How to build a sit down driving arcade cabinet

For show and tell today I brought an instructable that will demonstrate how to build an arcade style sit down driving game cabinet. Play all of the old school favorites like Out Run or fill your "Need for Speed" playing the latest xbox driving games.

Step 1: Why and how did I build this. Well I'm glad you asked

I love to make things and after building and enjoying my MAME cabinet I realized that while it worked great for Pac-Man, the classic arcade controls left a lot to be desired when I wanted to sit down to Spy Hunter and other driving games. For one thing, I couldn't sit down. And Spy Hunter is so much more fun with a steering wheel than a joystick. So I decided to build my own. I chose to use an xbox instead of a PC with MAME because as fun as Out Run is, you just can't beat the graphics on today's consoles, and you can still play the old school games with an xbox emulator. I used Sketchup to create my cabinet design and scrounged or bought most of the materials from Lowes. This project takes a few days to complete and you will need some basic wood working and painting skills. If you had to buy everything I would say it would cost about $400.

Comments

[wjohnson.2019]

how much did the wood cost. And where did u buy it lowes or home depot?

[wjohnson.2019]

did you pay for the seat?

[Stryker]

Yes I went to an auto junk yard, told them what I was looking for and they helped me pull the seat for about $50.

[wjohnson.2019]

Hey man. I want one so bad but i don't want to use an Xbox. Will a playstation or wii work too? thanks-will

[Stryker]

I'm pretty sure you could use any gaming system with some minor modifications.

[tinker234]

wow hey could i use driving simutlars and or make a game

[Invention geek]

Thats awsome!

[SonicX 22]

you could sell this, but now people know how to make it

[casman300]

did you make the pin ball machine?

[Stryker]

No.  I bought that for the wife it was her favorite as a kid.

[maxpower49]

nice but i had an idea im going to use with mine i am going to build a strong computer for my mame cabinet and then run a second monitor cable with a tv adapter to the driver arcade machine

[Kasm279]

good idea, but some games dont show on a second monitor in "extended" mode or sometimes not even in "mirror" mode

[Yerboogieman]

Was the RX7 in pretty good shape? What body style?

[Stryker]

It was in bad shape, in fact I took the passenger seat instead of drivers side because it was the only good one. I don't remember the model sorry.

[grassy123]

what if two players wanted to play... you could possibly build a second cabinet and make or even get a connector to play on two screens like a computer

[zleebme]

all you would have to do is link them via ethernet cable and choose the system link option

[Stryker]

You could do that no problem with 2 xbox's. However I don't have the room for that setup.

[grassy123]

yea i no but it was just an idea

[Airsoft_ninja]

me too, AWSOME JOB!!!

[N1CK4ND0]

lol, ive always wanted to do this, but have been too lazy :]

[gage03]

good job

[rc jedi]

did u post the mame project ible? good work! bravo!

[Stryker]

I didn't make an instructable but here is a little website I did for it.

[tbenefi33]

Thanks for sharing I found my next project.

[Jeffereymeowmeowpuffs]

nice

[sumit381]

Hello, I am building this using your instructable. It is very helpful except I'm a little confused about some of the measurements. I downloaded your Google Sketch file for measurements. However, when I take measurement in Google Sketchup, they are shorten than what are listed in your PDF files. For example: The 2 side panels are listed in the PDF files are having a high point of 58" and the back point at 50". In Google Sketchup, the high point is at 50" and the back point is at 43 3/8". Can you please tell which measurement I should use? Thank you and once again, great instructable!

[Stryker]

Yeah sorry about that. I dont' know if I drew it exactly like I built it. I kind of just used the sketchup file as a rough picture. You will have to do a little tweaking as I recall from the build, but I believe the .pdf is the correct height I used. Have fun building and playing. Send me a picture when your done and if you have any other questions let me know.

[Hephestus]

dude this is awesome if I had enough room in my games room I would make one (5.0 rating from me)

[Stryker]

Thanks, glad you like it.

[grassy123]

o and i had another idea get a cheap surround sound set and hook that up and have even better sound

[Metal4God]

question does anyone know if a gamecube steering wheel will work with mario kart double dash? and will their be a holder for the controller on this

[the_burrito_master]

sweet!

[maxpower49]

what is the marquee made of is it just paper covered by plexi-glass or is the entire thing plastic

[Stryker]

I took my graphic to Kinkos and had it printed on high gloss paper. Then just sandwiched it between 2 pieces of plexiglass. I CAREFULLY drilled a few holes to attach it to the wood.

[diablopartain]

love the job good all the way around. I had a mortal kombat arcade hull that I used as an entertainment centor but I split with my old lady now its roting away in some mine storage unit in south louisiana

[dmont52]

Awesome idea... I happen to have a used "racing" style seat and an old Mad Catz steering wheel/brake setup laying around my house that I have no use for. I now have a use for BOTH of them. Also, I love the fact that you pointed out "Keep Right" sign... I couldn't agree more!

[LMO]

Good job, sir. I have one of those RCA tv's - they're friggin immortal. I think you deserve a laser cutter for this, or at least a nice Leatherman.

[Stryker]

Thanks, I have been thinking of all the things I would use the laser cutter for.

[babyboi512]

sweet :) i will make one wen i move out!

[Stryker]

Let me know if you do and I'll help you if I can. BTW don't forget to vote for me if I make the finals in the laser contest.. :-)