Custom Consoles (ideas/pictures?)
10-26-2007, 01:32 PM
#1
Custom Consoles (ideas/pictures?)
I fabricated a dead panel for the dual din area in the dash with the intentions to flush mount my VAFC and some gauges in there. It looks like its going to be a tight squeeze with the adverage gauge size being about 2 inches in diameter. I am not opposed to a-pillar gauge pods but I just wanted to try this custom deal first and make use of the "Dead" area I've got. I just want a clean look. anyone have any pictures of their custom set ups?
I'm not sure how i'm going to mount this vafc yet...i've got some ideas but I didnt start cutting away yet. My plan was to mount the vafc centered at the bottom and 2 gauges on top (wideband a/f gauge and haven't decided on the other). then put a black piece of leather over the face of the metal.
all ideas and pictures are appreciated...once I start welding I will come up with something more extravagant.
here's what im workin with.
painted for temporary visual appeal and i realize there is a gap, this is temporary.
I'm not sure how i'm going to mount this vafc yet...i've got some ideas but I didnt start cutting away yet. My plan was to mount the vafc centered at the bottom and 2 gauges on top (wideband a/f gauge and haven't decided on the other). then put a black piece of leather over the face of the metal.
all ideas and pictures are appreciated...once I start welding I will come up with something more extravagant.
here's what im workin with.
painted for temporary visual appeal and i realize there is a gap, this is temporary.
Last edited by chillin014; 10-26-2007 at 01:35 PM.
10-26-2007, 02:51 PM
#3
i was going through something similar a while ago. #1 i can't stand the single din under the double (one or the other). #2 i was planning on installing air ride. i decided to have a custom dash kit made without the single din cutout (or the ash tray. i'm having 2 made of carbon fiber. 1 for the max, just to smooth it out, and one for the i30 i'm buying soon. that one i will have dipped to match the facory wood with the ride leveling system installed where the single din is. expensive solution, but whatever.
10-26-2007, 06:13 PM
#4
haha let me know how that goes...would liek to see pics. I will eventually try to make a custom (sheet metal probably) console trim since the plastic ones always break on the threaded piece..mine has.
but yeah we'll see how this goes, im afraid there wont be enough room unless i can find tiny gauges that are maybe 1 1/2 diameter...which seems unlikely since summit didnt have anything that size for wideband a/f
but yeah we'll see how this goes, im afraid there wont be enough room unless i can find tiny gauges that are maybe 1 1/2 diameter...which seems unlikely since summit didnt have anything that size for wideband a/f
10-26-2007, 08:02 PM
#6
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It's kind of hard to see, but I molded in the ashtray lid cover and put a 2 5/8 fp gauge there. I was going to spray, and I wanted a a/f, ext, and nitrous pressure gauges on the a-pillar.
10-26-2007, 10:37 PM
#7
slickismax- yeah i saw pics of your interior somewhere before. thats creative with the gauge where the ashtray is...I dont use my ashtray either. In fact I never used that tray where my radio used to be either. Its ridiculous how much wasted space is in the console..unless you have navigation or something.
blackonblack98- I havent taken measurements of the vafc, but if I had to guess its about 2 inches tall and half an inch thick. I was thinking of cutting sort of an "H" and folding back the metal to allow a back for the vafc to set on and stick it on with some sort of velcro or some better mounting tape. I hate mounting stuff like that but it seems to be the most common way (with velcro I mean). I cant really think of a more sturdy way but it is a huge pet peeve of mine to have stuff loose or flopping around.
blackonblack98- I havent taken measurements of the vafc, but if I had to guess its about 2 inches tall and half an inch thick. I was thinking of cutting sort of an "H" and folding back the metal to allow a back for the vafc to set on and stick it on with some sort of velcro or some better mounting tape. I hate mounting stuff like that but it seems to be the most common way (with velcro I mean). I cant really think of a more sturdy way but it is a huge pet peeve of mine to have stuff loose or flopping around.
10-27-2007, 08:21 AM
#8
i have a couple ideas. first off, moving you head unit up to the top din will give you a little extra room (the width of the bar seperating the double din from the single). mounting the guages should be simple enough using a u bracket. for the finished product i would reccomend using abs plastic for the panels. you can glue them into place, then use fiber glass body filler to smooth it out. a coat of semi-gloss black rattle can and it should look factory. you could also attach metal strips to the back of the plastic where the u brackets apply pressure to make it more sturdy. does the vafc have any mounting holes? i was checkin out the apex website and it looks like its not made to be flush mounted. you could build a metal box with an open front that would recess into the panel. then velcro it into the box. this would also allow you to pull it out for easier adjustment.
10-27-2007, 10:03 AM
#10
i have a couple ideas. first off, moving you head unit up to the top din will give you a little extra room (the width of the bar seperating the double din from the single). mounting the guages should be simple enough using a u bracket. for the finished product i would reccomend using abs plastic for the panels. you can glue them into place, then use fiber glass body filler to smooth it out. a coat of semi-gloss black rattle can and it should look factory. you could also attach metal strips to the back of the plastic where the u brackets apply pressure to make it more sturdy. does the vafc have any mounting holes? i was checkin out the apex website and it looks like its not made to be flush mounted. you could build a metal box with an open front that would recess into the panel. then velcro it into the box. this would also allow you to pull it out for easier adjustment.
as far as mounting the gauges, I know those are easy to mount on flat surfaces, but like you said the VAFC is not. The recessed box your talking about is exactly what i was planning on doing although maybe not a complete "box". I was planning on just covering the metal with a leather material instead of painting it.
if i could weld I could probably make something sturdier for the vafc since it did come with the mounting bracket/stand and that gives me more to work with but...we'll see how this recessed box thing goes. Im about to start hackin at it shortly here actually...probably need to go buy another dremel since mine burned up...the cut off wheel air tool i have is too big.
10-27-2007, 10:32 AM
#11
what i was saying is if you use the top din for your head unit you would have the other din from the double + the bottom din + the width of the seperating bar. that gives you an extra 1/2" of space. using abs will look alot better than metal, plus you won't burn up your dremel. i used to use it all the time to mount air guages. you can bond it to the factory trim and get an oem appearance. if the mounting bracket for the afc is plastic you can bond that to, or if the actual unit has screw holes you could fabricate u or l brackets.
*edit* i would strongly suggest having a plan before you start.
10-27-2007, 11:38 AM
#12
10-27-2007, 12:04 PM
#13
eh okay i see waht you were saying. I thoguht you were suggesting cutting out the skinny seperator for more room and somehow making use of that area. I dont like the headunit on the top...that doesnt look balanced to me for some reason and I dont think it would be any more convenient. hmmm. this is difficult. I still cant tell if theres going to be room to mount the vafc and gauges in the double din or if I could file off some of the seperator between the A/C unit and double din...I took the whole unit out of the car so i'm going to go take some measurements. obviously having the vafc too close to the gauges would look stupid. and JUST the vafc in all that area would look odd too.
one variable that would change everything is the diameter of the gauges..does anyone know where you can get smaller than 2 inches on an A/F gauge?
one variable that would change everything is the diameter of the gauges..does anyone know where you can get smaller than 2 inches on an A/F gauge?
10-27-2007, 12:24 PM
#14
alright yeah.....****....there isnt enough room. If I filed a little bit out of the upper and lower seperating pieces and extended my panel-plate to compensate for those areas I think I could fit the vafc and gauges in there how I want to..Its hard to tell without actually having gauges but I want to install this damn vafc now.
if i have to make another mounting plate later down the road then oh well, it wasn't incredibly hard.
if i have to make another mounting plate later down the road then oh well, it wasn't incredibly hard.
10-27-2007, 12:30 PM
#15
you should cut out the seperator. you could actually do it with the hu on the bottom too. you would need a 7"x4.5" panel to fill the space. if you leave the hu on bottom i would suggest mouting the vafc on the very top edge, leaving 2.5" to mount the guages (.25" vertical clearance on both top and bottom).
10-27-2007, 12:50 PM
#16
you should cut out the seperator. you could actually do it with the hu on the bottom too. you would need a 7"x4.5" panel to fill the space. if you leave the hu on bottom i would suggest mouting the vafc on the very top edge, leaving 2.5" to mount the guages (.25" vertical clearance on both top and bottom).
10-27-2007, 02:45 PM
#18
i donno, i've had comments from at least 5+ people saying they thought the dead panel was a screen, even when sitting in the passenger seat so I think its a fairly clean transition. however Im going to see if i can file down a good amount off the separators and I am currently making a new panel that will be taller so we'll see how this goes.
my plan, since i'm re-doing this whole thing..is to make the recessed box separate with a flange around the perimeter and pop-rivet it to the face plate. I started thinking if I had a big block of wood it might be easier to work with but..meh..too late now. alright back to work.
my plan, since i'm re-doing this whole thing..is to make the recessed box separate with a flange around the perimeter and pop-rivet it to the face plate. I started thinking if I had a big block of wood it might be easier to work with but..meh..too late now. alright back to work.
10-27-2007, 03:52 PM
#20
what i'm currently doing is trimming at the separating bars like i talked about and making a bigger plate. But I'm open to trying new things if you are confident its a sturdy quality way to do things. I'm not an extreme perfectionist, but I am usually willing to put some more elbow grease into a project if it doesnt cost too much money or time. im just an impatient guy I think. but enlighten me!
10-27-2007, 04:28 PM
#21
use abs plastic rather than metal. get a sheet and score (cut/trace) the outline of the dead area onto it. you can cut it out and bond it to the trim. then you can go over it with filler (fiberglass or plastic), sand it, and paint it. because it is a large open area you might need to attach some kind of support (metal/mdf strips) across the open area. it will look like it left the show room floor like that.
btw... i AM a perfectionist. like i said, as long as your happy with your results that's all that matters.
btw... i AM a perfectionist. like i said, as long as your happy with your results that's all that matters.
10-27-2007, 05:51 PM
#22
use abs plastic rather than metal. get a sheet and score (cut/trace) the outline of the dead area onto it. you can cut it out and bond it to the trim. then you can go over it with filler (fiberglass or plastic), sand it, and paint it. because it is a large open area you might need to attach some kind of support (metal/mdf strips) across the open area. it will look like it left the show room floor like that.
btw... i AM a perfectionist. like i said, as long as your happy with your results that's all that matters.
btw... i AM a perfectionist. like i said, as long as your happy with your results that's all that matters.
I can tell your a perfectionist haha i've been following the LED thread.
anyway i'm about done with it for now...almost have it done as far as the bending and shaping goes
10-27-2007, 07:36 PM
#25
I realize the edge around the opening is a little "rough" but I was using a drill file and it kept catching in the wrong spots. I figured it didnt matter too much since i'll be covering it with leather or some other material eventually. I still have to put velcroe or something on the back of the vafc which will push it out a little bit. The unit feels pretty solid...i'm happy with it. can't wait to get it installed and actually install the VAFC...cover the thing with a black material etc.
oh and btw. there is over 2 inches of room above the vafc for room for gauges. there's more metal folded over on the top if i need to shave more of the trim and extend the plate as well
oh and btw. there is over 2 inches of room above the vafc for room for gauges. there's more metal folded over on the top if i need to shave more of the trim and extend the plate as well
10-28-2007, 09:48 AM
#27
yeah i wasnt going for perfection and towards the end I just wanted to get it in my car so I could go out for the night. some of the edges can be straightened still but even then, I'm going to cover it with material so that should hide most of whats visually unappealing
oh and while looking at gauges (most are 2 1/16) i figured my 2nd gauge will be fuel pressure since I have the regulator in the engine bay and there is basically NO FPR gauges that are 2~inches in size (that go above 15 psi) they are all 1 inch...so i'm not gonna do one 2 inch gauge and one 1 inch gauge that would look stupid. although now I could do 3 gauges since that one is so tiny haha.
oh and while looking at gauges (most are 2 1/16) i figured my 2nd gauge will be fuel pressure since I have the regulator in the engine bay and there is basically NO FPR gauges that are 2~inches in size (that go above 15 psi) they are all 1 inch...so i'm not gonna do one 2 inch gauge and one 1 inch gauge that would look stupid. although now I could do 3 gauges since that one is so tiny haha.
Last edited by chillin014; 10-28-2007 at 09:54 AM.
10-28-2007, 03:08 PM
#28
I took some pictures of it installed on the car. the unit isn't wired up yet so its not turned on but you get the point. and by you, i mean all the thousands of 4th gen-ers who are viewing this thread religiously.
i'll be picking up some material tomorrow, i prefer something with a pattern rather than just flat vinyl. maybe some snake skin hahaha.
anyway here are the pictures.
i'll be picking up some material tomorrow, i prefer something with a pattern rather than just flat vinyl. maybe some snake skin hahaha.
anyway here are the pictures.
10-28-2007, 03:37 PM
#30
. yeah I have put a few switches in that dead panel unfortunately they were never for anything I used that often though. 
10-28-2007, 04:09 PM
#31
I essentially did the same thing about two years ago that you are doing. I was trying to fill the bottom part of my double din on my 3rd Gen to fit my AVC-r. I used the double din strereo bracket to mount the sheet metal, so the stereo and AVC come out together. I cut the sheet metal around where the AVC would go a little smaller, then bent the excess back inside the opening, kinda like a "Z" shape. This allowed my opening to look clean and give something for the AVC to press back against when I push the buttons. I just took some double sided sticky foam around the AVC to attach it to the sheet metal. Here is an image. The metal was simply primered and painted black to match the console.
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...329804_106.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...329804_106.jpg
10-28-2007, 04:47 PM
#32
I essentially did the same thing about two years ago that you are doing. I was trying to fill the bottom part of my double din on my 3rd Gen to fit my AVC-r. I used the double din strereo bracket to mount the sheet metal, so the stereo and AVC come out together. I cut the sheet metal around where the AVC would go a little smaller, then bent the excess back inside the opening, kinda like a "Z" shape. This allowed my opening to look clean and give something for the AVC to press back against when I push the buttons. I just took some double sided sticky foam around the AVC to attach it to the sheet metal. Here is an image. The metal was simply primered and painted black to match the console.
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...329804_106.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...329804_106.jpg
10-29-2007, 08:50 AM
#33
Yeah, the pic is small, really couldn't tell anything unless I had it apart like you have. I think you're on the right track. To clean it up, I'd take some bondo and build up the area around the rivets and the opening to clean it up and maybe make it protrude kinda like the lip/ring around a stereo does to cover the clips holding the CD/Stereo in place. Doing this would clean up the edges, bad cuts, and rivets. I also recommend using semi-gloss black paint, it seems to match the black plastic in our cars better then gloss or flat or semi-flat. Don't use clear coat or it will gloss it up. Mine has withstood years of use with no scratches, but I put it on thick. This may be a cheaper option than covering it with leather or vynal which may cause it to look out of place. I'm looking forward to seeing it when you're done.
The Wideband is PLX. I removed my clock (which most don't work on 3rd gens anymore) and used a hole cutter as well as a soldering iron to get the size/shape I needed to install the guage. Problem with the PLX is that it doesn't have the two protruding screws out it's back for a securing bracket like my Autometer A/F guage did. So, I had to be a little creative in how to secure it from behind.
The Wideband is PLX. I removed my clock (which most don't work on 3rd gens anymore) and used a hole cutter as well as a soldering iron to get the size/shape I needed to install the guage. Problem with the PLX is that it doesn't have the two protruding screws out it's back for a securing bracket like my Autometer A/F guage did. So, I had to be a little creative in how to secure it from behind.
10-29-2007, 09:12 AM
#34
Ah I see I see.
I was going to clean up the edges a little more but yeah it would be nice to have something to build up the edges and imperfections but you think bondo is the right substance? I'm about to hit up hobby lobby in a minute here.
I was going to clean up the edges a little more but yeah it would be nice to have something to build up the edges and imperfections but you think bondo is the right substance? I'm about to hit up hobby lobby in a minute here.
10-29-2007, 06:21 PM
#36
i was at the hobby shop and couldnt find any fiberglass filler.
anyway, this is what i've gotten done today and i'm almost done. there is a small crack in the leather near the edge of the vafc housing that is really bothering me but I might be able to push it over into the housing i'm not sure yet.
first I smoothed out the edges more since I know it looked ugly.
then i covered it with leather using poprivets and some glue...took longer than I expected.
anyway, this is what i've gotten done today and i'm almost done. there is a small crack in the leather near the edge of the vafc housing that is really bothering me but I might be able to push it over into the housing i'm not sure yet.
first I smoothed out the edges more since I know it looked ugly.
then i covered it with leather using poprivets and some glue...took longer than I expected.
10-29-2007, 06:42 PM
#37
looks pretty good. i say slap that in there and then build another one. next time you won't be in such a hurry plus you have a little experience now. i have some ideas on how to get a cleaner result using the same tools and materials if you want to give it another shot.
10-29-2007, 06:45 PM
#38
thanks. well I would give it another shot if I thought it was worth the time...just depends how I feel about it. you can disperse your ideas though...I always get to this point where i've done it, and even if im unhappy with little things, the fact that is done is usually enough to deter me from re-doing it. But I am all ears as far as improving. I would love to get a sheet metal bender as well, and some GOOD sheetmetal, rather than this scrap behind my barn. A welder couldnt hurt either.
10-29-2007, 06:55 PM
#39
When I used to make my own boxes i would put a thin layer of foam fabrick before the leather to make a less suttle look on the 90 degree turns and it also covers any imperfections in your work!
my 2 cents
my 2 cents