Cheap Bucket Seat?

[DCProductions]

Where oh where can I find a cheap bucket seat? I haven't found any good deals online yet so I have set up a list of options.

-Trip to the junkyard (Problem: car seats are very tall, my head would stick out of the roll cage)
-Make a custom seat (Problems- I am no professional, fiberglass is not as cheap as I thought)
-Not use a bucket seat

What ideas do you have for cheap bucket seats or seats in general?

 

[B.M.800]

Junkyard seat, cut it off and superglue/ducttape/melt/something the top closed, get or make a heavy duty pillow case to put over it?

That what I would do if I couldnt find one for cheap, or not have one... always room to improvise though.

 

[DCProductions]

I'm not worried about the top as much as the bottom. I've looked at car seats and the bottom of the seat can be up to 6" tall plus mounting hardware. That's a lot of good padding but more than I can use.

I like the idea of making a custom seat, but I think I would end up spending more money.

 

[jeremybentham]

You can get a G-Man kart seat for $40 shipped if you look around. And, BELIEVE YOU ME, the support that a race seat provides gives you A LOT more confidence behind the wheel since you don't hafta concentrate on not flying out of the kart, you can focus on driving.

 

[jeremybentham]

Also, consider you center of gravity. The higher your a$$ is off the ground, the more top heavy and rollover prone.

 

[B.M.800]

Cant some of that crap under the seat be whacked off? Cut a bunch of it off and make new/different brackets?

 

[DCProductions]

What of this one? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OTK-...d31QQitemZ130495106353QQptZRaceQ5fCarQ5fParts
Says it fits 32-34 which is spot on for me. I think I would go max $10 bid since there's no reserve

 

[CriticalMass]

I got a couple mazda miata bucket seats out of a dumpster the other day. I am going to whack the headrest off it and cover it with a seat cover. I found out mazda miatas have speakers in the head rest. 4 pristine clarion src923's, nice!

Should fetch a cool price. Then im gonna whack off the bottom seat sliding rails, unbolt both sections and mount them seperatley taking off as much metal as i can.

I am also going to bolt them down lower then the bottom of the kart so my head doesnt stick out the top.

Havent tried yet but ill put pics up in my build thread when i do.

 

[DCProductions]

Sounds like it will work well. Miatas aren't much bigger than a kart anyway.

 

[anderkart]

You can get a G-Man kart seat for $40 shipped if you look around. And, BELIEVE YOU ME, the support that a race seat provides gives you A LOT more confidence behind the wheel since you don't hafta concentrate on not flying out of the kart, you can focus on driving.

Also, consider you center of gravity. The higher your a$$ is off the ground, the more top heavy and rollover prone.

What of this one? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OTK-...d31QQitemZ130495106353QQptZRaceQ5fCarQ5fParts
Says it fits 32-34 which is spot on for me. I think I would go max $10 bid since there's no reserve

That ebay Tillett race seat probably cost around $150 new and is worth about $20 used in that condition. But that seller wants $25 more just to ship it from California...

You should probably try to find a used race seat near your town, or at least from somewhere in or near Alabama. There's lots of kart racers and tracks in your state. I've heard just about every little town In Alabama has a race kart track. You should be able to find a used seat you can buy in person or at least cost less to ship.

Kart racers always try to find a seat that fits them just a little better and lots of times end up selling their old ones for around $20.

I cant tell what town your from but here's a list of just a few of Alabama race kart tracks: http://www.tsracing.com/NewKarter/StateTracks/Alabama.htm
If your near a track I'd suggest you go out to the races and ask the drivers in the pits if anyone has any used seats for sale. I'll bet you can find one that fits you good for a really low price.

I recently bought a nice used seat for my buddy's kart for $10 from a guy at my track.

 

[DCProductions]

Thanks for the list! Most of those tracks are about an hour's drive from home, so gas would add into the price, but there are some close to where I am living right now (away at school right now, no kart, no tools, no life). I will certainly check them out if I ever bring my kart down to school or if I get the chance spring break (1.5 days away!).

 

[drscope]

A 4 x 8 sheet of sheet metal probably isn't as expensive as you think. 22 gauge here runs about $25 a sheet.

So if you have a way to pick it up from the steel yard, you can make a nice sheet metal seat pretty easy.

Start with a big sheet of cardboard and a roll of masking tape. Cut and tape the cardboard until you have the size and shape you want.

Then unfold it and transfer your template to the sheet metal to cut it out.

If you have a welder, you can weld the seams. If not, it can be done with pop rivets.

To bend the metal and get nice crisp straight bends, clamp it between 2 boards and bend away.

For several of our downhill cars, we have used the RCI poly seat

It's more of an upright seating position then most folks want in a go Kart, but it offers very good protection when properly mounted. It's not the cheap seat you are looking for though.

Regardless of what you choose, just make sure you have it securly mounted. And keep in mind your body weight goes way up with cornering and stopping forces. The seat needs to support you in those situations, so it has to be strong!

 

[coln72]

Might sound scary, but we use "coerflute" (think it is also called coraplast or something). Well, its the plastic cardboad stuff that signwriters use. We use 5mm thick stuff, cable tie and tape it to a metal frame, probably 10mm CrMo tubing in out case and have had no issues with it in our 24 hour racers.

 

[DCProductions]

I use the seat a little more than the 24 hr guys do I would say. No offense, I just run offroad so there is a lot more bouncing and weird forces at play. My seat needs to be fairly solid so I'm in no danger if I roll.

I like the sheet metal idea.

What about this one? More expensive but it says it includes shipping and it is high back.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0560114053&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I can also make a lower offer on it if need be.

 

[jeremybentham]

It doesn't say free shipping on MY chatty. Says $54.66 here.

 

[jeremybentham]

jcspecialty.net/ page 34
Super seat by G-man
Cheapest you'll find new.

 

[DCProductions]

That's pretty cheap for them being new. Would the low backs on those types of seats pose a problem when I use my harness though? I figure the seat has to come to my shoulders.

 

[The Mechtician]

My local junkyard sells bucket seats for $34.95, which is about as cheap as it's gonna get unless you fish them outta the dumpster like CriticalMass Look for seats out of sports cars, and take the sliding seat tracks off to drop them an inch or two.

The cheapest racing seats I've found are these RCI bucket seats from JC Whitney. They're strong and easy to mount, but can be slippery and uncomfortable for long periods without the cushion (which is sold separately and costs as much as the seat). Your mileage may vary.

A buddy of mine brought his kart out to Stave Lake last weekend and I was surprised to see that he had a nice burgundy school chair (looked a lot like the one in the pic below) for a seat! It cracked while he was riding it and ended up pinching one of his love handles, but it was comfortable and (best of all) free! Maybe you could find something like that in your friendly neighborhood dumpster?

 

[CriticalMass]

I thought about using an old school seat, the blue ones with riveted steel rails on the bottom. Those things were way light and sturdy. In fact I'm still looking for one for a smaller project I want to do.

 

[DCProductions]

My mom and dad are both teachers so I could definitely swing a school chair.

I think I'm gonna give up on the online search too. Shipping is just too high. I'm eventually taking a trip to the junkyard for other parts, so I will look for a seat too.

Thanks for the input so far!