I was gonna be all slick and make a proper build page, but I can’t figure out how to easily get flickr to give me a freakin link to the picture so I can just drop it right in my page. So hell with it. If you wanna see the pictures, go here. I took an AK Designs Rocker 100 (which has a picture on the box of a dude holding an xbox controller BACKWARDS…check the flicker pics), a Microsoft Xbox 360 Racing Wheel, and a pile of wood & fasteners, and made racing game nirvana. Ok, not quite; it could really use a buttkicker. And a way to secure the pedals. But it’s still pretty damn awesome. If you ignore the cost of new tools & supplies I didn’t use (and seat and M$ wheel), it probably cost me about $80 for the raw materials. Add in the seat (which normally comes with when you buy a production racing cockpit), and you’re up to $130. However, I didn’t modify the seat at all, and it’s not even attached to the platform, so it can still be used as just another tv/gaming chair, unlike [edit] some of [/edit] the seats that come with those production cockpits. Also, I plan to add a couple arms to the platform to support a joystick/throttle set for the upcoming Ace Combat 6, something else you can’t do with a production cockpit. So, 
.
The cockpit is fully adjustable. The seat isn’t even attached, so you can move it wherever the hell you want. The wheel pedestal is made to be used to hold up a fishing seat in a boat, so it’s made pretty sturdy. It’s also adjustable with the cotter pin shown in a couple of the pictures. It was pretty loose (ie. the top half of the pedestal rotated a bit), so I had to add a set screw. The one I bought is a tad long, I’ll hafta go back the hardware store and get a shorter one. The pedal mount also has multiple holes its carriage bolts can fit into. There are big handle-nuts, making the entire platform near-toolless (stupid set screw). Ah well, I can look past a 45-cent allen wrench.
A nowhere-near-complete list of tools used:
- Dremel XPR 400 – Seriously. Oh my Christ is this little deal useful. If you fancy yourself a handyman (or -woman), and you don’t have a Dremel, kick your ass down to your hardware store and buy one.
- 220-01 Workstation – Literally doubles usefulness of the dremel
- MS400 Multisaw + Dremel XPR 400 = Jigsaw?! SWEET
- 565 Multipurpose Cutting Kit – Makes routing a snap
- Routing bits, sanding bits, ROTO-ZIP-style bits
- 10″ Circular-saw chop box – Some brand, I dunno. It’s my dad’s, but he never uses it, so he said I could hold on to it “for a while”. If I used the Dremel the most, this was a close second.
- Stand-alone 10″ circular saw – Again, some brand. It works.
- ‘Lecrtic screw gun & 1″ to 2.5″ screws
- ‘Lectric staple gun & 9/16″ staples
- Hand tools galore
- Palm sander
- Hand files
- The Dremel of sawhorses – it’s a sawhorse, but also has a platform that folds out so you can use it as a work surface. I have no idea how long this would have taken without it.
Wow, that is actually pretty complete. Here’s a go at the raw materials:
- 3 2″x4″x8′
- 1 1″x10″x6′ (only needed 12.5″, but 6′ means I have plenty left over if I need it for something else)
- Enough .5″ particle board for 32″x4′ (left over from my workbench build…and I have enough left still for another racing cockpit)
- 4′ of wood trim (see the flicker pics)
- 3′x12′ of the cheapest carpet Home Depot sells ($0.39/sq. ft.)
- Adjustable fishing seat post from Gander Mountain
- Bunch of bolts, nuts, & washers
All totaled, it probably took me 10 hours of in-the-garage build time. There was 20+ hours of planning and thought that went into the design that got thrown out when it got down to actually building the beast. If I had to build another one, I hope I could get it done in 8 hours, less if I had a helper. (Not to say Melinda didn’t help – she helped hold the particle board when I was cutting it in half and later when I needed a shorter test fitter – but someone helping with the manual labor stuff.)
After hauling the contraption downstairs and firing up Forza 2, I raced for about 2 hours. The cockpit felt pretty damned good, and I’d have raced longer if I weren’t tired & sore from 2 days of manual labor. There’s always tomorrow evening. Sweet.
ross sweet action
