Anyone ever try to get more leg room out of a beetle?

[theKbStockpiler]

I was wondering if anyone has ever modified the drivers inner fender to get some extra space for the drivers left leg. The heater channel would be left as is. This is the only thing I really did not like about my type 1.

[SANDFLEA]

In theory it sounds like a good idea. However I think that the
by the time you add dropped spindles, wider tires etc
that tire is pretty close to the inner wheelwell when making a full turn to the left.
Maybe a stocker could work? Interesting idea.

[theKbStockpiler]

I'm in NY waiting for the storm to hit and this was one of the off the wall questions that I wanted to asked so I said 'what the hell'. I have everthing for a 914 transaxle conversion , a 1.7 torn all the way down , a upright shroud for a type IV conversion , a Dtronic fi , 914 exhaust pipes but no car or transaxle so I have nothing to look at for judgement. I'm good on the odds and ends but the major pieces are another story.

I want to leave the height stock and use something like 205 65 15s. If I end up with a basket case , maybe the inner fenders could be lengthened 6' or so. The wheel base would be longer of coarse.

[Marc]

Just how long are your legs? I'm 6' and this has never been a concern of mine. Presently my daily driver has some nice power Lexus seats which go back a bunch to ease ingress/egress, but I still pull the driver's seat forward once I get in for a more familiar reach to the pedals.
I've been driving Bugs since the `60s and never felt like my left leg was impinged - I simply bend my knee and put my left foot under my right leg.
Would a "dead pedal" (a flat place to rest your left foot on) be more comfortable for you?

[supaninja]

The easiest way to fix the leg room in a bug is to upgrade to a type 3

I'm doing a 914/901 5 speed install on the notch, got all the parts just no time. do you have the joe cali manual? forget about the djet, it won't fit with the upright conversion, plus djet is not much of an upgrade to carbs, if you want efi then go the megasquirt route and get some IDF pattern throttle bodies or go the GSXR ITB route (check my blog out).

[Weaponer]

I bought my 1970 beetle from my friend who is 6' 6" and 260#. He just modified the driver's seat to slide back farther. On the left lower side of the seat, there is a curve piece of tubing that hits the floor when the seat goes back too far. Also where the curved part of the tubing is, there is a vertical brace. He just cut out the lower half of the curved piece of tubing so the seat can slide back as far as you want. My car was his daily driver for two decades and there is no evidence of any problem with the structure of the seat. I've had the car for 7 years and it hasn't been a problem for me. I'm 5' 9" and 190#.

[theKbStockpiler]

I have not been it a beetle for 25 years but I recall that at the end a long ride myself and everyone else immediately got out of the car. The only comfort I remember was the comfort of knowing that you would not get stuck ,run out of gas, break-down etcetera. I realize that a classic vw is far from a luxury car but your left leg gets claustrophobic and awfully uncomfortable really fast. When I'm able to purchase a type 1 , I'll investigate if the inner fender can be windowed out a little.

The easiest way to fix the leg room in a bug is to upgrade to a type 3

I'm doing a 914/901 5 speed install on the notch, got all the parts just no time. do you have the joe cali manual? forget about the djet, it won't fit with the upright conversion, plus djet is not much of an upgrade to carbs, if you want efi then go the megasquirt route and get some IDF pattern throttle bodies or go the GSXR ITB route (check my blog out).

I had a 73 type 3 but never drove it. A type 3 has too much of the infrastructure of a car which I can't be burdened by. It might just as well be liquid cooled and be front wheel drive.

I'm going to do a hybrid conversion. The the oil cooler is being left in the stock location like the sharp shroud does and a air hose from a non-doghouse style shroud to a separate enclosure for the oil cooler is going to be implemented I'm planning on trying to make custom intake runners for the dtronic system and put the air distributor where the single carburetor would be and hopefully later install my own DIY FI system on top of it.. I have no idea on a suitable material for this yet (electrical conduit)? I really want my own code running the engine. I like MegaS but I have a background in Microcontrollers that I don't want to waste.