Ease of entry and exit

[vern smith]

I am trying to decide which model to buy and ease of entry and exit is a big consideration for old folks like my wife and me. We were able to sit in a 65 and a roadster but the HotRod was not available locally, we are in North Naples, FL. The drawing below represents a door in the closed position. If someone can supply me with the dimensions represented with the ? marks I can get a good idea of what entry and exit will be like. I appreciate your help. I'm not doing well trying to add the drawing to the post, it's a jpg, 1000 pixels by 800 but appears very small on the preview.

FFdoor.jpg

[wallace18]

I have built 14 FFR kits, 5-MK4's, 3-33's, 3-818's a Type 65, GTM and a 35 P/U. The 33 hot rod IMO is by far the easiest to get in and out of.

[RoadRacer]

I am trying to decide which model to buy and ease of entry and exit is a big consideration for old folks like my wife and me. We were able to sit in a 65 and a roadster but the HotRod was not available locally, we are in North Naples, FL. The drawing below represents a door in the closed position. If someone can supply me with the dimensions represented with the ? marks I can get a good idea of what entry and exit will be like. I appreciate your help. I'm not doing well trying to add the drawing to the post, it's a jpg, 1000 pixels by 800 but appears very small on the preview.

FFdoor.jpg

I don't really understand your drawing, sorry, but I'm replacing the doorstop with a strap and the door now opens 40" wide. You can see a pic on my build thread

I will say though, that the hardtop is quite low and restrictive to entry too. As a roadster you'd have a LOT of room though.

[33fromSD]

I don't really understand your drawing, sorry, but I'm replacing the doorstop with a strap and the door now opens 40" wide. You can see a pic on my build thread

I will say though, that the hardtop is quite low and restrictive to entry too. As a roadster you'd have a LOT of room though.

Agree with RoadRacer....the other weird thing you'll have to get used to with suicide doors is you're not truly stepping into the vehicle like you would on a normal vehicle, you're almost backing into it. My neighbor is in his 70's and he has vertigo issues and he tried getting in mine last weekend and the side stepping / backing in to the car was very difficult for him.

If you keep the door stops per FFR instructions you have ~24" between the door pillar and the edge of the open door. I removed mine too so it opens much wider now. Jim

[vern smith]

Thanks fellows, 40" answers one of my question marks on my drawing, the other one is the length of the door. I'm sure 40" will work for me. Anybody have any idea why the forum reduced the size of my .jpg picture to such a small size? It's 1000 pixels by 800 which will usually fill the screen of a laptop.

[chmhasy]

I think the 33 comes with suicide doors if that helps

[33fromSD]

Thanks fellows, 40" answers one of my question marks on my drawing, the other one is the length of the door. I'm sure 40" will work for me. Anybody have any idea why the forum reduced the size of my .jpg picture to such a small size? It's 1000 pixels by 800 which will usually fill the screen of a laptop.

With my stops removed, my door opens 30" from the pillar to the door edge. Door length is 40".

Not sure why the forum reduced your drawing. Jim

[cob427sc]

I'm 70, 6'-2" and have built several roadsters, a coupe and a GTM. The 33 is the easiest to get in and for me get out. I modified the door stops so they would open wider, an easy modification by altering the supplied door stop. Loved all my previous FFR cars but all of them (especially the coupe and GTM) after a long comfortable drive I had to litterally fall out onto the street to exit the car. No such problem with the 33. I do have a convertible top which makes it more difficult, but most times the car is driven without the top.