'New' Gaming Chair using an old car seat

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2009
Posts
2,727
Location
Gillingham, Kent
I fully realise this is in no way an original idea, but I really wanted to replace my old, worn Arozzi Monza with something that would look as good in my eyes, but hopefully last a bit longer. In the end, I decided on a car seat and attaching it to my existing seat base. A bit of scouring Facebook and Gumtree only found worn out, overpriced, or boring looking chairs, or ones too far away to pick up, but eventually eBay gave me a £60 Alfa GT passenger seat chair in great condition with an offer of £20 delivery. A week later it arrived and I took off the runners to reveal a flat area with four screw threads in the corners. So, £20 of wood and bolts from B&Q, and £2 of black spray paint from Poundland, this is the result:

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This is the adapter plate I made up from plywood and the bolts to hold it together:
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Overall, I'm very happy with it, although the seat is a bit more figure hugging than I expected - if I did it again I'd probably go for a less bucket type seat. I was also surprised how much higher than the old seat it was, something I should have expected but I didn't. I have got the option of buying a shorter gas lift (£20) but at the lowest position I can still reach the floor so I haven't bothered.

Mainly sharing this as my DIY skills are very poor, but I was able to do this with a cheap jigsaw, drill, and a socket set. If I can do this, anyone can, so if you're fancying a car seat style chair - making one yourself is definitely not a difficult thing to do.
 
Do you now have an office chair with live airbags?

Technically, yes - there is a live airbag in there. :D I figured it's not powered and is subject to a lot less shocks/vibration than if it was still in a car, so it should be less dangerous than driving a 10+ year old car. Genuinely thought about trying to take the seat apart to take it out, but thought that would be more dangerous and distructive than leaving it be.

Plus, if it does go off anytime it'll just make me wet myself rather than actually hurt me so long as I'm sat in the chair and not standing next to it.

If it does every go off, I'll be sure to update the thread for everyone's amusement! :D
 
Haha! Be fun to watch this go off

But great little find there, thought about doing this with a recaro CS seat as the're really comfortable and look fantastic. Just abit on the pricey side!

Yeah, price was the main reason I went for second hand. If I was doing it again, I'd go for something more comfortable cruiser or people carrier style rather than bucket. It's surprising how much different being held in place feels in front of your PC rather than being in the car.

That said, definitely do the Recaro thing and post pictures up here - that would be awesome!
 
Nice choice and execution :D

Imagine it's ideal for gaming or movie sessions. I do wonder how hot it would get though, which is why i'd not do it myself. But looks decent regardless.
 
Nice choice and execution :D

Imagine it's ideal for gaming or movie sessions. I do wonder how hot it would get though, which is why i'd not do it myself. But looks decent regardless.

Not had any sign of heat issues so far, but then it is pretty cold at the moment! That was one of my concerns when deciding leather or fabric, but leather showed up on eBay first so I went for this. I'll see how things are if/when summer arrives and update the thread. :)
 
Looks good. Is it just the base thickness making it higher? and are the missing armrests a problem or do you not notice?

Yeah, didn't realise how much thicker the base would be. My outgoing Arozzi was just a wooden base with foam of top (the base bolts straight into the wood), where the car seat has a fair bit of bracketry and stuff below the seat. I should have realised because the Arozzi is designed for your feet to be a stand's distance from your bum, where the Alfa is designed to bolt straight to the floor so your feet are the chair's depth alone from your bottom.

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No point trying to remove any more of the brackets/metalwork as the base of the seat nearly touches the wooden adapter as it is:
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