Anybody have experience with making seat brackets?

"Trunk Impaired 318" (matteocscaptura)
03/17/2015 at 15:24 • Filed to: None

So I found an old Momo Corse racing seat for sale near me for pretty cheap and thought that it would be a good addition to our ever improving autocross/eventual racing car (Yes I know that we wouldnt be able to use the seat on track). The only issue is that it doesnt come with any mounting brackets and being such an old seat its pretty much impossible to find them. Therefore I figured we should be able to make some but Im not really sure as to how we should go about it. So oppo, what can you tell me about making seat brackets?

DISCUSSION (12)

Party-vi > Trunk Impaired 318
03/17/2015 at 15:33

You should be able to make some crude brackets with angled steel from a hardware store and some nuts and bolts. That or you could pick up a universal seat bracket from Summit or Jegs and try to retrofit it.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Trunk Impaired 318
03/17/2015 at 15:35

I've made my own before out of the heaviest L bars and a few steel rods from Home Depot. Because racecar, I didn't mind tack welding it in-car to get the sizing right, so I imagine you're in the same boat. The front for me was a solid L going across the mounting point with another couple of Ls welded to that to a) prevent potential for fore and aft movements, and b) to attach the seat rails to. I had the seat rails attached to the seat so I could eyeball it and get a feel for the placement, marked off where the rails went too far, then cut the fronts to length. That got welded to the third piece of L bar. At the back of the MR2, I had to get creative since the mounting points are at different heights and angles, but basically, I made some smaller Ls (one for each rear corner), drilled them down, then tried to connect the two. The L bar wouldn't fit here for me because there's a frame rail in the middle, so I made two even smaller Ls, attached them to a straight bar since that would make it over the bump, and welded those two smaller Ls to the slightly bigger Ls that made up the corners. It's worked like a charm so far. Why wouldn't that seat be track legal? It's a single piece seat.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Party-vi
03/17/2015 at 15:37

Those universal seat brackets suck. I've tried them, then ended up making my own.

Trunk Impaired 318 > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/17/2015 at 15:40

I guess it might actually be legal, we'd be running in SCCA ITA and after a quick look at the rules it does only state a single piece seat is required. I had figured that since the safety rating on them had long expired that they wouldnt be acceptable.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Trunk Impaired 318
03/17/2015 at 15:43

I could be wrong, but I've never seen any safety rating requirements for seats in the more budget friendly series'. I'm pretty sure that as long as it's one piece, you're good.

I might be able to take some pics of Charlie's brackets later if I have time. It's ugly, but it's rock solid and way better than the stock one was.

'Wägen, EPA LOL > Trunk Impaired 318
03/17/2015 at 16:04

IIRC, ChumpCar or AER mandates seat back braces for seats out of cert. - SCCA ITA may have a similar ruling. Probably a good idea either way.

Kinja'd!!!

[not my picture, just a GIS]

Trunk Impaired 318 > 'Wägen, EPA LOL
03/17/2015 at 16:09

good to know!

superhappyfuntime > Trunk Impaired 318
03/17/2015 at 16:28

Summit sells some sweet universal sliders. I've also seen them in Jegs etc.

Kailand09 > Trunk Impaired 318
03/17/2015 at 18:01

We make them at work but not in my department. Mostly out of a formed mild 1020 or so steel, if you want specs on what steel to use.

Any specific questions? I can ask the guys who design them primarily.

Trunk Impaired 318 > Kailand09
03/17/2015 at 18:42

My only real question would be if its possible to make a bracket that I could use with my stock sliders. If not its not a big deal as my dad and I are the only ones who really drive it and we have the same driving position.

Kailand09 > Trunk Impaired 318
03/17/2015 at 18:51

Well it is definitely possible! Let me look at it a bit tomorrow to see how we usually handle it (ours are crash tested).

Trunk Impaired 318 > Kailand09
03/17/2015 at 19:19

Thats awesome! Thanks man!