I have been tinkering with my seat, I too like the back more towards the center of the adjuster, but like you, that moves you towards the dash even more. I raised the front of the bottom cushion about 3/4" for that leaned back feel, then ended up with the back cushion in the rear most position. My next move is to thin up the rear cushion so I can move it back forward. Just the bottom raised feels much better.
The '42-'46 steering wheels have more offset so you could keep the diameter and still have the wheel 1" or more higher. But, the shaft may be different and the whole horn assembly would need to be added to match the steering wheel base.
