Finally started working on my center console

Tim65GT · Jan 17, 2006

I wish I had the patience for all that sanding. Fiberglass is cool for custom work.

I made my frame out of 3/8" plywood 'cause I needed it to "flex" a bit as it transitioned from 5" wide between the seats to about 8" wide where it meets the dash. I glued 1/8" closed cell foam to it and then black vinyl to the foam. It wraps around and is stapled to the inside.

View attachment 490762

The center is made of 3 pieces of finished oak. The front is cut to accept the air vents from the Vintage Air system I installed back in April. I didn't like the way the micro-switches controlled the compressor, so I added my own switch from a Mazda 323.

The center section has the opening for the Shifter and two cup holders.

The third section has a set of switches from a 82 Thunderbird that are going to control the electric locks (also from the Thunderbird and havn't been installed yet) and electric windows which will be much further in the future.

The top armrest/CD storage lid is at the upholstery shop that did my seats. I'm having it done profesionally since it's probably the most prominant part of it and I want it to match the seats with vinyl on the sides and cloth on top.

I hope to find some kind of plastic bin that will drop into the storage area to give it a nice finished look. (good fiberglass project?)

The door lock relays are mounted at the bottom of the storage area and the wiring harness includes two plugs for easy removal.

I should get more pics up soon.

66moneypit · Jan 18, 2006

iskwezm said:
the hardest part is making the framework,stretch fleec over it,resin it, start adding mat for strength if needed, then bondo to smooth it out then sand ,sand,sand and sand some more

I will have to read up on how to do all this stuff. I am going to make my own that is....

Any sites you recommend for a tuturial ? How much does bondo cost anyway ?

iskwezm · Jan 18, 2006

66moneypit said:
I will have to read up on how to do all this stuff. I am going to make my own that is....

Any sites you recommend for a tuturial ? How much does bondo cost anyway ?

bond is cheap,maybe 10-15 bucks a gallon?, but Rage Gold sands the easiest.

try this for ideashttp://web.njit.edu/~cas1383/proj/main/

Tim65GT · Jan 18, 2006

Hey, nice link for fiberglass ideas and techniques.

Here are some more pics of mine for some possible ideas (without fiberglass).

View attachment 490747

View attachment 490749

View attachment 490751

View attachment 490753

View attachment 490754

The stainless steel strips cover the transition of the sections. They are from a early 70's Maverick that has similar dash trim as the Mustang except more straight.

The bezels are made from 1/8" aluminum plate and are recessed into the wood. The PRNDL indicator is larger to match the longer throw of the shifter.

I put a small red LED in the middle of the switches behind the bezel to light it up at night.

I still have to make a shifter boot, get the arm rest/lid and mount it.

hooking up the interface plug wiring is something I'm not looking foward to. I might pull the driver seat to make it easier to get under the dash.

66moneypit · Jan 18, 2006

Think you both are inspiring me to do my own now . I did have one question though, how did guys go about measuring the hump for fitment.
I noticed you both have a slight curve on the bottom.

frost0100 · Jan 18, 2006

what about mounting it to the floor? how are you guys going about that?

iskwezm · Jan 18, 2006

frost0100 said:
what about mounting it to the floor? how are you guys going about that?

Mine actually gets "wedged" under the dash and the speaker box holds it,but i have cross braces that i put a screw down through to the floor

Tim65GTThats a nice console you made,the only problem I see eith that is if it was in my car,when im bagning the gears, i know i would bang my elbow too But very nice work

Tim65GT · Jan 18, 2006

Posted by 66moneypit:

how did guys go about measuring the hump for fitment.

I used thick cardboard as a template. I kept trimming with a box knife 'til each side had the right curve on the bottom.

If I was thinking, I would have copied the curve from the factory console before I sold it on eBay.

Posted by 66moneypit:

what about mounting it to the floor? how are you guys going about that?

My original console had 4 or 6 screws (can't remember) that went through the sides, then carpet, underlayment and into the hump. Those holes were filled when I had the interior gutted.

I fastened two cross braces at the bottom of each end just high enough (If I measured right) to run a screw through them straight down into the hump. The back one should be easy cause it's accessable through the storage bin area. The front is going to be hard, cause it's partway under the dash.

Anyway I just picked up my console lid/Armrest from the upholstery shop:

View attachment 490736

It matches my seats with the same cloth on top, so I don't scorch my arm in the blazing hot summers here:

View attachment 490738

I wish I specified which direction to put the pattern, cause if you notice it's east-wast not north-south Oh well, gotta get to work on the hinges.

geostang351 · Jan 18, 2006

You had a fifty shot and lost. Don't go to the casino's

Tim65GT · Jan 18, 2006

Quote by isqwezm:

Tim65GTThats a nice console you made,the only problem I see eith that is if it was in my car,when im bagning the gears, i know i would bang my elbow too But very nice work

I just have a C4, so that's not a problem. If I upgrade to a OD trans, it'll prob be a AOD. Just keep it simple. If I did go to a stick, I think I'd get used to lifting my elbow.

I used to have a 4 speed (almost 20 years ago) and loved rowing through the gears. It was worth the clutch changes.

MustangMatt1966 · Jan 18, 2006

yeah, i was gonna say, kinda hard to bang the gears on an auto

mudbilly · Jan 19, 2006

Tim65GT said:
Posted by 66moneypit:

View attachment 490682

that is AWESOME.............

Tim65GT · Jan 19, 2006

Thanks!

I made a couple hardwood glue blocks for the hinges yesterday and while they were setting up, I wasted about an hour and a half trying to sew up a shift boot. Instead, I simply did this with a piece of matching vinyl:

View attachment 490680

It will still allow small items to drop through, but it hides the ugly.

krash kendall · Jan 19, 2006

How did you make the indicator lense? U/V reactive plexi and stencils?

Tim65GT · Jan 19, 2006

Posted by Krash Kendall:

How did you make the indicator lense? U/V reactive plexi and stencils?

U/V what?

No, I tried to have a local engraving place laser cut PRND21 into nametage material, but go all the way through. After two weeks, they called and said they couldn't get the machine to do it. Although they showed me some examples where it cut all the way through, it wasn't letters.

So... I went the low buck approach. I used acetate (old overhead viewgraph sheets meant for printing) and made up a design on powerpoint. It printed ok, just took a long time to dry. I then sealed it with 2" clear packaging tape. and trimmed it to fit in the recess I routed out of the wood. I drilled holes under each letter so the shift indicator light underneath can illuminate each Letter.

A piece of small plexi covers it and the bezel holds it all in place.

View attachment 490678

I have the whole console in place now, but haven't fastened it or hooked up any of the wiring. I'll post again with some night shots, when I get it all worked out.

So what is U/V reactive plexi and is it something that can be done at home?

1320stang · Jan 19, 2006

Tim, that's awesome. How well does the Oak match the woodgrain on your dash?

krash kendall · Jan 19, 2006

Tim65GT said:
Posted by Krash Kendall:

U/V what?

So what is U/V reactive plexi and is it something that can be done at home?

When I was in electronics we used some different methods for developing pc boards, decals, and plexi. We would bake U/V reactive lacquer on the boards then lay a transparent template of our board design (made of special tape strips and 'doughnuts') over the board and place under a U/V light to develope. The portions covered by the template would not develope and would be protected so we could wash the exposed copper off in an acid bath leaving our pc trace.

Decals and smoked plexi were slightly different. A red label, for example, would have the transparency with letters (eg: ABC) on it and be placed under a light. The unprotected area would develope and remain red while ABC, having not been exposed to the light, would wash off in the developing bath revealing the white underneath.

Hefe · Jan 19, 2006

TIM65GT

Hey Tim what seats are those? They look great! I have a 65 too, and was thinking about what to replace the orginals with.

Tim65GT · Jan 19, 2006

Posted by 1320stang:

Tim, that's awesome. How well does the Oak match the woodgrain on your dash?

Not too good, the wood I used on the gage assy and the glove box door was pre-finished 3/16" stuff I had laying around.

I could probably sand it and use the same finishing materials and tecnique for them to match, but to match the grain also, I would have to replace them with the same oak. More projects down the road to keep me busy playing with my toy...

Tim65GT · Jan 19, 2006

Posted by Krash:

When I was in electronics we used some different methods for developing pc boards, decals, and plexi. We would bake U/V reactive lacquer on the boards then lay a transparent template of our board design (made of special tape strips and 'doughnuts') over the board and place under a U/V light to develope. The portions covered by the template would not develope and would be protected so we could wash the exposed copper off in an acid bath leaving our pc trace.

Decals and smoked plexi were slightly different. A red label, for example, would have the transparency with letters (eg: ABC) on it and be placed under a light. The unprotected area would develope and remain red while ABC, having not been exposed to the light, would wash off in the developing bath revealing the white underneath.

Interesting, Thanks for the info. Sounds like more than something I could do at home.

Posted by Hefe:

Hey Tim what seats are those? They look great! I have a 65 too, and was thinking about what to replace the orginals with.

I friend gave them to me from his '88 Mustang GT. I removed the headrests and had them reupholstered like this about a year ago:

My original sliders had to be modified slightly:

And I had to tap the closest hole in the bottom of the frame:

Here you can see why I left the headrests off:

IMO they were just too big, tall and bulky. The seat back by itself is already tall enough for my daughter (5'2") and that was one of the reasons for the updated seats. Of course the other reason was this:

Finally started working on my center console

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