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PostPosted: May 9, 2006, 12:11 am 
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Joined: August 15, 2005, 10:13 pm
Posts: 7043
Location: Charleston, WV
I like your choice of seats. One thing I like about Kirkeys is the ability to adjust their fit. You can bend them, cut them, pad them, etc. and then when you slide the covers on they look completely unmolested. I won't put sliders on my car though. One pet peeve of mine is people moving my seat. Any of you who autocross can attest to the fact that once you get used to the seat in a certain position, a 1/4inch either way can trouble you. I always let people drive my car and then get in and take off in a hurry (while the tires are hot lol) on my runs before being sure the seat is adjusted where I like it. Well not in my Locost. I plan on building my own bracketry to mount it where I want it, everyone else be damned. :twisted:

Great job so far Datz, I am very impressed with your welding skills.


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PostPosted: May 9, 2006, 12:45 am 
I know exactly how you feel regarding the seat position thing. 99% of the time, I'll be driving this car. I just want to be able to let my father and a couple of my close friends have a turn in it if they get the chance to. Other than that, noone else will sit and/or touch the driver's seat in my car. :) I'm the same way about all my cars. The yellow 510 in my photos, I've owned for almost 10 years now, and during that time, there have only been two instances where someone else has driven it. :!:

Thanks for the complements though.. I really appreciate it.

The car is coming along.. RIght now, I've set the goal of having it suspended on all 4 wheels within the next month.


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PostPosted: May 9, 2006, 10:44 am 
Why not make some indicator marks somewhere so you can be 100% sure you get the seat back in your favorite position

-Andy


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PostPosted: May 9, 2006, 12:45 pm 
Thats possible too.


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PostPosted: May 10, 2006, 9:46 am 
You may want to check your local regulations, if you ever plan to register the car. I know where I am the driver seat has to be adjustable. Of course if it's an exclusive race car then it won't matter.


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PostPosted: May 10, 2006, 12:49 pm 
For Arizona, they arent required.. here is the list of the only things required here in AZ to make it street legal (from grabercars.com):

# Horn (ARS 28-954)
# Mirrors (ARS 28-956)
# Windshield (ARS 28-957.01, 28-959)
# Windshield Wiper (ARS 28-957)
# Two Headlamps (ARS 28-924)
# Tail Light (ARS 28-925)
# White License Plate Light (ARS 28-925C)
# Reflectors (ARS 28-926)
# Signal Lamps (ARS 28-939)
# Brake Systems (ARS 28-952)
# Muffler (ARS 28-955)
# Fuel Tank Caps (ARS 28-965)
# Emission Equipment (ARS 28-955C)
# Mud Flaps or Splash Guards (ARS 28-958.01) - (This one apparently does not apply to cars...)
# For the parts used in the construction of the vehicle:

* Bills of sale
* dismantle permits! This one caught me off guard. I had no idea this required a permit...
* hardware receipts
* invoices
* any other documentation pertaining to the construction of the vehicle.

Also, here in AZ, there is a special license plate for vehicles that are reproductions of vehicles 25 years old or older and if the original vehicle (being reproduced) was not originally equipped with a windshield or wipers, the items are not required on the reproduction. So, I may not need wipers on mine (we really dont need wipers here anyway)


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PostPosted: May 24, 2006, 1:50 am 
Some update photos...

Got the seats mounted and did some minor work repositioning the driver's seat a little. Turned out awesome!!

The passenger seat has one of the seat covers fitted so you can see how it will look. They are very comfortable seats.
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Seat mounting bolt arrangement:
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The anti-submarine belt mount is integrated into the seat slider mechanism:
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Side view showing how low the seats sit:
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Some detail photos of the seat slider mechanisms:
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The sliders I used are dual locking:
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Getting the fuel cell mounts ready:
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PostPosted: May 24, 2006, 10:43 am 
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Mid-Engined Maniac

Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm
Posts: 6410
Location: SoCal
About the bolts holding the slider in, even with padding, it sure looks like you'll be sitting right on those bolt heads. Seems like that would become downright painful of a drive of any length.

_________________
Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/


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PostPosted: May 24, 2006, 10:52 am 
There is enough padding there that you dont even notice the bolt heads. That was something that I was worried about as well, but after trying out the seats for a "test drive" last night, it looks like it wont be an issue.


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PostPosted: May 24, 2006, 3:06 pm 
One other thing to keep in mind, I'm not sure how low your car will sit, but I know that one of the local auto-x guys had problems grinding off the bottoms of the bolts, making them difficult to remove.

--JOsh


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PostPosted: May 24, 2006, 5:09 pm 
If i'm grinding the bolts off, my oilpan and bellhousing will be long gone. :) The bolts do stick down a little and I plan on running some angle iron across underneath the floor just ahead of the bolts just in case and to also strengthen the seat mounts up.

My chassis is sitting about 1" under ride height right now.


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PostPosted: May 24, 2006, 8:24 pm 
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Joined: September 21, 2005, 6:09 pm
Posts: 265
Location: Laveen, AZ
Can you give me the details on the seat sliders? I'm using Kirkey seats too and they look perfect for mounting. Have you any thoughts on upper seat mounts, ie: behind ones shoulders or do you think they're not needed?

-Steve


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PostPosted: May 24, 2006, 8:57 pm 
The sliders I used can be found here:

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s ... ryId=20931

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They are $25 per set (for one seat) from Jegs. I had to fabricate the front bracket to adapt the Kirkey seats to the sliders. These sliders are ultra low profile though and have ball bearings in them for very smooth seat adjustments. In this photo, you can kindof see how I set them up with the lock pivot about 1/16" away from the bottom of the seat:

Image

I dont think upper seat mounts will be needed once my floor is welded in. It is plenty strong as is to support me. The seat is fairly solid as is, but can be wobbled side to side or fore/aft if you put your weight into it due to currently just using 3/16" strap as the mounts. Once the floor is on and I add a couple angle iron crossmembers, it should have very little movement if any.


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PostPosted: May 25, 2006, 2:39 am 
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Joined: September 21, 2005, 6:09 pm
Posts: 265
Location: Laveen, AZ
Thanks ... I have been thinking about sliders for some time, but the bolts through the seat bottoms always bothered me until I say yours and thought then about pan head allen bolts. The padding from Kirkey is pretty thick so I'm sure I won't feel it. I can always add a small section of additional foam over the bolt head I guess ...

-Steve


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PostPosted: May 28, 2006, 1:50 am 
Some update photos from the last few days..

Here are the seats with both seat covers installed:
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The start of some new upper balljoint mounts to get the kingpin inclination proper:
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Modified knuckle (hacked off the upper eyelet from the top)
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Here are the finished upper balljoint mounts:
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A completed upper A arm in place. NOte that the frame side is not welded yet.. just mocked up in place.
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The upper A arm allows full adjustment of both castor and camber without removing the arm (just unbolt the clevis and spin the long side to adjust camber, reattach clevis and spin short side to adjust castor.
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Closeup of the clevis assembly. Note that the bolt in place is just for mockup. didnt have a 3/8" bolt handy.
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Also got the nosecone cut to fit my chassis. I'm going to have it sit slightly forwards so that it'll clear the engine.
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The passenger side w/o wheel. You can see how the balljoint assembly secures to the brake caliper ear. The short bolt in the caliper ear is just for mockup.
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