My racing seat project

  • Thread starter Thread starter Punknoodle
  • 29 comments
  • 5,970 views
Punknoodle

Punknoodle

Messages
3,211
Australia
Brisbane
Messages
Punknoodle_Nick
If anyone is interested, I am building my setup (yes, I found a seat :) )
I am building it with a galvanized steel frame, a Holden Commodore seat (with runners - fully adjustable), with a sheet of MDF for the wheel support.

I have designed the system completely except for the mounting of the pedals - I will leave them till last, to see If I need to angle them, and to see which height feels the best.

I have purchased the MDF, some of the steel (Bunnings ran out, I need another 2 lengths) and I have all the bolts etc.

seatbuild1.jpg

seatbuild2.jpg

Here you can see the seat, and the MDF resting on some seats (for measuring purposes).

Please let me know whether you want me to keep you informed of the rest of the build.

Thanks, Nick.
 
Ok just an update - got 4 days off from today. So I bought home all the tools I'll need for the job from my toolboxes at work. Can't wait to get started!

I went to Bunnings and got some materials needed - but the rail I'm using that was expected to arrive today isn't in..so hopefully it arrives tomorrow. I couldn't get any stainless bolts where I was working, so I went to the bolt shop to get some. Im using stainless simply for its looks, I have socket head stainless cap screws in use for everything else, so I wanted the main bolts that hold the structure together to also be stainless of the same type - $40 later. Oh well, should look sweet :) (Just don't tell the missus - she'd kill me, or just buy ANOTHER handbag to compensate for my spending...women!)

Anyway, I'm going to start cutting up the metal and brackets I DO have now, pictures will come later ;)
 
Ok, first up, heres a shot of my tools:
arsenal.jpg

Next up, some of the main components of the build:
rail.jpg

Steel Box section
MDF.jpg

Sheet of MDF
angle.jpg

Angled aluminium I'll be using to support the MDF for the steering wheel.

OK, So I'm ready to start cutting up the steel, a drop saw is best, but I have a square and a grinder, followed by a file to make it nice. But before I start cutting, remember:
safety.jpg

SAFETY FIRST!!!
OK so after cutting the steel and filing it up (remember I still have more to get so more cutting required yet) Ive got to mark up the ends using these L brackets for bolting together
bracket.jpg

After marking, get ready to drill - remember to use a centre punch so the drill doesn't slip!
punch.jpg

And now drill. First a pilot, and then increase size to diameter required for the Tap of the bolt you'll be using. I am using 8mm bolts, so I drill a 7mm hole, and tap the hole for the bolt - remember to use cutting compound!
tap.jpg

OK so thats it for now as I've ran outta steel until hopefully tomorrow. Then I should have the steel work done, ready for painting!
I'll keep you posted.
 
Tapping the threads takes me back to when i was in engineering.
Great challenge for you and I look forward to the completion.#
I bought a seat from a scrap yard a couple of weeks ago and my GT25 (£99:99 from Playcom) arrived today so....I will start mine in about a weeks time!!

Good building etc
 
ok I should probably continue this on a seperate page - but what the hey, we all have broadband now, right?!?
So after a slow going day yesterday (had to go and get steel from across town, stupid Bunnings) I have made some headway.
It started a little something like this:
measure.jpg

Measuring up my cut up steel for the bracket bolts
corner2.jpg

This is what the corner brackets look like - see why I chose the stainless? BEAUTIFUL! It will go well with a matt black frame - very industrial looking.
rubberfeet.jpg

Then I made up these rubber feet by inserting my own bolt through the rubber that did have a self tapper in it.
underframe.jpg

And installed them on the frame. Notice I installed them on the same part of the frame where the seat is being bolted to, so the corner brackets don't have as much load on them.
seatbolt.jpg

Bolting the seat onto the frame (remember all bolts in this project and tapped into the steel - no nuts here (except for the driver ;))
framewithseat.jpg

And here the seat is bolted on
tablesupportbolting.jpg

This is how the supports are being bolted onto the bottom frame
shifter2.jpg

Making up the plate that will hold the shifter
shifter.jpg

OK, that works :)
table.jpg

This is how the steering wheel support worked out - notice the angle bracing to stop it from bowing.
undertable.jpg

This is how it looks under the steering table.
steeringbolt.jpg

Bolting the wheel onto the table
semifinished.jpg

And here it is, semi-finished! OK so yeah, I havn't done anything with the pedals yet, and I'm not sure what im going to do. I dont want to pull apart the pedal box and invert mount, i just want to angle it, but I'm going to have to come up with a tidy way of doing this, but for now it works on the carpet - the carpet grip things mean it simply doesn't move anyway.

And yes, I still need to paint it. I was going to pull it apart to paint, but it was a real PAIN bolting it up so it was square so I'm just going to mask the bolts and take off the seat/wheel, and take off the wood (i'll paint these seperatly)

Time for a quick drive. first impressions - seating position great, but I need to practice! Gear shifting is way off (shifter is quite sloppy) and I need to get used to it. I had a few laps on Fuji in the mines skyline, all assists off, professional physics, S2 tyres, and I spent most of the time on the grass pointing the wrong way :S I'll just have to keep practicing. I'll keep you posted.

I probably won't be working on it now for a week or so. I'm really happy with the results thus far though.
 
looks a very proffesional job:tup:

One question, when you say the shifter is sloppy, do you mean the stand the shifter is on or the actual gear stick?
 
stepvan
looks a very proffesional job:tup:

One question, when you say the shifter is sloppy, do you mean the stand the shifter is on or the actual gear stick?
Click to expand...

Thank you. In response to your question, the actual shifter seems sloppy, the bracket is strong ;)

It is quite easy to select the wrong gear or not have it go in properly and miss a gear, it is just something i'm going to have to get used to. i went from forth to first somehow on my first drive trying to go to third...that was fun lol
 
Nice build so far. 👍
Keep the informative updates coming.

I'm not saying the blue seat is unattractive, but a seat cover may look better. :rolleyes:
 
01GTP
Nice build so far. 👍
Keep the informative updates coming.

I'm not saying the blue seat is unattractive, but a seat cover may look better. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

ahaha mate thats a classic holden commodore seat! Can't cover that beautiful thing up! ok maybe not ;) Yeah that's pretty low on the priority list but I definitely think I'm going to do something there. Who knows, I may find a better seat one day but it works for now :)
 
Punknoodle
ahaha mate thats a classic holden commodore seat! Can't cover that beautiful thing up! ok maybe not ;) Yeah that's pretty low on the priority list but I definitely think I'm going to do something there. Who knows, I may find a better seat one day but it works for now :)
Click to expand...

I drive a ford Mondeo at work, and I'm in it for almost 12hrs a shift.I find the seats very comfortable and so....I went and bought one from a scrap yard, i got the passenger seat instead of the drivers seat... The thinking behind that decision is that the Mondeo has a reputation as a sales rep's car so maybe the passenger seat was not used so much.
 
Interesting to see you have used a commodore passenger seat.. What commodore did it come out of? Looks like VB-VC type.
 
Punknoodle
Yea mate good spotting, a VB SL/E :)
Click to expand...

sweet, gotta love the SL/E's... i got mine from a VP Calais (got the whole interior for $50... well at least all the seats), ended up using the passenger seat as well. dont know why but thats how it turned out.
 
Small update - Have finished the contruction, and have since pulled it apart for painting. The wooden parts are going to be a burgundy colour that I hastily picked whilst in bunnings with an impatient 4 yr old and partner, but I think it will go good with the matt black frame / stainless bolts. The alloy angle will remain unpainted as it is a nice look.

Speaking of which, I have painted the frame now, and it is sitting ready for the other parts to be re-assembled once they are painted.

I have included a couple of photos of the painted frame, as you can see it turned out quite good, i really like the look of the bolts, even my partner commented on how good it looks that I didn't paint the bolts. :) (thats a lot for her ;) )
Paint1.jpg

Paint2.jpg

As you can see, I have attached casters on to the back to make transportation a LOT easier.

Will post more pics once complete...
 
The frame looks very nice.
Did you weld those casters on?

I was relieved when I read your partner was female.
I wasn't quite sure at first. :)
 
Huh? Say what? Yeah mate, shes a chick!

Anyway, casters were of the swiveling type (couldn't find any suitable non swiveling ones), so I got a friend (I don't have a welder) to put a couple of tack welds on them so they no longer swivel (made sure they were in the right positions for the mounting holes first).

From there I did the same as before, just marked the holes (had to bend the top of the caster bracket down so it lay flat on the frame) and drilled and tapped. I didn't use fancy stainless screws for this, I just used normal machine screws and painted it all MATT - I didn't want these sticking out like a sore thumb, more discrete this way.
 
Last edited:
Finshed :)

But I gotta say, I'm not happy with the colour of the wooden parts - to be honest, I think they would have looked better un-painted! Oh well, its done now, and it doesn't look TOO bad...

OK, so I changed the bolt arrangement on the shifter to use butterfly nuts for quick removal without an allan key to get through doorways, and I also constructed a pedal support. I originally only made it quickly as a temporary measure, but I actually like the feel, and so it has made the final cut.

Anyway, thanks for watching...
finished1.jpg

finished2.jpg

finished3.jpg

finished4.jpg
 
Dug this little guy out from the past! Just thought I'd add that after using this on and off for some time, the vertical supports coming up to hold the steering wheel mount required occasional tightening and so you would be able to push the whole wheel away from you and it was quite sloppy - so I grabbed the welder from work and sorted that little problem out..





Cleaned them up and repainted it all the same colour. The MDF sections I am repainting Blue, just because I had it lying around from painting another project blue and thought I'd use it up.

Also bought a new brake spring from GTEYE so that is installed in the brake, and old brake spring is installed in the clutch, can't wait to reassemble everything and test it out!
 
MrDavid5465
What happened to your shifter mount?
Click to expand...
Didn't like it down there, I found the G25 h pattern quite useless, and so I only really use the paddles, and the shifter jutting out made it quite annoying so I removed it and put the shifter up by the wheel
 
Not a bad rig man. Had I been around back in 09, I would have tried to warn you off from using bolts like you did. That metal tube wall isnt really thick enough to put a solid amount of threads into. This will make it difficult to tighten enough without striping the threads. But, you've welded up the worst of the areas so you should be good.
Great looking rig though. Love seeing DIY setups. Next you should look in to DIY tactile feedback!
 
Excellent work.

I agree with Rallywagon - add a couple of Aura Pro bass shakers - one under the seat and one under the pedals to ramp up the realism / immersion.
 

Latest Posts

Back