[lowROLLERchevy]

first off, i dont want to hear anyone tell me "it cant be done" or that its unsafe

second: swapping to atx is not an option, the point here is he wants to be able to row thru the gears, and i dont blame him either.

heres the story, cross posted because its off a forum that requires logging in, and so i could clean it up a bit

I was just wondering if it is possible to rig up some hand controls on my brother/ my 92 MTX. The reason I want hand controls installed is because my brother despritely wants to drive his car but he can't because he was hit by an I.E.D (improvised explosive device) and lost both of his legs. He was attached to the 3rd infantry 69th armored division at Ft. Stewart, Georgia and he was hurt during his second tour in Iraq.

I was wondering if you guys know how to rig up hand controls with, lets say, materials from Home depot or Pepboys. Currently my brother has hand controls on his Durango but it's an automatic and the adaptive controls was paid through the VA.

I actually went down to the place where we had the hand controls installed on the Durango somewhere in Maryland not too far from Bethesda and I asked them how much it would cost to adapt a 5spd, They quoted me over $10,000. I was like *** that's a lot of money and they said that the hand controls on the Durango was like $4,000.

It looks simple, just two levers attached to gas and brake, push in to brake and pull down to accel and of course his steering knob. Yeah these prices are way too steep but that's why I've been looking for an alternative.

As soon as I get the car in good running conditon, I will put more time and effort into the hands controls. The cars has been sitting for over a year and a half and it has problems.

so heres what i was thinking:

usualy, hand controls for the gas and brake are done using a horizontal lever, on the car in question, i would suggest that said lever gets put vertical on the side of the center console as if its a shift lever. leave it so pushing is brake and pulling is throttle

then take an air pump & tank from an air bag system, along with the lines and solonoids, wire in a switch on the top of the shifter, and place an air cylinder on the clutch pedal

this would allow him to let off the gas, hold the button, shift, release the button and get back on the gas, all while leaving one hand on the wheel to control the car

what do u guys think ?

[OneMoreTime]

I think you are on a good track with that..gonna require a lot of thought in order to get it to work well and be safe..I am thinking of the sort of "control stick' we use on aircraft with clutch function and throttle on the shift lever...that leaves a brake function to account for..perhaps something like a motorcycle clutch lever incorporated into that to actuate the brakes..the idea is that he can do most of what he needs to do without having to move his hand from that one position..

It is doable just is a serious design challenge to get it all to work well..I am not sure that one would be able to find the necessary materials at Home Depot or the local auto parts..

Perhaps you could PM Jon and see if some sort of design contest could be run with a prize of some sort to the guy who comes up with a workable solution to the problem..we do have some serious engineering types who hang out around here..

Sam

[lowROLLERchevy]

just found out that hand controls have to be DOT approved

wonder if he can get DOT approved throttle & brake controls, and then just add a clutch system for it.

whos going to notice ?

[pasadenahotrod]

There are companies that specialize in hand controls for vehicles. Google Hand-operated automotive controls and see what you find.

The latest tax evasion scheme has to do with hand controls. Buy a new car equip it with hand controls and it is sales tax exempt There's an outfit near here that does this all the time. Yes, alongside the vans and such are Mercedes coupes, convertibles, expensive CTS Caddys and so forth, What a deal, huh?