I am looking into picking up an s30, and finally got a chance to sit in one. However I felt extremely cramped, almost claustrophobic. Completely stock interior. My knee actually hit the steering wheel before the pedal was fully released. I am about 6'1" and 220lbs. Does swapping to aftermarket seats, and an aftermarket steering wheel of smaller size provide more room? Can you remove the center console to provide a little knee room?

Anything I can do to gain a little more breathing room? I have asked a few people who have aftermarket wheels and seats in Datsun's, but being winter they are all stores away. I would like to start looking for one, but if I can't gain any more room I don't think I will ever feel comfortable inside the car.

I'm a little surprised to hear you complain about interior space. As far as interiors in sports cars, the 240Z was noted as having far more room than the competition when it was introduced.

One thing to check is the height spacers. These are plastic nut shaped pieces that can be inserted under or above the seat rails effectively raising the seat up to half an inch. There are height adjuster for the front and back mounts to adjust tilt as well.

I have not sat in any other 70's sports cars, so I am not comparing it to anything. I am just used to 90's Japanese cars, so that is my reference point.

The car I sat in was a 280z, and from my reading they include an extra bump in the trans tunnel for the cat. Is this noticeable when sitting inside? I think it said it was 2-3" further closer to your legs, so that seems significant in an already smaller area.

It's funny to hear that you find the z cramped, as Nissan actually made this car larger to accommodate westerners. Although when you compare it to modern or even 90's Japanese sports cars like you mentioned, it is a bit smaller in size. With it's fixed steering wheel, even I find it kind of hard to get in and out of and I'm only 5'-7 at 165 pounds. But you can increase the cabins spaciousness some, it just depends on how involved you want to get with the adjustments. Like djwarner mentioned, there are these little black plastic spacers under the seats which can be removed to give you a little more room or you can get a bit more adventurous and move the seat brackets and seat altogether to allow for more room. I was watching an episode of "Bitchin' Rides" the other day where they said they had to fit a guy over 7 feet tall into the 240z they built. So I'm sure it can be done, just depends on how in depth with the adjustments you want to get.

Just depends on the driver. I'm 5'6" and have no issues. I know a guy 6'2" and probably over 250 lbs. He drives his car at least once a week weather dependant and has driven it on road rallies to to shows up to about 500 miles away. I found my NB miata cramped for a 3 hour trip but felt all my z cars more spacious than the miata. Obviously a smaller wheel will give a bit more room, the stock seats are lower than most aftermarkets but there is a spacer under each mount that can be removed giving you another half inch or so. The stock seat bottoms when old are slim and flat, a new seat foam raises the seating position, a foamectomy much like the miata should be possible.

Datsun_s30 as for the large steering wheel and getting in and out, I've gotten into the habit of sliding the seat to the rear prior to exiting. This also helps easing entry as well.

datsun-s30 wrote:It's funny to hear that you find the z cramped, as Nissan actually made this car larger to accommodate westerners. Although when you compare it to modern or even 90's Japanese sports cars like you mentioned, it is a bit smaller in size. With it's fixed steering wheel, even I find it kind of hard to get in and out of and I'm only 5'-7 at 165 pounds. But you can increase the cabins spaciousness some, it just depends on how involved you want to get with the adjustments. Like djwarner mentioned, there are these little black plastic spacers under the seats which can be removed to give you a little more room or you can get a bit more adventurous and move the seat brackets and seat altogether to allow for more room. I was watching an episode of "Bitchin' Rides" the other day where they said they had to fit a guy over 7 feet tall into the 240z they built. So I'm sure it can be done, just depends on how in depth with the adjustments you want to get.

Interesting about the seat spacers. If I bought one I would end up with aftermarket seats as I don't care for the stock ones at all, but then from what I have read it becomes even more cramped.

I think my biggest complaint was the wheel, and that can be fixed by a smaller aftermarket wheel. Not a big deal. But I think the other big problem is the lack of room in the footwell. I wish there was slightly more room between the pedal and the trans tunnel. My foot feels cramped, and I hit the trans tunnel when trying to press the accelerator pedal. If I could gain about an inch throughout the trans tunnel area along my right leg it would be much better.

I am trying to find someone local who has aftermarket seats and wheel, and let me sit inside. I think if I sit in a nicely redone/slightly modernized 240z (since the 280z has the extra bump in the trans tunnel) I might completely change my mind.

Keep in mind, I drove the car a total of 5 blocks, so I don't have a whole lot of time to get comfortable and find a comfy position. But it's not like this is a car that I can go to any car lot to test drive.

You also can cut out the stock mounting flange, I actually sectioned an inch our of mine mostly to do away with the angle that it places the seat at, obviously that's a cut and weld fix but doable, one could even take the mounting flanges out altogether and bolt a seat to the floor if they were so inclined I kept the front flange for the tiny bit of rigidity that it adds.

That rad rides build was disappointing, it was also on ebay with a crazy reserve. It's almost entirely a catalog build, all the azc underbits and the rb swap bits, noting special form what I saw.

Myboostedgst wrote:I am looking into picking up an s30, and finally got a chance to sit in one. However I felt extremely cramped, almost claustrophobic. Completely stock interior. My knee actually hit the steering wheel before the pedal was fully released. I am about 6'1" and 220lbs. Does swapping to aftermarket seats, and an aftermarket steering wheel of smaller size provide more room? Can you remove the center console to provide a little knee room?

Anything I can do to gain a little more breathing room? I have asked a few people who have aftermarket wheels and seats in Datsun's, but being winter they are all stores away. I would like to start looking for one, but if I can't gain any more room I don't think I will ever feel comfortable inside the car.

In the early '70s I decided I wanted either a '68 Corvette or 240Z. First drove several 240Zs and later a Corvette; really felt intimidated by the curved angle of the Corvette door/window, clutch pedal pressure was equal or greater than of my '54 Ford F150, and nearly through my shoulder out shifting from 2nd to 3rd.