Author Topic: how big ?? ?  (Read 2579 times)

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Offline Swiftdriver

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how big ?? ?
« on: Thursday,January 09, 2014, 02:31:54 PM »
Can a person (Me)  SAFELY fit in a racing Europa w a full cage ?  I am 6'1" @210lbs. I see that I need 2" above my helmet to the top of cage- minimum.  Any of you racers care  to advise me before I jump in and start construction ? I bought an S-2 w/ a very bad frame and I know it will be a money pit. Thanks, Gregg

Offline erioshi

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Re: how big ?? ?
« Reply #1 on: Monday,January 13, 2014, 01:18:02 AM »
I'm about the same size as you, and it's going to be a very tight fit.  Especially with a helmet and 2" of required clearance.  How you set up your seat will be very important, and you might find yourself needing to look at a formula car style seat to meet the safety requirements.

If your sanctioning body will let you drop the floor or perform other major body and/or chassis surgery then you have more options.  One avenue I considered (when I was planning to cut mine up into a race car) was to replace the firewall, part of the floor and and create built-in side bolsters and then use a pour-in seat with a six point harness (like a formula car or sports racer).  I did have to request specific permission and pre-approval from my sanctioning body in question, but they granted me a go-ahead subject inspection and final approval.

That said, if you end up deciding not to build a race car out of your shell, please drop me an email.  I'd still like to build a racing Europa, but I've just decided mine is just a bit too nice to butcher.  It's a complete, running S2 with only 23k mikes, but needing a full going over from age, garage malaise and dis-use.

Offline Mecky

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Re: how big ?? ?
« Reply #2 on: Monday,January 13, 2014, 05:59:55 AM »
Hi there,

I am 6 feet high and with our sparco racing seat and the helmet does it fit perfectly well. But somebody any taller then me would have problems in our car.

I saw an Europa TC from Belgium (or France?) in Spa-Francorchamps. This Europa driver (Stephane Rion) cut a hole in the floor and did lower the seat through that hole. Here you can get an idea of that solution. http://www.racexpress.nl/index.php?nav=Artikel&nid=33560 .

Best regards

Stefan

Offline StephenH

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Re: how big ?? ?
« Reply #3 on: Sunday,January 26, 2014, 01:48:12 AM »
Suggest you start with the assumption you won't fit and make some more space from the start.
I have a half-cage and as that means the seat can't go hard back against the firewall I found it tight (I'm shorter but long in the torso).
I have removed the seat sliders and lowered the (original) seat to the floor on fixed mounts (using aluminum brackets, should have used steel for another 5mm).
Starting from scratch I would change the pedals to a hanging set which should pick up perhaps 50mm.
Also look at a competition seat with minimal padding and strap yourself in tight.
Stephen
54/1690 1969 S2

Offline Valerio Leone

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Re: how big ?? ?
« Reply #4 on: Thursday,February 13, 2014, 05:25:12 PM »
Hi Stephen,
this can be a nice and not too complicate solution: