Interior

If you look at the "starting point" picture in the upper right, you'll see a plywood panel that forms the backrest for the rear seat cushion.  It is fairly unmovable since it is part of the structure that supports the rear of the car.  The plane of that plywood panel is therefore the starting point from which we have to create a more comfortable seating option.  In the picture below, you can see the original cushions set in place and Dam Shady is "stabbing" the rear cushion to see how thick it is.  It consists of upholstery, horsehair matting, burlap, and coil springs mounted on a thin steel frame.  It turns out that this consumes about 5-1/2" at the point where Dan is measuring. One of the options that seems promising is the so-called bomber seat.  Shortly after World War II, returning veterans started installing seats out of surplus bombers in their hot rods.  This was because it was a cheap source of ready-made bucket seats that were fairly comfortable and easily installed.  Today, of course, these are hard to find and quite expensive, but the concept is so simple that they are easy to fabricate.  The advantage in the case of this car is that the 5-1/2" thickness of the rear cushion could be reduced to an inch or two, resulting in increased leg room.  Some folks have even crafted bench-style seats fashioned like the old school bomber seats.  Here are some photos.  I believe there are some ideas contained in these photos that will eventually solve our seat challenge.  I have sat in the car without any rear cushion, with my back resting directly on the plywood panel, and the amount of legroom is substantially increased.  My thought is that by raising the bottom cushion slightly (limited of course, by the height of the roof), we will make the car reasonably comfortable for its long-legged operator.