Work Shop Couch

[HelluvaEngineer]

A couple of questions.

1. I made a couch for my shop out of an 08 WRX back seat. Would the way I made it be of any interest on this forum?
2. If so where is the best place to put a thread about the details?

I still want to make an 818, but so far I have only had the time and resources to make a couch. :(

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[mentatbashar]

I'm interested. PM me the details!

[Bill Waters]

It's clear he's a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech. Nicely done.

[flynntuna]

I like this metal version, there's been other versions posted with wood frames. The metal frame makes it more" man cave" friendly.

[HelluvaEngineer]

If there are no objections, then I will post the details in this thread. The wife and I are about to head out for dinner, so later this evening I will start putting it together.

[HelluvaEngineer]

First a couple of comments.
- This was for a 2008 WRX back seat. I don't know how it will work for other years or models.
- I measured twice, but it is always possible there are mistakes in the measurements.

This post is for the frame details.

31850

For the base I used 1 inch galvanized steel pipe. I needed Four 10 foot sections of pipe. (Home Depot)
To cut the pipe I ended up using an angle grinder. I found that the 1mm thick blade cut the fastest. Took about 30-45 seconds a cut

A) Two 9" sections of pipe
B) Two 30" sections of pipe
C) Two 29.5" sections of pipe
D) Two 35" sections of pipe
E) Two 51" sections of pipe
F) Two 22.5" sections of pipe
G) Two 15.5" sections of pipe
H) One 49" section of pipe

* If I were to do it again, I may go a little wider. maybe 1 to 1.5 inches wider. To do that H and E would have to get longer by that amount.

The connections are Kee Klamp's (I got them from globalindustrial.com) But there are a lot of other places to get them

Kee Klamps needed:
Eight Single Socket Tee 1 inch (Kee Klamp part# 10-6)
Eight 90 degree elbow 1 inch (Kee Klamp part# 15-6)
Two Adjustable Sideout Tee 1 inch (Kee Klamp part# 19-6)

[HelluvaEngineer]

31893

For the rope, I used 1/2 inch heavy duty diamond braid from Home Depot.
Link (http://www.homedepot.com/p/1-2-in-x-100-ft-Multi-Colored-Polypropylene-Heavy-Duty-Diamond-Braid-Rope-Hank-65265/202957463?N=5yc1vZc2cs)

The bottom part took exactly 100ft.

31894
For the arm rests, each arm uses 30ft of rope.

To attach the bottom part of the armrest rope, I started wrapping at the bottom. I took about 3 inches and ran it toward the bottom and then wrapped around that to hold it in place. You want to wrap this part very tight so it wont come un-done.

[HelluvaEngineer]

To hold the two piece back seat part together, I used a 3/4 inch by 42 inch by 2 foot piece of fiber board I got at Home Depot. It was 4 feet long and I cut it down to 42 inches. LINK (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-3-4-in-x-2-ft-x-4-ft-Medium-Density-Fiberboard-1508112/202089064)

Here is my first failed try with the correct dimensions on the wood. I failed because the first bolts were to short at 40mm. I then had to partially drill into the board with a 1inch drill so I had enough threads. But like an idiot, I drilled on the wrong side.

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On the bottom of the board there is a dimension of 2 3/8 inch. This is where I also put a 2x4 up to that line. The 2x4 gave the overall correct offsets to get the bottom and back seat parts to line up. I ended up purchasing 4 new bolts to secure the seats to the wood. They were 8mm x 1.25 x 50mm. You remove the original bolts on the back of the seats


The 60/40 seat bolts are 2 7/8 inches apart bolt line to bolt line (Not to be confused with the 2 7/8 offset from the 2x4). I could probably bring them closer by 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch. When I was done, I painted the wood black to help it blend in.


In order to get the seat bottom to actually sit properly, I needed to cut the two side metal hoops off the bottom. But If I had made the base wider, I may not have needed to do that. I also needed to strategically put a pillow under the bottom seat to help it to sit properly. My wife got a long pillow somewhere. I even convinced her to shorten it to 34 inches to make it fit properly. She called it a body pillow.

31896

When I first put the pillow under the seat bottom, it looked ridiculous. Popped the seat bottom front up real high. But after siting on it for a while, it settled down just fine.

[HelluvaEngineer]

It's clear he's a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech. Nicely done.

Thanks and yes I did go there. Electrical Engineer, but mostly I write embedded software now.

[wallace18]

Very nice. The odd thing for me was the rear seat was the first thing to sell on Craigslist from my donor.

[HelluvaEngineer]

Very nice. The odd thing for me was the rear seat was the first thing to sell on Craigslist from my donor.

I was hoping I got it from an 818 project donor. Help offset someone's cost

[RM1SepEx]

my back seat is one of the few things I didn't sell yet!

[JeromeS13]

my back seat is one of the few things I didn't sell yet!

Me too....

[RM1SepEx]

I didn't even try, just taking up space in my upstairs of the garage... what a mess!

[Mechie3]

I tried...no one wanted it. Front seats sold to a WRX TR owner. They got two piece seat backs vs the 1 piece of the standard wrx.

[HelluvaEngineer]

I got the rest of the details updated.

[billjr212]

nicely done. I was one of the guys that built on a wood frame. I used to have 2, but when I moved I ended up with a smaller garage and one was disassembled and sent to the attic for storage. I put the wood under the bottom cushion on hinges and use the space underneath for storage. In my newly crowded garage, I also put mine on wheels, so I can push it off to the corner when I'm not using it. I'll have to snap an updated photo and pop it on here for reference.

By the way, I built my seats pre-818. I'm a Subaru guy and I just liked the way those seats look, so I bought 2 2002 WRX rear seats off nasioc. I ended up selling my 2004 rear seat during donor disassembly. It was one of the first things to go. Just have to be realistic about the price because there are a lot of them available.

[HelluvaEngineer]

nicely done. I was one of the guys that built on a wood frame. I used to have 2, but when I moved I ended up with a smaller garage and one was disassembled and sent to the attic for storage. I put the wood under the bottom cushion on hinges and use the space underneath for storage. In my newly crowded garage, I also put mine on wheels, so I can push it off to the corner when I'm not using it. I'll have to snap an updated photo and pop it on here for reference.

By the way, I built my seats pre-818. I'm a Subaru guy and I just liked the way those seats look, so I bought 2 2002 WRX rear seats off nasioc. I ended up selling my 2004 rear seat during donor disassembly. It was one of the first things to go. Just have to be realistic about the price because there are a lot of them available.

Me to. I have a 2005 Legacy GT that I had since 2006. Love that car. Hopefully I can keep it for another 8 years. Almost zero problems.

[Oppenheimer]

Wow. That looks fantastic.

The only comment I have is, while the pipe adds a cool, industrial look that meshes well with the tech looking fabric and shape of the seat, the rope just looks 70's basement. If someone could come up with a more theme oriented covering, I think that would add that last bit of flare to knock this out of the park.

The only thing I can think of is more comfort than flare, substituting pipe insulation foam for the rope (at least on the arm rests). But maybe even just black colored rope would be enough to get the look right.

Who has better suggestions for this?

[HelluvaEngineer]

Wow. That looks fantastic.

The only comment I have is, while the pipe adds a cool, industrial look that meshes well with the tech looking fabric and shape of the seat, the rope just looks 70's basement. If someone could come up with a more theme oriented covering, I think that would add that last bit of flare to knock this out of the park.

The only thing I can think of is more comfort than flare, substituting pipe insulation foam for the rope (at least on the arm rests). But maybe even just black colored rope would be enough to get the look right.

Who has better suggestions for this?

It would be interesting to see some different ideas. I picked the wrapped rope on the sides to simulate a rope wrapped knife or sword handle..

[bstuke]

So how many 818's are in the Atlanta area now and when are we all getting together?

[Hindsight]

Aside from mine and yours, there is a guy from Carrollton on the forum but I forget his screen name - he is building an R. Mine is an S. I think I heard that Wayne is building an 818 for someone in the area as well but I'm not sure who.

As far as getting together, one really good opportunity is Caffeine and Octane on the first Sunday of every month. Usually a bunch of FFR Roadster guys show up and they are a REALLY great group.... the type of people who will drive an hour after the show to your house to help you figure something out on your build. They also do cruises up to the North GA mountains and are very welcoming of other FFR models.

[bstuke]

I had a MKII Roadster and am very good friends with most of the guys. The challenge with C&O is the shear mass of cars and people. Other than Joe I don't know if anyone else goes.

I am happy to host a get together, and smoke a few butts. I can get all the Cobra guys to come as well.

Helluva are you in Carrolton?

[Hindsight]

I see, I think "Gary" is his name, there from time to time. He has the red roadster with black stripes. Really nice guy, but yeah, Joe seems to be the die hard.

I'm in for a BBQ! I'll bring some sides or something. Would be fun to get the FFR guys together. I know there is also a guy in/near Flowery Branch who has a GTM, a Coupe, and I think a Cobra but not sure. Oh, there is a guy in Savannah doing an 818 as well. I can't remember if he posts here or not though.

[bstuke]

FYI November 9th?
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?15949-BBQ-at-my-place-in-November

Yep, know Gary well, he goes by LutherSnake. They other is Tim Chambers. He only has a Coupe now. Then there is Canuhover, BoppShop 180Tim, Tony, and bunch more. At one time we would have 20 cars on a Blood Mountain run, and joke about getting jackets like "Wild Hogs"..