I've been looking in the junkyards for the right seat for a driving sim for a couple of years now, and I finally found one today that wasn't totally trashed - actually it's in nearly perfect shape. The car had been smashed in the front and was just dropped in the yard a few days ago, windshield and windows intact, and the interior hadn't been torn up or rain-damaged yet like most other junkyard cars. It's a black leather passenger seat from a '96 Cutlass coupe, with good side-bolstering and lumbar support for all those high-G virtual cornering maneuvers...



So I've got a Logitech Momo force-feedback steering wheel with pedals and I'm building a cockpit for it with this seat.



I'd like to build something that doesn't look totally ghetto to put in my basement man-cave in front of the bigscreen. Who's got ideas?

Fibreglass the big screen TV into the simulator with surround sound and lots of bass pumping from under the seat? Get that real life, high speed crash experience

A few hydraulic actuators connected to the seat and a raised platform or 3, complete darkness outside of the tv screen, and you have yourself a simulator

Need some sort of foot rest for the seat. Something like an old barber chair has. Need something to mount the pedals to, and in a comfortable, natural position

[This message has been edited by Xerces_Blackthorne (edited 09-16-2010).]

I think i would build a "prototype" first.

Look for an old school desk and start modifying it.
Something like this:

If you want a real challenge check out some of the motion controlled chairs here:

http://www.x-simulator.de/forum/

quote Originally posted by crazyd: I'd like to build something that doesn't look totally ghetto to put in my basement man-cave in front of the bigscreen. Who's got ideas?

How about a fully functional dash?







The radio, shifter, gauges, and command center all work. Here's the thread about his build.

One of the other Moderators over at Lumenlab, SIMUL8R, came up with his own design using PVC:

http://lumenlab.com/forums/...showtopic=28016&st=0



If you follow the thread down you'll see he posted pretty detailed drawings on how to make your own.

A forum member even modified it for hanging pedals:



Of course, Lumenlab being a DIY projector website, the original design was meant to be used with a projector:



But other members have modified it to hold a monitor as well:

[This message has been edited by OKflyboy (edited 09-16-2010).]

Very cool ideas guys, thanks. Some interesting routes to take when I've got more time and the skies go dark for the long winter here. Here's what I threw together today, going to see how it works for now.



Really liking this seat.

quote Originally posted by crazyd: Very cool ideas guys, thanks. Some interesting routes to take when I've got more time and the skies go dark for the long winter here. Here's what I threw together today, going to see how it works for now. Really liking this seat.

That's the idea I was talking about as a prototype.
Then you will get all your numbers (mesurements & adjustment throws), and think about the exact form you want.

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: That's the idea I was talking about as a prototype. Then you will get all your numbers (mesurements & adjustment throws), and think about the exact form you want.

I know, your suggestions were swirling around in my head as I walked the aisles at the store.

Another option would be to find an old school Cruisin' USA arcade cabinet and mod that up a bit bolt the seat that you bought up to it, build a shifter column for your stuff, maybe rig the pedals from it up to the wheel you have or whatnot, then go from there

May be cheaper in the long run depending on how elaborate you want to get on the cockpit...

What this genius built amazes me. Uses PVC piping, Floor Castors, and Car Wiper Motors.

Add resonators to the seats since you want ideas

Ah ha
now i have a way to get my wife to learn to drive a manual without hurting the manual transmission