Fabricating a new cockpit, looking for opinions, experience and ideas

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bugman
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I did end up building this. The only picture I have at the moment though is of it at about 90% done...
 
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Whoww, freakin awessome!!! Congrats, you`ve got an excelente rig there. Im bulding one too, but im still waiting for the seat to initiate the bulding and measurements. Nice work.
 
mookieo2
What size tubing did you use? is it 1 1/4"

I'm going to build a copy of this this upcoming weekend. I need something adjustable so other people can use it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW93WyrBPjE&feature=fvsr
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It is 1" square tube. To be honest, I think that 3/4 would be rigid enough. With all the angles and load points, it'd take 10 people to fault this thing. Oh, and as a general rule, 1" suare is 16 ounces per foot (just to give you an idea)
 
Finally! It's been a long wait man. I've been waiting for your version of Chilicoke and I must admit you didn't just copy it you actually improved on it and added some good design elements to make it your own. So Kudos!

First thing I noticed is the tappered design on the gear console. Next was the monitor bracket which I think is rock solid. I see you even angle the seatbase to give it that ergonomic feel for comfort and seating position. Are you going to be working on a handbrake? My compliments to you buddy. Job well done. I'm going to have to put you on my best in class thread.
 
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agreed, this is one of the best rigs I've seen done.. I'm currently starting my own, but with more of a stock-car feel than a sports car feel. I'll be taking some inspiration from this one for sure... great job bro.. Jeff
 
Radracing
Finally! It's been a long wait man. I've been waiting for your version of Chilicoke and I must admit you didn't just copy it you actually improved on it and added some good design elements to make it your own. So Kudos!

First thing I noticed is the tappered design on the gear console. Next was the monitor bracket which I think is rock solid. I see you even angle the seatbase to give it that ergonomic feel for comfort and seating position. Are you going to be working on a handbrake? My compliments to you buddy. Job well done. I'm going to have to put you on my best in class thread.
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Thank you Red. It was a long time coming. Business exploded this year (I own a commercial pest control company), I lost my old man, fell in love... it's been wild!

I built 6 rigs that are not half this detailed. With that said, this was my "trial run" at a full on "cockpit". There are things that I'm changing, there are things that I still smile at now... it is a rollercoaster of racing bliss :o)
It's not completely finished, nor will it ever be, to be honest. I built this one as a "tester" to check my measurements, ideas, thoughts, skills and over-all comfort level with something this detailed. The next one will be WAY BETTER :o)
It's already in fabrication stage and will be up shortly. In the mean time, I'll post a few more pictures of this one to get a little more feedback.

On a side note, thanks for the nomination. I had a lot of time into the development of this; blood (literally, there are blood stains under some of the leather!), sweat, days off of work, missed church, swears (the other side of the spectrum), beers, Subway... it was a blast!!!

Version 2.0 is going MUCH better :o)
 
how are you mounting the pedals??

Are those the original ones from a G25 or a G27 that you just removed the internals and mounted??

I'm totally new to cockpit building, but am really interested in making a good on that I can be happy with for the long haul. I'm just getting surprised again and again by all the great ideas. But between the shifters that people are using and the pedals I must be missing how you all are making the 'change' from the stock wheel components.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.


Andretti
 
Andretti
how are you mounting the pedals??

Are those the original ones from a G25 or a G27 that you just removed the internals and mounted??

I'm totally new to cockpit building, but am really interested in making a good on that I can be happy with for the long haul. I'm just getting surprised again and again by all the great ideas. But between the shifters that people are using and the pedals I must be missing how you all are making the 'change' from the stock wheel components.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.


Andretti
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The pedals are mounted via bolts through the rig itself. As for the pedals, they are G27 pedals; Just without all the plastic. This way, you get a much more realistic angle of attack at them AND you can space them according to your exact needs (heel-toe, etc). I hihgly advise it.
 
do you know the exact angle you mounted them Bugman. Most seem to be around 45 degrees, but wondering if thats the case withyours. And are you happy with the angle you chose?
 
JeffF
do you know the exact angle you mounted them Bugman. Most seem to be around 45 degrees, but wondering if thats the case withyours. And are you happy with the angle you chose?
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Yeah, mine started at 45* as well. I finally settled at 40* though. My cockpit is setup for your legs to be more stretched out more-so than the regular seating position. So, I had to bring the angle down to accomodate.
 
I bet you've already started fabricated your cock pit there, but you say your looking for ideas.. If you're open minded to something that won't be out of place in your living room, maybe you could try something like this
http://www.converttable.eu/
 
The trick is to build in every posible adjustment. Seat height, seat base lilt, seat fore and aft, ect. for each of the three components. If you start in the ballpark, and build in adjustment, you can get it right for own body size and driving style. I use theaded bar to mount my seat with a series of holes in rows on the floor. This gives adjustment in the three dimensions listed above. Try to mount the wheel and pedals with the same adjustments in mind. Obviosly, you only need two of the three components to be adjustable fore and aft, and also for height.
 
Bugman wanted me to post this here so that we can get a dialog on how to solve this problem....

I am in the design phase of my own cockpit. I plan on building in 2 stages with the first being Wheel, Pedals, and Shifter. The 2nd will be to mount that to a longer frame with a seat. (This will be similar to the PVC 2 part cockpits but made out of steel instead).

What I am trying to do at this point, is figure out what angle the very front 2 pieces should be that start at the base and end at the top flat piece for the Wheel to mount to. I have a feeling I cannot just pick any angle, because this will determine the angle of the pedals which get mounted to these. Not sure if this got any more clear than the PM Bugman... But when looking at the cockpit from the side, I am referring to the first piece that is angled that is closest to the TV.

Thanks,

Josh
 
bimmer72
Bugman wanted me to post this here so that we can get a dialog on how to solve this problem....

I am in the design phase of my own cockpit. I plan on building in 2 stages with the first being Wheel, Pedals, and Shifter. The 2nd will be to mount that to a longer frame with a seat. (This will be similar to the PVC 2 part cockpits but made out of steel instead).

What I am trying to do at this point, is figure out what angle the very front 2 pieces should be that start at the base and end at the top flat piece for the Wheel to mount to. I have a feeling I cannot just pick any angle, because this will determine the angle of the pedals which get mounted to these. Not sure if this got any more clear than the PM Bugman... But when looking at the cockpit from the side, I am referring to the first piece that is angled that is closest to the TV.

Thanks,

Josh
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Ah'ha! That is 10x more clear than "the angles piece in the front". I say this because there are several angled tubes that determine the angle of the pedal mount.
As I understand it, it's simple math. If you are doing a small angled section like mine that points forward, then goes 90* back to your flat platform, you simply have to cut the angle in half.
To simplify this, I'll explain the math. If you want a 45* angle for your pedals (which most everyone does), you'll give the forward angle the angle you want on the verticle bar. You then simply give the reverse angle 90* and it will be 45* in the reverse direction. Not sure if this was clear enough, just reread it.
I'll post some pictures as well as the adjustable wheel mount details that you asked for in a bit.
 
I think it makes sense but went farther ahead than I was thinking....my question was how do you figure out if the 45* angle is the angle that will be comfortable without guess and check.

Josh
 
bimmer72
I think it makes sense but went farther ahead than I was thinking....my question was how do you figure out if the 45* angle is the angle that will be comfortable without guess and check.

Josh
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Your just gonna have to make a mock-up of a deat, jerr-rig your pedals to something (an ironboard, small piece of wood, etc), lay it out at 45* and check the feel. Gotta tell ya', unless your extremely strange, it's going to be between 37.5* and 52.5*. Haven't heard many that werent 40-45...
 
Hey guys, first time poster, read the forums for a while now.

Cockpits looking good, Chili cokes rig especially caught my eye, as well as bugmans with his changes etc. To be honest your right mate, you based yours on an already well thought out and executed cockpit, so definitly did the right thing with using that as a design influence.

I'm currently in the process of building mine, about 60% finished so far, very similar to both of yours. With a few small changes here and there,i.e seat position, etc etc. (Again similar, but this just shows how well thought out that design is)

Will post pics as soon as its done! :D
 

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