Project Cockpit: Part 4 - Basically Done

Part 4: I think I'm almost done?

I haven't really had much time to work on Project Cockpit (lol), aka project 40 year old virgin, but I did get the chance to mount the seat this past Saturday.

My pops helped me out with fabricating the seat brackets since I decided to just go with some inexpensive hardwood from Lowe's, and he's an old school furniture maker, wood worker, Bob Vila, etc. Growing up as a kid, we had a massive wood shop in our basement that would put shop class facilities to shame, so I knew it would be no problem. The only challenge that presented itself was the bottom of the gaming seat being rounded, since it was meant to rock, but it wasn't that big of an issue.

We started on the rear seat mount since we determined the rear mounting surface would remain flat after positioning the seat at the right angle. We used a hardwood horizontal support plank on top of hardwood blocks that would mount to the ABS piping. These blocks determined the height of the seat in relation to the steering wheel position, so it was important to get it right. Too high - it would be like driving a school bus, too low and it would be like an 8 year old trying to see over the dashboard.

Since the seat should be adjustable (front to back) we fabricated the blocks to clamp around the ABS pipe frame as seen here:
You can see how the outer blocks will clamp to the frame using knobs on either side. The inner blocks are screwed/glued to the plank while the outer blocks are held on with the bolts/knobs. The bottoms of the blocks were trimmed a little so that it would allow the cockpit to sit on the ABS when its on the floor. This will also allow the blocks to slide.

With the rear support finished, it was time to move to the front, which proved to be a little tougher. The mounting surface had to be angled in order to mount the curved-bottom, rocking, gaming seat. We used the same concept as the lower rear blocks (drilled in the middle so it can slide on the frame) but we had to get the angle just right. And since there are already 2 knobs to secure the seats location in the rear, the front blocks were just screwed together around the ABS frame, allowing the front to slide freely.


Here is the result (unpainted obviously):


I had to take the gaming chair apart to be able to drill the frame into the wooden brackets, and luckily it went back together without any issues. We just had to make sure the screws for the bottom seat cushion were accessible after mounting to the brackets.

Seating Impressions:
The front of the gaming chair came with a little handle on the front of its lower frame rail, so adjusting the seat is a breeze. Once it's adjusted and locked down by tightening the knobs, it's very secure and sturdy. The height of the seat is perfect, positioning the steering wheel right where it should be. The seat back angle is also where it needs to be. I'm really stoked on how it turned out. I also really like how the gaming seat folds up for better storage.










Only thing left to do is tidy everything up: Paint the seat brackets black, connect the speakers, maybe route the wiring inside of the ABS piping, etc. There is still a little work to be done, but I would say that the next installment (part 5) should wrap it up for Project Cockpit (lol). I will save the gameplay impressions for part 5..

Previous Installments:
Part 1 - The Beginning
Part 2 - The Wheel, Planning/Design
Small Update - Materials Acquired
Part 3 - Big Update - Frame Complete