[DeTomaso] Question about Dropped Floor Pans..

[Matt Merritt]

Larry:

Don't drop your floor pans unless you absolutely have to (a la Mark
McWhinney).

My blue street pantera had stock floor pans.  I'm 6'5" and my solution
was to cut out the lowest part (about 14" wide x 4") of a fiberglass
Racetech racing seat that I then mounted flat on the floor.  I then
needed to cut down and redrill the holes in the aluminum brackets but
the end result was enough headroom that I could even fit with a helmet.
It was also very sturdy.  

My racing Pantera had a lowered floor pan.  I had it made with
heavy-gauge steel but it was still a real attention-getter when "going
agricultural".  On the big track in Pahrump there's a pretty sudden
drop-off that you need to take perfectly straight.  Once I landed with a
little too much weight on the left and just that one hard landing gave
me a feeling I'll never forget as long as I live.  Afterward I had to
replace the mounting bolts for the seat too.  

Matt Merritt