So I've been working on all this for a bit and decided now was the time to show off the progress. My project(s) is called racers paradise. It started last year when I found 2 non working midway cabs on craigslist for 100 bucks. My ultimate goal was/is to have a 4 player Lan set up in my basement. Eventually I secured another non working midway cab so I now have a total of 3 and am searching for the 4th.
But as time went on I realized I really wanted a cab for my man cave room in the upstairs of my house. It gets cold in my basement in the winter and I don't get down there as much as I'd like to so I wanted something I could play all the time... I considered using one of the midway cabs but unfortunately the doorway to my room is too small to fit the cab through...
So I decided to scratch build one. And below you will see the results. I just finished the building part and wanted to take pictures of it before I take it apart and move on to the painting and cosmetic portion of the build. I'm pretty happy with how its turning out.... The plan is to paint the entire thing and the apply carbon fiber vinyl on the sides and base. The dash is from a Cruis'n world machine. I was lucky enough to find the dash on Craigslist for 40 bucks...
These builds will be using Xbox 360 controllers as the guts to control the PC/Xbox 360 or possibly Xbox One. Its is compatible with both PC and Xbox 360 so I can play games like Hydro thunder hurricane, Midnight Club LA and the 360 version of Daytona USA. I've tested all of these games and they work well... I use a "pad hack" method to wire the original arcade controls to the analog control on the xbox 360 controller. No FFB is possible with this setup but it doesn't bother me at all... I do have vibration working however. I used the FFB motor from the midway cabs wired to a relay to create a huge shaker motor that vibrates the seat. It works very well. I also created a resistance system for the wheel using exercise bands so that the wheel will center itself...
I forgot to take a picture but I have two buttons behind the steering wheel. I drilled into the steering wheel hoop itself and set two buttons into it. This puts the buttons very close to your hands and makes them feel almost like triggers.
This box is where the PC will go. I have a sequential shifter, cup holder and an 8way "Mini Grip Stick" from ultimarc. The flight stick allows me to navigate game menus easily as well as the xbox 360 menu system and also works for the flight portions of Sonic and allstars racing transformed, as well as the game Distance. It also allows me to pull back and throw power ups backwards in games like Mario Kart and Blur.
This is the resitance system I made to center the wheel. I was able to use the original gear that was used for FFB
I bought this foot rest off ebay for 15 bucks. Much easier than building one...
And finally here is one of the midway cabs I'm working on. Its semi taken apart right now but I just have to put the flight stick back on and it will be functioning again.