A different thought on the standard "drop box" pans

[Peter]

Like I said, respect all ideas, especially if the person has had a go at one and it either worked or back to the drawing board but also accept not everyone will agree.

I do nearly all my mods' "on the fly" after hours of research and piles of crumpled paper and still end up changing things quite a few times.
My set up was 'evolved' over a couple of years driving and it works, for me. (I was 5'11" but I've shrunk with age, as one does).
Sloping 3" drops.
Sliding reclining sports seats laid back about 40 degrees
LOCOST floor mounted triple cylinder and roller pedals.
seriously backward moved gear shift and hand brake, (EPB on the cards)

I started by sitting on a couple or three cushions and a piece of ply and a sack of cement as a back and sat in the most comfortable position I could find with the doors (roof) down then that positioned the steering wheel, drop right hand down and that was gear shift position sorted but that was the handbrake so I had to move that way back using the Volvo one. That in turn dictated what the centre console and dash was to be. So all in all, it fits ME.

 

[islandman]

Not the best photo (extracted from old VHS tape). This is my first Nova's floor pan drop, it was about 5 inches from the perimeter rail. It went quite far forward with a relatively shallow incline, so it it did hit anything it would glance off / push the car up rather than hit it head on. The bottom does scrape occasionally on speed bumps etc... but the pan is 3mm mild steel and doesn't give so the car gets pushed up on the suspension when that happens (not so often).

It works for me and given I'm 6' 4" I need that depth of drop. Another benefit from the forward inclined slope is that it makes it a little easier to get my legs under the steering wheel as a I enter and exit the car. My long legs are not made of rubber so this is an important consideration

 

[Peter]

Not the best photo (extracted from old VHS tape). This is my first Nova's floor pan drop, it was about 5 inches from the perimeter rail. It went quite far forward with a relatively shallow incline, so it it did hit anything it would glance off / push the car up rather than hit it head on. The bottom does scrape occasionally on speed bumps etc... but the pan is 3mm mild steel and doesn't give so the car gets pushed up on the suspension when that happens (not so often).

It works for me and given I'm 6' 4" I need that depth of drop. Another benefit from the forward inclined slope is that it makes it a little easier to get my legs under the steering wheel as a I enter and exit the car. My long legs are not made of rubber so this is an important consideration

Mine just don't bend any more, hence, QD steering wheel, *thumbs up* best 'gismo' I have ever fitted.
I don't have a 'flat' part to my drops other than behind the rear of the seat area., just a slope so as the seat moves forwards it also rises.

NOT saying that is the way it SHOULD be, just the way I have it.

 

[Peter]

Just for a laugh, and gawd knows we could use one. I played with the seating drawing adding in my paramiters, I call it 'reality'

 

[sector]

It would be interesting to construct a spreadsheet, which would graph required floor pan drop vs drivers height to determine optimum angle incline for the seat.

 

[Peter]

OK, good idea, get on with it *thumbs up*

Would also need to factor in seat squab thickness, inside leg, floor drop depth and angle.