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Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:09 am

How do you tall guys handle driving a ghia? I'm only 6'2", but to fit comfy, I have the seat all the way back so that the backrest is sitting against the 'emergency seat'. Unless I scrunch down, my greasy head touches my beautiful headliner. What bothers me is that the outboard top portion of the seat back rubs on the quarter-window sill - that's not going to be good for the long-term health of my beautiful new seat covers.

It's going to suck to finish off a nice car that I'm too big to drive!

Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:50 am

Hey Thom.
My husband is 6'4'' and fits actually fairly well in the Ghia, though for long road trips he asks me to dismantle the passenger seat so the back sits down on the floor. This gives him some extra head room. The seats do not lean back otherwise. And his head hits the (not so lovely) headliner.
Dunno how safe this technique is if we were to wreck, but he demands it.

I wonder if you could revise the seat rails somehow. Since you are the driver. Perhaps customize the seats also so they do not rub against anything?

I dunno, I'm only 5'9'', tall for a girl, but average height for a guy. I fit fine.

Actually compared to modern compact cars, the Ghia is quite spacious we've found. Though our beetle and bus have lots more headroom, they aren't quite as sexy!

Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:52 am

6'-2" here. It's a bit tight but not uncomfortable. Besides, your too far into it to worry now :)

Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:06 am

6'1 I'm not really tall, but I'm not short. I have the seat all the way back and the recliner knob turned a couple of clicks. Its actually quite comfy. The only thing I noticed at first was the proximity of my head to the side window glass. I usually try to drive with the window down, so it's not really a problem.

What part of the seat is rubbing? That doesn't sound right to me???

Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:10 am

In my stock '62 the low back seat is all the way back. Kinda tight. Seat back 'rests' on the c-pillar. No damage yet. I did have to install a smaller steering wheel to aid entry/egress and allow knee caps to remain whole.

My '70 the seat rails are an 1" back, but the seat is more upright. Better knee/leg room.

still better than a miata!

Ed S

Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:47 pm

I'm 6'2" and have never had any problems with my Ghias - but I don't have the greatest posture in the world, either.

Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:11 pm

Hi,

I'm a tall guy from Holland 2.02m, I think thats about 6'7. People always ask me if I'm a basketball player because of my lenght. (I'm not)

I have welded the seatrails all the way to the back, so I'm almost sitting on the rear seat. Some people say that I can put out the front seats and use only the seat in the back. But I'm still comfy in the coupe but have more headspace in the cabrio. Sometimes I'm sitting beter in the Karmann than in a modern car because modern cars always have uncomfortable consoles in the middle :wink:

Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:17 pm

KG1965 wrote: People always ask me if I'm a basketball player because of my lenght. (I'm not)

People always think I'm a porn star for the same reason... :)

Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:27 pm

thom wrote: People always think I'm a porn star for the same reason... :)

As they always say "size doesn't matter, it's what your doing with it...." :wink:

Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:31 pm

KG1965 wrote:

What's that building in the background?

Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:38 pm

Jeez, American men all seem to be quite tall! And this Dutch fellow, my god, he missed his calling - the Lakers could use him. Growing up in England, and eventually ascending to 5'11" (fairly tall by British standards), I always felt quite tall myself. But when I moved over here I suddenly felt as if every other guy was taller than me. This thread is only proving that to be true - it seems you're all 6'1"- 6'5" on average! Bloody "Land of the Giants"! :lol:

Well, at 5'11" I fit quite comfortably into a Ghia, but I'd have to imagine that if I were a few inches taller it wouldn't change things all that much. There's plenty of leg room and the seat can be adjusted to go back quite a bit (although that does present a problem in Thom's case), but I guess headroom (especially in a coupe) can become more of an issue.

A fellow 356er friend of mine is about 6'5" (he's originally from Texas - where everything is big!), and one day he asked to sit in my Ghia because he just found it less and less enjoyable to feel like a sardine in a tin whenever he drove his 356 C coupe. I told him that the Ghia had far more leg room, and that with the top down - which is really standard protocol here in Sunny California - headroom (obviously) wouldn't be an issue. So now I think he's going to sell his 356 to a friend and find himself a nice Ghia for a weekend car.

Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:39 pm

coad wrote: What's that building in the background?

That's a Dutch Castle, de hooge Vuursche. It's a sort of event center for weddings and meetings.
Follow this link to their website http://www.hoogevuursche.nl/splash/

The picture was taken during a meeting of the Dutch Karmann Ghia Club, where the members where asked to dress in style of the year of the Karmann Ghia you own.

Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:44 pm

Im 6'2.25" and I fit just fine, I slouch a bit but I love the fit of the ghia. I need to loose some weight (about 25-35 lbs) and it will be even more comfortable. People do laugh at me when I kinda fold out of the car though :lol:

Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:46 pm

KG1965 wrote: Hi,

I'm a tall guy from Holland 2.02m, I think thats about 6'7. People always ask me if I'm a basketball player because of my lenght. (I'm not)

I have welded the seatrails all the way to the back, so I'm almost sitting on the rear seat. Some people say that I can put out the front seats and use only the seat in the back. But I'm still comfy in the coupe but have more headspace in the cabrio. Sometimes I'm sitting beter in the Karmann than in a modern car because modern cars always have uncomfortable consoles in the middle :wink:

Please post more pictures of the blond! :D

Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:48 pm

lemke wrote: Please post more pictures of the blond! :D

That's why I asked about the building. I was leading up to the blond.

Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:54 pm

lemke wrote: Please post more pictures of the blond! :D

Here you are, another pic of the blond (my wife :lol: ) and the castle :wink:

Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:00 pm

KG1965 wrote: Here you are, another pic of the blond (my wife :lol: ) and the castle :wink:

Looking good!

Tue Feb 27, 2007 7:01 pm

See now height isn't a problem here. I'm only 5'4" and while most of the time that's a pain, my ghia seems to be JUST my size. :D

Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:00 pm

KG1965 wrote: coad wrote: What's that building in the background?

That's a Dutch Castle, de hooge Vuursche. It's a sort of event center for weddings and meetings.
Follow this link to their website http://www.hoogevuursche.nl/splash/

The picture was taken during a meeting of the Dutch Karmann Ghia Club, where the members where asked to dress in style of the year of the Karmann Ghia you own.

That's a neat idea 8)

Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:25 pm

CouldaHadAv8 wrote: KG1965 wrote: coad wrote: What's that building in the background?

That's a Dutch Castle, de hooge Vuursche. It's a sort of event center for weddings and meetings.
Follow this link to their website http://www.hoogevuursche.nl/splash/

The picture was taken during a meeting of the Dutch Karmann Ghia Club, where the members where asked to dress in style of the year of the Karmann Ghia you own.

That's a neat idea 8)

Personally, I would hate dressing in the style of my year Ghia - 1971!!