JustinOlson Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 So I'm making seat mounting brackets in a bit of a different way. I've taken 1" X 2" X 0.083" wall tubing in 5 ft lengths. I've cut away the existing seat brackets. I've also cut holes in the floor pan so that I run the rectangular tubing from the left rocker to the right rocker. The way I have it currently it slips in just barely over the factory floor pan. It sits on the underside of the rocker/dogleg. I'm wondering if I have to plate the rocker before I weld the 1" X 2" tubing to it? This would cause me to space the tubing down another 0.125" lower. I am already touching the bulge on the passenger side floor board that is there for the fuel/brake lines. If I need to plate the rockers before welding the tubing to it, I'm going to need to cut away the factory floor pan in the area of the bulge. I'll get some pictures up tonight when I get home. Btw, this does limit exhaust clearance. I'm doing a side dump exhaust that will exit out the passenger side fender and run along the passenger side rocker. Thats the only reason I'm able to get away with this. Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Think of a seat mount as another part of the safety/roll cage structure - it should be just as strong. Attachment of the seat mounting should be the same as a roll cage: the mount should be welded to .083" minimum thickness plates no less the 2" on any side. These mounting plates should be completely welded to the unibody, preferably in two planes at the rockers and the center tunnel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Adding .083'' plate to the rocker and tranny seems a bit over kill of your already welding it securely to the floor If your doing a full cage to spec as well the plates are even more over the top IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 When attaching any safety related component to the unibody you need to spread the load over as large a surface area as possible. Seat mounting is as critical as any mounting in the roll cage so why wouldn't you use the same mounting process that SCCA, NASA and other road race sanctioning bodies specify for cage elements? Your primary protection in a wreck is your seat and your harness. If either fails, you become debris inside the car and now the roll cage is a danger. For my customers I pay as much attention to seat and harness mounting as I do to the roll cage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 Here's what I have started so far. I'm going to have to do some more cutting to lower the tubing down a ten of an inch. I should be able to weld in the rocker plates this weekend and get this thing all buttoned up. Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 I actually wanted to make my seat mounts like that at first but, I didn't know that they would end up ouside the car like that. The 2 lateral tubes you have running across look to be kind of far apart. What kind of seats are you mounting? I'm still curious on how your going to attach that to the rocker and if your going to be able to remove your drive shaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 I'm going to be running S2000 seats. The tubes are spaced 12" apart. I'm going to plate the rocker and the 45 degree edge of the floorpan. Then I'm going to weld the seat tubes to that. I'll get more pictures up once I'm further along. Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 You might as well connect the two seat tube longitudinally under the rocker panel with another tube. That will give you a center jacking point to lift the whole side of the car up with one jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 do those bars have any interference with the transmission or driveshaft? just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 Say I connected the two tubes like you say. I imagine I should plate that entire area then? Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 Here are some pictures showing the transmission and driveshaft clearance. I don't think its going to be an issue on my car. The exhaust is going to need to get updated until I drop in the 2JZ w/ side exit exhaust. BTW, please excuse the big hole in my floor pan. I removed the catalytic converter bulge to make more room for these wide s2k seats. I'll be welding in some new sheetmetal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Mileski Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Pretty cool. Looks like they will also act as kind of a driveshaft safety hoop. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Say I connected the two tubes like you say. I imagine I should plate that entire area then? If you were referring to my jacking point suggestion, you can if you want or just stitch weld the longitudinal tube to the rocker panel. Jacking loads are small compared to the accident loads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Pretty cool. Looks like they will also act as kind of a driveshaft safety hoop. Only until the driveshaft bounces around enough to come through the tunnel and into your leg or butt cheek. A driveshaft safety loop should totally encircle the driveshaft, keeping it IN the tunnel and not allowing it to go THROUGH the tunnel as well as keeping it from hitting the ground and pole vaulting the car, hence the name "LOOP". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 You guys are taking the piss! I hope? Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 It looks like you wont be able to remove your drive shaft. That's going to be a problem in the future. My seat mounts are much closer together than yours and I wasn't able to run any tubing across the trans tunnel on the rear lateral tube becuase I couldn't install the driveshaft. I thought of making it detachable with some kind of flange but decieded it probably wasnt worth the effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 I'm not really worried about removing the driveshaft. Maybe I'll be pissed when I need to remove it. For now its all good. I'll figure something out when I do the R230 swap and TH400. Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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