Tilt Steering Wheel control panel

[_) (V) (-)]

I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this idea but, I didn't find anything using the search forum thing, so...

I would like to make an adjustable (tilting) control panel to accommodate steering wheel usage from standing to seated positions.

I've seen a lot of posts about tilting monitors but nothing to tilt the control panel itself.

Background
I have been given another project, courtesy of Drew Karee (Thanks bud!) and I thought I'd try my hand at making a driving cabinet this time.

It's some kind of late 80's early 90's Tatio driving cab.
Looks like this...



I removed the broken front panel where the coin door was and threw in some of my parts just to get the feel for how the thing will go together.




Quite happy with the monitor placement, it should work well from both positions, standing or seated.  Of course there is a lot of wasted space in the to pend this way but I may just jam the CPU up there.

Anyway, I've got a shelf board roughed in about where I'd like the wheel to go. However, there is a radical difference in the positioning needed to accommodate the two major playing positions.

What I am thinking of, is basically a flat shelf board with a pivot point on each of the two sides and some kind of detent mechanism that would lock it into the proper setting for whatever player position was required.

Can anyone suggest a proven method or remember any past projects with a similar configuration?

[hng]

how about just getting a GM tilt steering column? They've been used on all fullsize GM cars and trucks from the mid 70's till the late 90, plus on most jeeps. You could probably get one from a junkyard for $25.

put a mouse hack on the rag joint...

ignition switch to start

maybe use the hazard switch to coin up

combination switch... hi beam selector for hi/lo gear...

[_) (V) (-)]

I actually thought of that HNG, getting an old Corvette wheel or something cool to put in there. Rig up the turn signal for a shifter, etc...

Except here in the city, junkyard steering columns fetch a premium $$$ because of the demand for them by repair shops doing theft recoveries. Any inner city 5 year old with a screwdriver can 'peel a column' and thus drive away your car, in a matter of 15 seconds.

I think I'll just stick with the little plastic sidewinder job for now. It's already wired up for the USB and has extra assignable buttons on it. However if something cool comes along I'll be hacking that sucker up in a New York minute.

Still looking for some kind of swivel joint type brackets to put on the sides of the 'shelf' support.  Plan is to rig up a quasi-dashboard with some pushbuttons on it to surround the wheel.

Also considered a piano hinge on the back of the shelf but don't think it'll support the leverage. Plus I'd still need a locking mechanism to secure the thing.

This is a long range project for me anyway, got to get old #2 (the Abomination) put together first.

But keep them ideas coming!

[lanman31337]

Bolt and some washers for a swivel point, and a drift pin to adjust the panel and all for multiple angles.  I'll draw it up for ya.



Those are some real rough sketches, but those will work for you.  You'd bolt or screw the angle iron to the wood and use the bolt from the outside of the cabinet in at the bottom as the swivel.  You can use washers n'at to give it some swivel action.  At the top you'll have 2 separate holes in the cabinet - one for when you're standing, one when you're sitting.  They make drift pins that have a bubble almost on them that are spring loaded - similar to some ratchets so it doesn't just arbatrarily just fall out.  This will go thru the hole in the cabinet and then into the angle iron.  It doesn't have to be heavy angle, just something with at least a 1/2 inch face, cause you'd probably want to use 1/4 inch bolts.

[_) (V) (-)]

Holy optical illusions Lanman!
It's like you've seen inside my mind!

Thanks for visualizing that idea for me man!

I'll have to research these drift pins a bit more.
Is there a more specific trade name for them?

The google results are a bit overwhelming.

I'm was going to check out the local cabinet making supply store to see what options they'd have for that mount point. I was thinking of something with a retractable pin or steel ball in it to act as a detent, or better yet, lock into position.

Or maybe I could gut the incline mechanism out of an old treadmill and make an power adjustable tilt dash.

Oh the possibilities!

[_) (V) (-)]

I've worked up a board very similar to Lanman's design.

Mine lays horizontal (to accept the steering wheel mount) and I'll put a 'dashboard' mounted perpendicular to it with shelf brackets on the inside.. See the cardboard mockup in the photos.

I made some brackets to act as pivot points and decided to mount them on the rear of the horizontally mounted tilting board so that I could drop the front edge about 30 degrees. The movement seems much more natural this way and it lines up perfect with the kids height while sitting in the wheelchair.

Just using some c-clamps as stops for now. I hope to find some cabinet hardware with locking detents for this.

Had to test play a game or two. 
Yes that is Wrigley Field you can almost see on the screen there...

Not sure if I'm going to use wood or steel for the dash yet. Most likely wood, faced with plastic overlay.

Got an idea to mount the cd-rom drive into the 'dash' area, put the volume control next to it, and paint a radio dial on the tray's faceplate to simulate a car stereo. 

Somewhere I saw an 'el cheepo' key switch I could rig up to a M.O. switch for a power button. Not sure I'd want that on the front of the system though.

[_) (V) (-)]

Now I need to figure out how to close up the top.
I am thinking a retractable plastic panel.

Any suggestions?

[DarkBubble]

You could make the hole in the panel just large enough for the wheel and it's range of movement, using vinyl or your choice of cloth to make a flexible boot in a manner similar to what they do with shifters.

[hng]

window AC bellows.

[_) (V) (-)]

That is a good thought, keeping the front panel static and moving only the wheel.

However, the wheel housing has a bit of a taper to it and may present another problem.

It looks very similar to this one...