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Extending leg room? 200

I'm a fairly new Volvo owner. I really like my very used but reliable '90 240 wagon. BUT, my knees touch the dash when the seat is in the further most position. Is there any way to reposition the seat supports to provide more leg room? Also, when I take my foot off the accelerator to brake, the space between the brake pedal and transmission wall is to narrow for my foot to move unobstructed. So I brake with my left foot. Anyone else have these problems? Any solutions? BTW, I'm only 6'2".








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    Extending leg room? 200

    It's gotta be the installation of the seat rack. Mine was intolerable when I got it. The woman we bought it from was about 5-4, (a foot shorter than I am), so I took the seats out just for a look. Scooting them to the 'tall' bolt holes helped.

    However – my legs are still uncomfortable, and the length problem is compounded by the center console and the armrest (power windows...)

    Should have gotten a DL.

    I miss my '83 DL wagon (standard, too!). The paint was dull and the interior had the old dusty smell of deteriorating carpet, the dash was cracked and curling like cheap plywood in the rain. But it ran great and was as solid as a rock. The arm restwas in my way, but i just pulledit off and put moved one of the grab handles into it's place. The bolt holes are the same distance apart.

    Almost as much, I miss my '73 140 DL wagon (all wagons... is that weird?). Standard. Man, those things are carved out of a block of steel. Once I figured out the the wiring harness was practically decomposing around the engine, I got it running great. I replaced the ball joints -- they would have come right out in a big bump. Never had to do anything else but basic upkeep. One day i came out of a grocery store to find a guy and his wife by the car the guy was drooling and telling her all about the car. turns out it had been the guy's first car. There was a huge crease in the driver's side front fender -- he said someone threw a concrete block at the windshield and missed. He said he rebuilt the engine at 275,000 miles and drove it to Alaska. He told her it was... well, let's just say don't give your wagon to your hormone-stoked teenager... He went on for a bit. Of course, now I am waxing nolstagic. I sold it to a freind who didn't keep it up. She donated it and I bet it got crushed. I felt like I did when I realized my dad hadn't really taken my old dog to live on a nice farm...

    So, to wind up, I hope someone comes up with a magic fix for the seat rails.








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    Extending leg room? 200

    There is such a thing as 3 piece telescoooping slides. Not by Volvo but for industrial equipment that are mounted in vertical racks. This allows the equipment to be pulled out like a drawer for servicing. However I have never been able to find a company that made any heavy enough and it would be a major project to adapt them to the seats.








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    Extending leg room? 200 1990

    For the pedal clearance issue, I suggest you take a look at the plastic kick panel.

    When the panels are removed, they are often not replaced properly. There is a little hook in the back that is suppose to hold the plastic panel closer, but this is often overlooked when reinstalling the panels.

    Braking with the left foot is not a bright idea in my opinion. If you don't have enough room to pivot your foot over to the brake pedal, then you probably don't have enough room to fully release the accelerator when you brake. This is a very very bad thing. I'd even go so far as to suggest maybe getting a narrower pair of shoes!

    (Heh heh heh, but in all seriousness, I have noticed that I have a pair of shoes that I can't drive with for this very reason, and I drive a standard transmission car, so left foot braking isn't an option anyway!)

    Good luck.
    --
    If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"








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    Extending leg room? 200

    There are levers in the front and rear of 244 seats that allow you to adjust the seat height. Yours may be in the "up" position.
    --
    '88 244GL, '89 244GL, '90 244DL, '91 244, '92 244








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      Extending leg room? 200

      Agreed - I'm 6'5" and fit behind the wheel decently. I myself had no idea that there were levers to adjust the height of the driver's seat cushion until I read the owner's manual. I know one lever is in the back of the seat underneath, I forget where the other is.. The passenger side seat also has these adjustments, but I believe you need to undo some bolts to change it.
      --
      85 245 DL - 91 Mazda MX6 Turbo








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    Extending leg room? 200

    240 seats mount on metal seat rails, which are bolted to the floor. The seats can be mounted to the rails in a "forward" or "aft" position. Yours are probably mounted in the forward position. Remove the seats from the car, and move them to the aft mounting position for more legroom.
    --
    David Brick, Santa Cruz CA








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      There's more to it than that 200

      My 1992 has less leg room in the driver's seat than my 1980 does. This is even with the seat mount on the 1992 attached to the body using the forward stud holes, which put the seat further back.

      I've tried measuring and can't figure out where the difference is. Maybe some is the loss of knee room due to the knee bolster on the 1992. But just in straight-back extension I can't straighten out when driving the 1992 like I can on the 1980.

      I've got a pre-86 seat in my 1992, so the seating position in the two cars is exactly the same.

      Doug Harvey








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        There's more to it than that 200

        Was there some change related to the steering column housing or something between '82 and '90? I was always fine in my '82 245 DL wagon - now, in the '90 version of the same, my knees brush up against the underside of the dash, and while the room for my legs while extended is fine, it's not if I have one leg bent, i.e. driving at highway speed. There is definitely a lower clearance there - right? The dash itself looks identical, except for a two-tone colorway and an airbag in the wheel. I'm 5'11, and can get away with driving the thing fairly comfortably, but my husband is 6'5, and he's uncomfortable. How much of a pain is it to get the seats off to see if we can adjust them to th e"aft" position to see if it helps?








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      Extending leg room? 200

      You may have had a seat that was modified to fit a very small or short person. I'm 6'4" and use the seat in the normal rear most position and have ample room to fit behind the wheel wihtout doing the modification described above, which may already have been done on your car to move the seat forward.
      --
      '89 245 Sportwagon, '04 V70 2.5T Sportwagon








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    Extending leg room? 200

    I'm in the same boat. I could use an inch or two of additional rearward seat travel. I was able to accomplish this in my 83 BMW 320i with a seat rail mod, but have not attempted or investigated on my 89 244.

    Aloha,
    Mike H








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      Extending leg room? 200

      I'm 6'4" and I found I needed more legroom too. I noticed that the seat rails have one more notch for the adjustment lever to lock into but are restricted by bump stops in the rail. I ground these down with my dremel tool and with pliers bent the ends of the rails to work as stops instead of the bumps. This has helped but I could still use a little more. There are rumours Volvo had a seat extender option. They are on my pick'n'pull list to watch out for.
      Erich
      Ottawa Canada







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