Thread: center console

well i'm revisiting this one ..... I have finally got around to looking at the hold ****box.... maybe I'll even fit an unsmashed indicator stalk and the lower dash shroud that has been off for about 8 months

I'm trying to come up with a simple console that will be simple to trim and easy to R&R (so it'll be in at least two parts). How have others that have been down this path betore mounted the rear of the unit? It is crazyness to go back to the firewall like the plastic junk that is there. Possibly I could put a couple of rivnuts below the heater box.

I'm thinking something like this:



this is just roughing it out. for now. Does anyone have pictures/ideas of what has been made in the past? I want ot replace the housing that holds the fuses box, switches and radio as well. as it's a fragile broken piece of merde.

I'll probably need to get a plunge saw too. you can't get edges straight enough with a jigsaw.

seeya,
Shane L.

Will post a pic of mine tonight - it’s not the prettiest but it works.

no wonder these things cost so much when they are just a bit of crappy ply with vinyl stuck to it.



it takes a couple of hours for each attempt ... 1st cardboard ... then ply ... I was thinking I'd need to buy something like a scroll saw and plunge saw (detail and straight cuts). Even using a length of wood as a guide, cutting straight lines with a jigsaw is not fun.

anyway, my brother said 'get a multi-tool' ... I always thought those things were **** ... simply because anything you see on TV such as "the renovator" it guaranteed to be crap. But its brilliantly. you can cut straight lines iwth it easily (I just grabbed the ozito multi-tool to match the batteries I already have).



attempt one ... I had cut the holes in the wrong spot after I'd trial fitted it a couple of times.



attempt 2... I cut the lid out on an angle, that will looked nice once covered. But it made it extremelly hard to assemlbed (as the area you screw the thing together with has been cut away, meaning you have to add blocks of wood behind it to screw it together from behind. Once fitted... I could have the radio, or the faceplate for the demister controls. They would both fit if they were together, but there was no way of fitting either the faceplate or the radio once the other was in place.... No wonder the radio never fitted properly in the factory housing.





So I made the whole thing 2cm deaper. moving the radio further forward. However no like the factory setup, you cant get the radio in without it being angle and not fitting. I reckon the easiest fix for the radio is a few heavy hits to the tranny tunnel with a sledge hammer (no don't worry I won't do that). I'll have to make a shim for the back of the radio to angle it as shown.

And I still have even started the console... this is just the radio surround.... what a lot of stuffing around to get nowhere!

027.jpgJust need to get some wood veneer same as on the door & glue it on & clear coat. I made a wood dash for my MGBGT using ply & veneer.

Originally Posted by 1950landy

027.jpgJust need to get some wood veneer same as on the door & glue it on & clear coat. I made a wood dash for my MGBGT using ply & veneer.

This was only supposed to take me a few hours .... and I still haven't even started the console ... If I ever get this finished I'll keep the one in the car as a template and make a second (once you have all the measurements .... and a template ... it'll only take an hour to cut and and assemble one). I've got some black vinyl here from the C pillar trims, so I'll just use that for now Veneer will make this car look like a rat with a gold tooth In a classic MB it would look specacular veneered

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

anyway, my brother said 'get a multi-tool' ... I always thought those things were **** ... simply because anything you see on TV such as "the renovator" it guaranteed to be crap. But its brilliantly. you can cut straight lines iwth it easily (I just grabbed the ozito multi-tool to match the batteries I already have).

Multi tools are fantastic. The different blades you can get make them seriously versatile.

Grab some of these:
Attachment-1.jpg

They'll fit, and you can cut all sorts of soft stuff. They cut carpet like butter. They'll cut the vinyl you want to cover the console with. They cut shapes into things like buckets.

Random FYI. Multi tools were originally developed for medical use. They cut plaster casts off without breaking the skin of the limb under them. Obviously you wouldn't use the blades pictured for THAT

This is going back maybe twenty years, but I made a couple of new sections for the console in one of my Rangies by using the original piece as a mould to make a fibreglass replacement. You need to do some basic repairs to the original, i'e glue it where it's broken and patch it for a smooth surface, then take a fibreglass 'negative' from it and use that to cast a nice robust replacement part, reinforced as necessary. Cover with vinyl to match the original upholstery.

When I was searching for one of these some time ago, I happened across a used one from gumtree or FB thanks to another member.

It was from dept of the interior in Carlton, about 30 mins up the road from me. funny...... because I travelled to canberra to pick it up