Hello,

Looking for solutions to this problem. I'm 6"7 with hair, I find if I let my hair grow too long it rubs on the damn convertible headliner. I have an early car with the thinner seats. I guess the obvious solution is a hair cut, but I want to see if there's any other way to get more head room. I saw mentions of seat rail extenders in old posts but all the images are expired. I think the top gets higher the further back I go, so maybe those would give me an inch or so. I prefer my seat in the more upright position if possible. Any ideas? Does the headliner sag at all? I can push it up an inch or two but obviously it has to have some slack to fold up.

Jacob

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of being too big for most cars! LoL. Seriously though I feel your pain. I'm 6'6 and about 365lbs so I have trouble fitting in stuff too. My xk8 is a 97 coupe and I thought about looking into the rails before, but decided I could make due as is. My 93 xjs is a convertible and I have to sit leaning sideways if I have to have the top up. Easiest solution for more headroom is to just open the top 😁😁. I know it's not help, but like I say, where there's a will there's a way! And I have no misconceptions that I look anything but awkward getting in or out of either of my jags! Someone else said before, if you want headroom, buy a truck 😁😁

 

That's probably the only reason I keep buying Land Rovers. Looked at a house recently and the shower head was at my mouth.

 

Yep been there too! That and looking at old houses with really low ceilings. My last houses basement ceiling was just under 6ft. Drrrrrr! I will say I tried on a 73 Corvette one time. I got my right leg in and slid my butt in, but couldn't clear the door frame with my left leg smh. Didn't really matter, because it was stick and I'd never have been able to do the clutch, well unless I reached my arm down to actuate it! Lol. Lots of people have asked if either of my jags are manual and when I tell them no, they usually say "well that sucks!" To which I usually tell them that if they were I couldn't drive them. I don't know how big your legs are, but I don't have a whole lot of room for my knees to go! I have opened my trunk and gas cap numerous times getting in smh!

 

Jacob, there is a very inexpensive solution to your problem. Just drive with the top down, always.

 

Hah, well it's been raining lately so I need better solution. I've been driving my Disco.

I can drive stick in a Saab 900 without a problem, I wear size 16 shoes, so I probably suffer from the same problems as you. I can drive a manual XK8 though.

Jacob

 

As a "petite" 5 ft 6in (140lb), I fit the XK8 perfectly esp. now I've fixed broken diaphragm in the seat base and the left dead foot rest.

Trouble with me and trucks/SUV's, I need their seats so far forward, my knees sometime touch the steering column. I contacted a local steel fabricator for custom seat rails for the L322 Range Rover but it was expensive for a car I don't drive much (it's my wife's daily driver) so I never bothered.

+1 to GD, drive your XK8 with the top down, so it will see only good weather. Your car will appreciate that too.

 

I am 6-foot-7 and have the same issues. No headroom, legroom, knee room, foot room, or shoulder room. Fortunately, it is my wife's car, not mine. Unfortunately, she rarely drives it now so I am the one who has to take it out for its weekly exercise run....

Regarding shower heads, we remodeled our master bathroom in 2010. My wife happened to be away from home on the day the contractor installed the new granite shower walls, so I had him cut the hole and place the shower head at 7 feet. When my wife came home a couple days later she threw a fit. Too bad, get used to it, I am tired of a lifetime of shower heads nailing me on my chin. Everything else in that remodel job was her design, so this was one opportunity that I took full advantage of. She still complains about it more than ten years later but I just smile and enjoy my shower. I stay out of her damn Jacuzzi (way too small for me) so I have no sympathy for her in this matter....

 

Hahahahahaha, Oh this is funny. How does the shower head affect her? Water still reaches her due to gravity and the water pressure. I don’t see what the problem is.

I’m also small like David, and the cabin on the XKR feels like it was made with a driver like me in mind. I just wish that the footrest were about an inch or two further out. I’ve never driven a car where my foot reaches the footrest.

 

Yeah in my '89 Classic and now my Disco my legs hit the dash, though it's worth it for the 2-3 inches above my head. I had to take out one of the center console cupholders for my right leg. It's actually more cramped than the XK8! Same with new F-Types which saves me from wasting my money anyway.

David, what exactly did you fix in the seat? I got in, heard a crack, and now it has some play in it which makes me shift in position slightly going up hills and accelerating..

Jacob

 

giandanielxk8,

Her problem with the 7-foot shower head is that it is so far above her that her hair gets soaked even when she just wants a quick shower without washing her hair. And she has too much hair to fit into your typical hair net....

The solution was to install one of those hand-held shower heads at the end of a flexible hose. She uses it but still complains about having to keep one hand on the handle with only one hand free for washing. Like I said, get used to it. It is clear that she never will....

 

6' (210#) here. One of my cars has a newish 'perky' seat base, the other two have 'played' bases that sag a little (not completely broken). For me, sagging makes it perfect...

 

Brave man.

 

Why doesn't she just cut her hair a bit shorter? Women always seem to want to complicate things.

 

I can relate even though I'm only 6' tall. Back in my youth I had an MG midget and my head hit the roof hoops when I hit a bump so I normally drove it top down. Once when visiting my grandparents in Florida i drove through a cloud of June bugs and a couple of them hit my forehead and one hit me square between the eyes. I ended up with a black eye and looked like I was growing horns.
I removed the seat rails and replaced them with strips of flat steel. The seat didn't move but I gained a couple of inches and no longer killed June bugs with my face.

 

It's amazing how many tall guys we have on here. I'm 6'8" but only 195 lbs, so I fit decent enough. I have to recline enough, but its still more comfortable than some of our other vehicles. I struggle more in other cars that the wheel doesn't telescope out on and I have to drive with my arms reaching way out. No such issue in the Jag for that

 

😣😣My steering wheel is one of the things I have to fix😢😢 of course I'd probably have to retract it every time I went to get out, so oh well