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Also, any decent farm store or auto parts store should have more varieties of u-bolts than you could imagine. After you've snugged ubolts, you can always cut off excess thread with bolt cutters, dremel, hacksaw, etc.
 
[quote name='smthng']Also, any decent farm store or auto parts store should have more varieties of u-bolts than you could imagine. After you've snugged ubolts, you can always cut off excess thread with bolt cutters, dremel, hacksaw, etc.[/QUOTE]
Washers and nuts, double nut the side coming out of the wood. Be careful if you cut the threads, if you screw it up you may have a hard time getting the nuts off and not be able to get them back on. A dremel to make a real nice flat cut would be ideal. You could also use vinyl tubing to cover the threads if you're worried about scratches or snags.
 
So the front half is assembled and I'm well on my way to assembling the back half. The 2" electrical metal straps aren't long enough :whistle2:( I'll be returning those. I may pick up 2.5" straps and then bend them inward slightly, or just pick up the U-bolts. Still not sure yet. I'm going to head downstairs soon and give this a look over.

My other (big) issue is I have no idea how to assemble the seat/slider/mount. Here are the parts I ordered:

I'm going to mess around with this here in a few minutes. There are no instructions and I've never installed anything of the sort. I'm afraid I'll need to drill into the medal brackets in order to attach them to the wood base. Here's hoping my dremel is up to the task... :)
 
I think that the slider mounts lay down and mount through the tilt mounts. The picture makes look like they mount sideways, but I'm pretty sure they lay down flat. You'd then hook a cable/wire up between the two slider bars so that pulling the adjustment lever on one side also pulls the adjustment pin on the other. I've done lots of these kind of seats in Jeeps and they pretty much all work the same way until you start spending ridiculous amounts of cash.

The tilt mounts would mount through your wood base. Simple bolts with large fender washers on the bottom would probably be the simplest method.

Buy a drill and a set of pilot point bits. You're going to have to drill the wood with a fairly decent sized bit anyway (maybe 3/8") and a Dremel won't work on a bit that size. Just get a standard corded 3/8" drill. If money's tight, just get whatever HD has on sale this week or go harass a neighbor or smthng. If you're not used to doing stuff like this (your lack of a drill indicates I'm headed in the right direction), pilot point bits will make your life MUCH easier. Press them into the wood BEFORE you start the drill. They'll stay in one place and drill a hole. Regular bits will wander around before they dig in and you'll end up with your holes all being off and the bolts won't line up.

Another technique that helps a LOT is to put a piece of wood behind whatever you're drilling. If you spent decent time and money on the seat base, don't screw it up by drilling through it by itself. Put another thick piece of wood behind it and drill into that... you'll end up with MUCH cleaner holes.

Good luck!
 
[quote name='smthng']I think that the slider mounts lay down and mount through the tilt mounts. The picture makes look like they mount sideways, but I'm pretty sure they lay down flat. You'd then hook a cable/wire up between the two slider bars so that pulling the adjustment lever on one side also pulls the adjustment pin on the other. I've done lots of these kind of seats in Jeeps and they pretty much all work the same way until you start spending ridiculous amounts of cash.

The tilt mounts would mount through your wood base. Simple bolts with large fender washers on the bottom would probably be the simplest method.

Buy a drill and a set of pilot point bits. You're going to have to drill the wood with a fairly decent sized bit anyway (maybe 3/8") and a Dremel won't work on a bit that size. Just get a standard corded 3/8" drill. If money's tight, just get whatever HD has on sale this week or go harass a neighbor or smthng. If you're not used to doing stuff like this (your lack of a drill indicates I'm headed in the right direction), pilot point bits will make your life MUCH easier. Press them into the wood BEFORE you start the drill. They'll stay in one place and drill a hole. Regular bits will wander around before they dig in and you'll end up with your holes all being off and the bolts won't line up.

Another technique that helps a LOT is to put a piece of wood behind whatever you're drilling. If you spent decent time and money on the seat base, don't screw it up by drilling through it by itself. Put another thick piece of wood behind it and drill into that... you'll end up with MUCH cleaner holes.

Good luck![/QUOTE]

The seat has six threaded holes on the bottom, two rows of three. The bracket has four threaded...bolts? They are attached/welded to the bracket though so it would be impossible to try and screw them in. Not to mention the bracket doesn't match the length of the holes on the seat. I've sent an e-mail to JEGS, hoping they can provide some assistance.

Otherwise, I'm about 50% done with the back half. I *may* be able to get this thing assembled today. Taking the miss out for some brunch and a movie (Shame
 
[quote name='SynGamer']The seat has six threaded holes on the bottom, two rows of three. The bracket has four threaded...bolts? They are attached/welded to the bracket though so it would be impossible to try and screw them in.[/QUOTE]

Any chance of being able to drill the bottom of the seat to make new holes to match the sliders? That, or fabbing up a metal plate or something to use as an adaptor on the bottom of the seat are the only things I can come up with.
 
[quote name='smthng']Any chance of being able to drill the bottom of the seat to make new holes to match the sliders? That, or fabbing up a metal plate or something to use as an adaptor on the bottom of the seat are the only things I can come up with.[/QUOTE]

The hole and bolt are off by maybe half an inch. No chance of drilling a different hold. I've sent an e-mail to Jegs, hopefully they have some instructions or something. On a side note, I glued a portion of the back half together wrong...thankfully I was able to salvage it without having to buy more pieces. The back half is simply 1 inch shorter :p

I should be able to finish this tomorrow (minus the seat assembly). It's coming along quite well IMHO. I'm still debating if I'm going to bolt the talk halves together to make for easier portability. On the other hand, if I glue it ALL together, it'll be better structurally...decisions, decisions.
 
I hate when that happens. I vividly remember doing that on several occasions. Think the last time was with trim - thankfully the new piece was cheap.

It is a tough decision. I guess my question would be if I glue it together can I still get it out of the room / apartment / house AND how often will I need to move it out of the area it is in. If yes and minimal times, I'd go for the glue.
 
[quote name='jmbreci']I hate when that happens. I vividly remember doing that on several occasions. Think the last time was with trim - thankfully the new piece was cheap.

It is a tough decision. I guess my question would be if I glue it together can I still get it out of the room / apartment / house AND how often will I need to move it out of the area it is in. If yes and minimal times, I'd go for the glue.[/QUOTE]

Aside from the move, we likely won't be transporting it often, but I'd still like the option. A friend of mine suggested making an X on the end of the pipes using electrical tape. Should create some friction but still enable me to take it apart...might give that a try first.

[quote name='smthng']Any chance of being able to drill the bottom of the seat to make new holes to match the sliders? That, or fabbing up a metal plate or something to use as an adaptor on the bottom of the seat are the only things I can come up with.[/QUOTE]

I
 
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Success! Using that PDF above it all makes sense :p The sliding bracket is now attached to the seat. I picked up a drill today too. I'll have to measure the holes later. I *should* only need one more piece for this *little* project: a piece of wood for the seat assembly...

I'm thinking 7/8" should be thick enough. I want to make sure that this thing is attached to something sturdy. Oh, and I also returned the 2" metal electrical straps and opted to go with 2" u-bolts. They should hole the piece of wood the seat will be mounted on securely. I picked up four just for the seat itself ;)
 
If for whatever reason the U bolts don't work, get some threaded rod. 3/8ths will be overkill but will do the trick if you're strong/creative enough to bend it for your application. I think HD sells short sections of it, you can probably use 5/16ths but I use 3/8ths usually.
 
[quote name='Mad39er']If for whatever reason the U bolts don't work, get some threaded rod. 3/8ths will be overkill but will do the trick if you're strong/creative enough to bend it for your application. I think HD sells short sections of it, you can probably use 5/16ths but I use 3/8ths usually.[/QUOTE]

The problem with the straps is that where I would have used them is mostly comprised of Tee's, so not enough flat surface for them. The U-bolts should work just about wherever I want to use them.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to use the U-bolts for the wheel mount. I'm thinking the main bar that spans left to right is where I can anchor from, but I don't have anything to anchor the bottom/front of the wheel mount...we'll see if it moves around a lot. This is an instance where I could bolt the bottom/front to the PVC itself.
 
[quote name='SynGamer']Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to use the U-bolts for the wheel mount. I'm thinking the main bar that spans left to right is where I can anchor from, but I don't have anything to anchor the bottom/front of the wheel mount...we'll see if it moves around a lot. This is an instance where I could bolt the bottom/front to the PVC itself.[/QUOTE]
If you can't bolt it to the bottom decently, you can probably use something grippy, like rubber splicing tape and apply that to the inside of the U bolts, it should end up making it grippy enough that it shouldn't move much. Alteratively, you can create a little bracket or strap with some band iron(aka plumbing strap).
 
[quote name='SynGamer']Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to use the U-bolts for the wheel mount. I'm thinking the main bar that spans left to right is where I can anchor from, but I don't have anything to anchor the bottom/front of the wheel mount.[/QUOTE]

That might require a picture for me to understand the issue. Isn't the wheel designed to clamp to a desk or table? I'd think some ubolts through a piece of wood like you're doing for the seat base would work fine. Maybe I'm not understanding it correctly.
 
[quote name='smthng']That might require a picture for me to understand the issue. Isn't the wheel designed to clamp to a desk or table? I'd think some ubolts through a piece of wood like you're doing for the seat base would work fine. Maybe I'm not understanding it correctly.[/QUOTE]
Think...flap. If I bolt the wood across the top of the bar on the rig, there's still the bottom of the wood that isn't anchored. I'll post pictures later tonight.
 
How about cutting the crossbar, adding a T with the extra piece pointing towards the seat. Add a short piece of PVC to that and then bolt a board to the original crossbar at two places, then bolt the bottom floppy bit to the extra PVC you add to the T.
 
[quote name='smthng']How about cutting the crossbar, adding a T with the extra piece pointing towards the seat. Add a short piece of PVC to that and then bolt a board to the original crossbar at two places, then bolt the bottom floppy bit to the extra PVC you add to the T.[/QUOTE]
http://i.imgur.com/GKyxp.jpg

If I attached the wood to the top bar (top of red box) then I have nothing hold the wood at the bottom. It may not be an issue, but I don't want the wheel/wood to lift up during a race. I may just use two screws and secure the board that way. Can't use more U-bolts because the base of the wheel will be resting on the bottom of the wood.

EDIT: here are a few more pictures I had on my phone from the 18th.

http://imgur.com/9Ien3
http://imgur.com/dtUBI
http://imgur.com/aWgYP
http://imgur.com/iSY6x

The front half is completely assembled now, and the back is almost done. Should be able to finish it tonight.
 
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Okay, that makes more sense now that I can see it. How about this...
One u-bolt at the top, then two ubolts on the sides, over the joints. That should be stable enlightened that you won't need one on the bottom. If the bolts get in the way of the wheel base, just put another piece of wood over it with room drilled out for the bolts to rest, but with the bolt heads below the surface of the top most layer of wood. Or, just a couple of wood "spacers" might be enough. I seems to recall that the wheel clamps can clamp onto a pretty "thick" surface without much issue.
 
Mad makes a good point and that would probably work great.

Unfortunately, I think I've found a fatal flaw in your design and you may have to redo the entire thing... every time you remove the wheel or put it back on, you're going to see that center part (in the red box) and think of Green Lantern.

Sorry.
 
[quote name='smthng']Mad makes a good point and that would probably work great.

Unfortunately, I think I've found a fatal flaw in your design and you may have to redo the entire thing... every time you remove the wheel or put it back on, you're going to see that center part (in the red box) and think of Green Lantern.

Sorry.[/QUOTE]

GAME OVER!

lol, Thankfully I won't be removing the wheel mount very often, if at all. Ended up shopping tonight now that the wife has a job. She needed some new cloths, more professional. Will be looking to work on the project tomorrow night. Plus side, I feel like I only have about 2 hours left on this. Once I measure everything out for the wood pieces, the drilling shouldn't take very long.
 
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Alright, so the pieces that are going to support the seat are all glued, currently curing for the next 24 hours or so (until I get home from work tomorrow). I need to pick up a bit more cement, which is unfortunate because I don't need very much.

Anyway, regarding the Velcro, will that stick to wood/PVC well? I was thinking a really simple fix would be to drill two small holes and use some wire to tie through the wood and around the PVC underneath. But that's the least of my concern right now. I'm trying to figure out the size of the wood for the seat mount. It's going to need to be wide so that the U-bolts have enough space...length...not sure. I don't want too much, but at the same time, the original design appears to have a lot of extra at the back of the rig to accommodate a "buttkicker" in the future...
 
Velcro should stick fine to the PVC. Just for reference, if you're planning on using sticky velcro, I'd probably stick a piece of wood to the stand using velcro, then clamp the wheel to it. I wouldn't want to stick anything directly to the wheel. Eventually, you'll end up with sticky patches as the velcro migrates a little.

Another option is to just use velcro straps and strap the wheel to the stand. It might give you a little more flexibility in placement, but it also might not work due to the shape of the wheel.
 
Alright, so I have more cement and I picked up the final piece of wood I'll need for this project (3/4"). The main pieces that support the seat are glued and *partially* in place. If you look at the picture below, the very far left portion needs to be glued to the rest of the back half. Once that's done...well, I'm done with the frame assembly :) Hoping to do that later tonight, and then start the measuring and drilling tomorrow night.

http://i.imgur.com/gxutr.jpg (taken with cellphone camera, sorry)

If all goes well, I hope to have this completely completed by Saturday. I'll save the priming/painting for another weekend. And as far as creaking/squeaking, it may be a slight problem, but I can live with that :) At this point, my main concern is this rig holding the weight. I've been told that as the days go on (2-3) the cement and primer bind together/cure further. Even if the back half were to collapse under my massive weight, I figure I could always put a 4x4 under the middle.
 
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4 hours and two trips to Home Depot this morning, but all that remains are 4 holes to drill...then I'll be done! Taking a lunch break then back at it. Wife has been playing Final Fantasy XIII-2 all morning so by the time this thing is done she should be ready to stop. Definitely saving the primer/paint for another weekend.
 
Done - http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/blog.php?b=23642

I've tested it out (naturally) and using the Ford GT that smthng and I were testing a few months back on High Speed Ring, I appear to be about 1.5 seconds off my best time (58.2xx versus 59.7xx). Definitely looking forward to putting in some more time with this, as well as testing other racing games (F1 2011 and NASCAR The Game 2011).
 
[quote name='SynGamer']...I appear to be about 1.5 seconds off my best time (58.2xx versus 59.7xx).[/QUOTE]

Damn... I knew I should have tried to sabotage you! :p
 
[quote name='smthng']Damn... I knew I should have tried to sabotage you! :p[/QUOTE]

If you or anyone else wants to race today, just some fun, I'm game. I could stand to see how things work against humans. The AI is fairly predictable.
 
I might be up for it in a couple hours... I'm currently flying the Percocet plane as I have a cracked tooth that's coming out on Monday once the antibiotics have had a chance to do their job. I'd be bouncing off of guard rails if I attempted anything right now.
 
lol flying the perc plane. im on some vicos but thats not here nor there.
ok i won this game in a contest but i only like arcade racers, nfs hp, driver, etc.
im trying to sell this dlc card, anyone interested and what's going price? like $20 paypal?
there are no trophies with the dlc so i really have no interest. thanx!
 
Well, the percocet plane has crashed, but the wife has decreed that it's movie night (thank god our antenna doesn't get ABC, or I'd be forced to put up with the Grammys all night).

Syn, I'll be playing some HSG if you're looking for a worthless matchup. ;)

Velo, you probably want to post that in the trade/sale market. Most peeps on this thread already have the DLC or decided it's not worth it already.
 
[quote name='Velo214']i was just gonna give it to my friend but he hasnt been on his ps3 in like 20 days... so yeah. thanx man[/QUOTE]
Whats with the DLC card? Details pls. I have no DLC at this time but if it looks good, I may just bite.
 
The new C7 Corvette is to be released today on GT5 for free. Soooo I go to update the game fresh/clean and I get to 9/15 and the update freezes. No progress bar movement for 15 minutes, not a single %age point. I canceled and started again and it started from the first update again. Is there anyway to download these individually. it's ridiculous that I'm going to have to spend an entire night downloading/installing just to play this game again (reformatted due to HDD issue). Not to mention it seems that if the update errors/times out at some point EVERYTHING has to be restarted again...just ridiculous.

EDIT: PS, we should have a CAG night sometime.
 
Just got home and turned on my PS3...

PS+ fuckING ROCKS! It downloaded EVERY GT5 patch last night. I turned on PS+ automatic cloud saves for the game last night and bam, patches downloaded, no hassle. Only thing I had to download was patch 2.10 (55MB) today because of the free 2014 Corvette Stingray update.

Totally stoked to play now :D
 
bread's done
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