How to Make an Aluminum Racing Seat

Stock cars are usually equipped with aluminum cast race car seats, but these can be expensive to buy. When you are building your own stock car you may find it interesting to cast your own aluminum seat. To do this you need to first make the stock car seat mold. This is fairly inexpensive, as aluminum is poured into sand molds. However you must make the sand pile high enough to accommodate the backrest for the seat.

Things You'll Need

  • Scrap wood
  • Nails
  • Hammer
  • Mason's sand
  • Garden hose
  • Styrofoam block
  • Styrofoam sheets
  • Glue
  • Box cutter
  • Pocket knife
  • Spray bottle
  • Cement trowel
  • Aluminum
  • Heating furnace
  • Sander
  • Buffer pads
  • Metal polish
  • Rags
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Instructions

    • 1

      Make a 36-inch high box frame from scrap wood pieces or plywood, hammer and nails. Make sure the frame is at least 12 inches wider than the seat you are going to make a mold from.

    • 2

      Fill the frame with mason’s sand. Pat the sand down so that it is level on all sides.
      Use a garden hose to thoroughly wet the sand. Allow it to dry for an hour until the entire mound of sand is damp but not drippy wet.

    • 3

      Turn an existing stock car seat over bottom-side up and carefully begin inserting the seat back top edge into the sand. Continue pushing the seat in until it fully enters the sand up to the bottom edge. Push it an inch deeper to leave room for the aluminum pour.

    • 4

      Cut, glue and sculpt a stock car seat out of a Styrofoam block or glued Styrofoam sheets, if you don’t have an existing aluminum seat. Insert it in the sand and cover it completely with an additional 2 inches of sand. Dig a pour hole in the sand until you reach the Styrofoam chair.

    • 5

      Spray the sand with water if it is dry and needs dampening to retain the shape. Lift the chair out straight up, as slowly as possible, so the sand does not lose the shape.
      Fix any breaks in the sand mold with your hands and the help of a cement trowel.

    • 6

      Heat your aluminum to its melting point for the casting in the metal furnace to the temperature specified on the aluminum package instructions.

    • 7

      Ladle the liquid aluminum into the mold with a long metal ladle. Expect the aluminum to melt the Styrofoam if you used a Styrofoam seat. Allow the aluminum to set in the sand and dry for 36 hours.

    • 8

      Pull the aluminum chair out of the sand and sand with an electric sander. Replace the sanding pad with a buffer pad and use metal polish and rags to polish the aluminum chair.