that there are a lot of cars I don't fit into. Being a larger GT, rather then a small sports car, and having read about them since I was a kid, I was pretty confident that I would fit into one.

My first surprise was the size of the transmission tunnel. Wow, does that ever eat up a lot of interior room. While my concern was headroom, I was pleasantly surprised to have plenty of room that way. It took me a few tries to get the seat adjusted, and was disappointed that it didn't go back any further. The seat was short under my legs as my knees were up in the air. Not ideal.

Then I closed the door, and it pinned my arm. While I could lose 20 lbs around the waist, it won't do much to narrow my shoulders.

Damn damn damn. I looked at a lot of options while in the car, but I don't see how I could make it work. The driver's seat was back against the rear seat, so without removing that, I can't see adding legroom. And then being pinned against the door doesn't add to the comfort.

While I could drive it, I can't see it being particularly comfortable. Especially for the long highway drives I love to do.

Yes, I am heartbroken. I figured I'd be an Interceptor owner in the next month or so. Time to take a step back and rethink things.
User avatar
AndrewP
Posts: 715
Joined: Sun May 05, 2013 11:14 am
Location: Perth, W Australia

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by AndrewP »

Hi CF-105 (sound like someone from the new starwars movies :) )

I'm surprised youve come to the rather terminal conclusion as I'm 6ft 5" and I fit and <cough> 110Kg ish, and my interceptor is quite a nice and comfy place to be. Im long(er) in the torso so if anything the headroom for me is not as much as Id ideally like, but not a major issue I have to say.

Totally agree with trans tunnel being large, but the engine sits quite far back, and the trans is not the smallest (bellhousing/torque converter area is quite large).

You can adjust the steering wheel forward and back to sort out the legs/arms reaching out problem (the column is adjustable), and whilst the seat may be all the way back, you can change the padding in the seats (the inner pulls up and you can add/remove foam if you need to), plus I think someone on here may have also removed the two seat 'spacers' that sit between the floor and the seat frame to get a lower position in the cabin.

As you have noted however, forget the rear seats if you are tall.

A bit like you guys in Canada, nothing here is 'just round the corner' so Ive done quite a few K's in mine on longer 1.5hr+ journeys and its been fine.
The only suggestion Id have would be to maybe see if there is anyone either on here, or through your local car club(s) that has an interceptor that you can try as well. I wouldn't judge a whole car make/model on seeing just the one example (same goes for driving, 383 vs. 440 choices etc.). Sit in/drive as many as you can before you make the final decision if I were you.

Anyway, it may not change your mind, but perhaps have a beer/wine and re-assess if you really want to own an interceptor as its a cool car and very much worth it, plus once its yours you can make it more tailored to you (seat foams, even possibly different seats?). Its definitely 10000000x better than my DB7.....Its very snug in there and makes the interceptor look spacious inside!

Cheers
Andrew
Last edited by AndrewP on Sat Dec 14, 2019 9:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
Andrew P
Perth, Western Australia.
Interceptor Mk3 #1284312
Mark1Stu
Posts: 2471
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2006 1:30 pm

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by Mark1Stu »

Where there's a will, there's often a way!

Stu (6 foot 8 inches tall)
CF-105
Posts: 102
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2017 3:25 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by CF-105 »

Thanks Andrew.
Please note, I didn’t actual say I wouldn’t get one. Just that I had to rethink things a bit. :)

You can actually drive a DB7? I tried one once, and thought it was pretty hopeless. Drop dead gorgeous car though.

I was wondering about putting spacers under the front of the seat, to add some tilt there. A bit more support under the thighs that way.

Finally, maybe removing the back seat would help too. No one would ever fit behind me anyway.
User avatar
RayR
Posts: 286
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2018 4:43 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by RayR »

Hi CF-105,

Shame about your dilemma and hope you come to a good resolution. While I am nowhere near your size I have played with seating a bit and also took a few measurements today. I have always thought that sitting in the passenger side of my LHD car is more comfortable than the driver side, the tunnel taper on the throttle foot side of a LHD is annoying. I also measured from the tunnel leather surround to the door card and, on my car, is about an inch less on the LH side compared to the RH side. Whether this is due to gearbox/engine issues I don't know.
I have also played with seat positioning and modifying the seat rail spacers, you can do this a little both up/down and tilt, as long as you make sure the adjustment mechanism clears the floor (probably have to move the carpet to fully lower). I also have my outside spacer a little thicker than my inside one which tilts the seat inwards towards the centre and so a touch more door clearance!.

Good luck.
MkIII Interceptor (140 8488)
User avatar
Chris_R
JOC General Secretary
Posts: 6576
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 9:19 am
Location: South West London

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by Chris_R »

This gentleman is at least 6' 5" tall, maybe 6' 6", I will not comment on his weight as I don't know but as you see he has an Interceptor and has driven it on very long continental European trips. This picture was taken at the end of the Turin 2016 run and since then he's also done the German International weekend in Saxony in 2017 and the Swiss International weekend at Morges in 2018 plus numerous other trips in the UK.
IMG_6931.JPG
IMG_6931.JPG (159.4 KiB) Viewed 6758 times
Chris
JOC Member 6116
--------------------------------------------------
User avatar
Barrie
Tupperware Extraordinaire!
Posts: 4047
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 11:32 pm
Location: Sydenham Hill and Luxembourg

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by Barrie »

Hi CF! (You don't mind if I call you CF?)
I had the same thing being 2m tall.
I could get in but it was a bit of a squeeze and whilst there was some further adjustment which involved welding to make my legs comfortable (that's welding the seats, not my legs) I would then have an uncomfortable stretch for my arms. The killer for me was that no matter what I did my head would always be brushing the roof and bumps in the road could be painful!
The solution was in fact dead simple - I bought a CV-8!
Sufficient width for my 'child-bearing' hips, headroom, legs and reach.
I appreciate that this suggestion is no good if you've dead set on an Interceptor but I loved mine.
A faster car too being 400lbs lighter.
(Now that statement has the potential to take this thread off-piste!)
Last edited by Barrie on Sat Dec 14, 2019 11:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
“Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people." Garrison Keillor
zacmarshall
Posts: 5223
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:22 pm
Location: Bristol, UK

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by zacmarshall »

I think it would also be worth trying a mark 1 or 2, if you can find one in Canada. They don't have the stick out bit at the top of the door panel.

It's probably my imagination but does the seat go back further in a mark 1 / 2? The shape of the earlier rear seats does allow more room.

As Barrie says though, go for a C-V8 (I may be biased :-) )
C-V8 II 104/2146 CHJ 948B
ex FF II, Interceptor I, II and III, SP, GTs and Healeys. You might say I got the bug....
JOC Member No. 5061
CF-105
Posts: 102
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2017 3:25 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by CF-105 »

Chris_R wrote:This gentleman is at least 6' 5" tall, maybe 6' 6", I will not comment on his weight as I don't know but as you see he has an Interceptor and has driven it on very long continental European trips. This picture was taken at the end of the Turin 2016 run and since then he's also done the German International weekend in Saxony in 2017 and the Swiss International weekend at Morges in 2018 plus numerous other trips in the UK.
IMG_6931.JPG
That gent certainly seems sizeable. I wonder how he made it work. Must have been a few interesting mods involved.
CF-105
Posts: 102
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2017 3:25 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by CF-105 »

Barrie wrote:Hi CF! (You don't mind if I call you CF?)
I had the same thing being 2m tall.
I could get in but it was a bit of a squeeze and whilst there was some further adjustment which involved welding to make my legs comfortable (that's welding the seats, not my legs) I would then have an uncomfortable stretch for my arms. The killer for me was that no matter what I did my head would always be brushing the roof and bumps in the road could be painful!
The solution was in fact dead simple - I bought a CV-8!
Sufficient width for my 'child-bearing' hips, headroom, legs and reach.
I appreciate that this suggestion is no good if you've dead set on an Interceptor but I loved mine.
A faster car too being 400lbs lighter.
(Now that statement has the potential to take this thread off-piste!)
If only I could love the CV8. A car who’s styling I could never find appreciation for. Funny that they would make its successor notably smaller inside.
CF-105
Posts: 102
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2017 3:25 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by CF-105 »

zacmarshall wrote:I think it would also be worth trying a mark 1 or 2, if you can find one in Canada. They don't have the stick out bit at the top of the door panel.

It's probably my imagination but does the seat go back further in a mark 1 / 2? The shape of the earlier rear seats does allow more room.

As Barrie says though, go for a C-V8 (I may be biased :-) )
They are few and far between over here, but I might journey to the US and see what I can find. That’s good information to have. Thanks!
User avatar
Chris_R
JOC General Secretary
Posts: 6576
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 9:19 am
Location: South West London

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by Chris_R »

CF-105 wrote:That gent certainly seems sizeable. I wonder how he made it work. Must have been a few interesting mods involved.
Absolutely no modifications at all. He opens the door, gets in and sits down! Seat fully back.
Chris
JOC Member 6116
--------------------------------------------------
cannonball
Posts: 2979
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:08 pm
Location: CREWE

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by cannonball »

my mate big chris is 6ft 9 had a interceptor 3 fitted in it no problem his legs were either side the steering wheel but I never heard him complain about it,
WATTS RACING TRANSMISSIONS, 07974 088375,
CLOBBER THE COMPETITION
User avatar
Martin R
Posts: 5932
Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 11:04 pm
Location: Chipping Norton, & Sydney Australia

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by Martin R »

It'd be worth trying a few different cars.
Some people have had replacement seat foam which may be thicker than standard, also, newly replaced webbing in the drivers seat might make you sit higher than usual.
I recently sat in an E-Type Jaguar (XKE in the USA) and my head was literally pushing into the headlining.
I sat in another, similar year and model, the second one had a comfortable 2" or 3" space above my head. This was likely to have been due to newly replaced seat foam and webbing.
I often find my head touching the roof lining in all sorts of cars and I'm only 5' 11" but, short legs and tall in the trunk.
Don't give up!!
FF MK1 119/100
Interceptor MK3 136/8514
JOC Member 8905
CF-105
Posts: 102
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2017 3:25 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Heartbroken! Too Tall for an Inteceptor

Post by CF-105 »

cannonball wrote:my mate big chris is 6ft 9 had a interceptor 3 fitted in it no problem his legs were either side the steering wheel but I never heard him complain about it,
Not complaining, and actually being comfortable, are very different things. The Interceptor is NOT a big car inside. My daily driver Mustang Bullitt is, except for width, pretty well the same size, and is dramatically bigger inside. Absolutely no comparison. I must have 6 inches more legroom. And certainly a few more inches of headroom.

I admire him putting his enthusiasm before his comfort.
Post Reply

Return to “General Discussion”