Opinions on fabbing my center console
09-28-2005, 06:39 PM
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Opinions on fabbing my center console 
I wasnt sure if I should have posted this in the electronics section but.... I bought myself a sirius satellite tuner, but I'm not satisfied just mounting it anywhere, it looks out of place no matter where you put it. I'm thinking about putting it here, and then painting the plastic black or gray to match the original plastic... I photoshopped what it would look like, or should I move it about 3 inches to the front more? I wanted to get rid of the cup holder cause it sucks shifting with anything in that thing, and i deleted the ash tray cause I dont smoke so no need for it. Any and all opinions welcome!
Last edited by kraaazymike; 09-28-2005 at 06:47 PM.
09-28-2005, 08:14 PM
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Originally Posted by EdwardL
Sorry to hear you got Sirius.
Should've purchased XM, then you wouldnt have to worry about the size of the device.
Should've purchased XM, then you wouldnt have to worry about the size of the device.
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09-29-2005, 03:13 PM
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I dig it. It looks clean, nearly factory and is a great place for buttons.
I am working on something similar...I put my single din stereo deck where the cig lighter/cubby hole was, and am going to put a track ball or laptop style finger pad where you propose to put your sat unit. I think it is a great place for anything other than the ashtray; you can use whatever is there without taking your eyes off the road or a hand off the wheel. Hope you have a dremel and a lot of patience. I seriously destroyed my console putting my stereo in it, but it works. If you know how to work with ABS plastic, please fill me in I would love to learn.
Had you considered mounting it countersunk a little bit? You could fab up a cover for it so you could hide it when not in use.
I am working on something similar...I put my single din stereo deck where the cig lighter/cubby hole was, and am going to put a track ball or laptop style finger pad where you propose to put your sat unit. I think it is a great place for anything other than the ashtray; you can use whatever is there without taking your eyes off the road or a hand off the wheel. Hope you have a dremel and a lot of patience. I seriously destroyed my console putting my stereo in it, but it works. If you know how to work with ABS plastic, please fill me in I would love to learn.
Had you considered mounting it countersunk a little bit? You could fab up a cover for it so you could hide it when not in use.
09-30-2005, 01:59 AM
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Lo_jack, I considered having it sunk but the thing is that the unit gets hot. so I had to angle the back up to expose the vents incase of overheating. I still have to fiberglass and fill in the gap where the cup holder was and smooth out the edges, but theres a test fit of the cut and mounting bracket.
What I learned about cutting ABS plastic with rotary tools... that if youre trying to smooth out an edge, cut right to left if your tool spins clockwise and left to right if counter-clockwise. otherwise the tool likes to drive along the surface and get wild. also a good set of safety googles cause the plastic flies EVERYWHERE.
I looks kind of shotty now but its not done yet!
What I learned about cutting ABS plastic with rotary tools... that if youre trying to smooth out an edge, cut right to left if your tool spins clockwise and left to right if counter-clockwise. otherwise the tool likes to drive along the surface and get wild. also a good set of safety googles cause the plastic flies EVERYWHERE.
I looks kind of shotty now but its not done yet!
09-30-2005, 10:32 AM
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It's coming along. I had not considered the heat. Good call on that.
How hard is it to work with fiberglass? There are many obvious uses for it, if one were skilled in it.
How hard is it to work with fiberglass? There are many obvious uses for it, if one were skilled in it.
09-30-2005, 04:06 PM
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No its not hard to work with fiberglass. You just need to be quick about it. The resin either sets extremely fast or takes forever if you dont add enough hardener. If youre doing layers, its hard at first to do it without bubbles but it just takes practice like anything else.
09-30-2005, 10:12 PM
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So I decided why the hell not and started hacking away.
Heres the original:
I drew a template and started cutting:
After fiberglassing and body filler and priming:
Final installation ( I decided that black looks retarded and when I get more time I'm going to paint it dark gray to match the rest of the interior)
Heres the original:
I drew a template and started cutting:
After fiberglassing and body filler and priming:
Final installation ( I decided that black looks retarded and when I get more time I'm going to paint it dark gray to match the rest of the interior)
great work 
10-04-2005, 10:11 PM
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Ok maybe I'm beating a dead horse but I finally just decided to vinyl it myself and now im done. Hope it looks OEM cause thats what i was aiming for. Oh and a tip for anybody who wants to vinyl things themselves...pay someone else to do it cause its a pain.
Last edited by kraaazymike; 10-04-2005 at 10:17 PM.
