Printer Friendly Forum Posts - First Console, Pics

for a 92 caprice wagon. Turned out better than i thought it would, especially the paint...u can tell from the pics that it has a diffferent color in the light which is pretty cool,the color is black saphire (something like that) just a spray can with motomaster clearcoat cause thats what i had kicking around. i still have to make a padded leather armrest for it which will slide over the non-painted board thats there...i have a blue neon under the board that is there though and the wiring runs through the MDF...i ground a hole and stapled the wire in place (didnt staple through the wire) then filled it over with Rage. all i have to do is polish the console, finish the armrest and secure it in place.

posted_image

I like what I see. Did you paint it yourself? If so did you use a gun?

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(1) Kenwood Excelon Head Unit KDC-X589 (24 bit Burr Brown DAC, 3 X 4 volt RCA).
(1) RF Punch 250A2 - running the components.
(1) Hifonics 6.5" Atlas Components (18db crossovers).

Nice job, I really like the design! Keep up the good work and post a pic of the finished piece with the armrest.

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In a world full of copycats, it's great to be an original!

Thats looks really nice man. Awesome job.

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Learning the trade one fiberglass creation at a time!

Damn thats a really nice piece. I had to relocate my stereo to the bottom of my console on my Accord and stick in a panel with switches for my air ride. When I stop being lazy, I need to make it look neater with a touch of fiberglass work. posted_image

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Im a fiberglass whore!!

thanks guys. The paint is rattle can paint...i dont like to use the gun for such small projects cause i hate cleaning the gun and all that stuff, but the console is a lot shinier in person...the flash sorta gets rid of the glossy look, but it brings out the other color nice so i used it...

I have a question for u guys to help me figgure out what to do with the hole in my dash where the stock radio was. If u look in the 4th pic, u can see a hole in the dash (the woodgrain area) and it has a piece of paper in it, i'm not sure if i should make a piece and install a tach in there or just make a little cubby to stick stuff in cause the console doesnt have that. I'm selling the car when these 2 projects are done, should i put my name on it or something?

I would say make a pocket. nice work for spray can.

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(1) Kenwood Excelon Head Unit KDC-X589 (24 bit Burr Brown DAC, 3 X 4 volt RCA).
(1) RF Punch 250A2 - running the components.
(1) Hifonics 6.5" Atlas Components (18db crossovers).

thanks us_test. I'll do a pocket then, how much of an angle should it be at, or should i just make a lip at the front of it so nothing falls out?

Nice job, I like the arm rest. Looking to do something similar to my 95 caprice.

how did you sequre the stereo man? i'm starting to hate myself trying to come up with a good way to make sure mine doesn't go missing.

~~Vinn

That looks absolutely incredible! Did you build that whole piece from scratch? Or did you build on to a factory piece? Either way you did a great job.

Steven Kephart

Adire Audio

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hey Vinn...i secured the stereo by gluing/nailing a piece of 1/2" thick wood on the desired angle and then screwing in the metal case that the actual player slides and locks into (not sure what its called, lol) with flathead screws...pretty simple...if that made sense.

thanks Steven. The entire console was made from scratch...started with the base and sides so i could get the angle right, then i measured out the length and hight that the armrests had to be and roughed out a quick design..glued and nailed it all together, then did the wood for the cd player, the cupholders and then staple/glued the fleece followed by the resin and filler and sanding and primer and paint and polishing n stuff.

I would say make a little cubby hole/storage bend. Add a little lite that comes on with the interior lights and then your done.

That console is sweet... keep up the work...

hey thats an awesome idea with the light...i'll do that. the cubby hole thing is built and i'm just going to fleece it or something, but yea...i never thought of a light. Is there anything wrong with hooking up a neon to the int light? Not sure if the lower voltage is good or not for it.

great job! What kind of paint and where did you get it? What steps did you take in painting it? Primer, paint sand, etc. etc.. thanks! Share the wealth!

technically - in an untechnical way - i had a pair of neons connected directly to my dome lamp for the longest time.... 3 years? 93 pontiac sunbird. never once had a problem. *Shrugs* Technically, however, its ideal to put 'accessories' that piss off the cops on their own circuits, using a relay triggered by the dome lamp wire/interior lamp wires to activate your neon affects. also, you can incorporate a switch, to allow for the mood lighting to be active even if the dome lamps are off.

~~Vinn

paint is called -Black Sapphire- and the steps to painting it after finishing off the console with 280 gritt are 3 coats filler primer sanding with 280 between coats, and then wetsanding with 600 on the last coat. Sprayed the color on 2 full wetcoats and wetsanded again with 600 and then put on a final 2 wetcoats. i also clearcoated it after letting the paint dry and roughing it up with 1000 , just 3 coats with about 15 min between coats so it was still tacky.

i wasnt sure if i should put a switch in to turn the light off and on, but yea i could hook up a relay as it seems like a pretty simple setup, thanks for the idea. I gotta get my *** in gear and finish off the armrest and pocket, but i picked up the material a couple days ago so i just have to get cracking now.

well i got the armrest done. Gotta say i hate working vinyl around curves. I did 2 layers of padding (the pillow stuffing stuff) i think it woulda looked better with the edges rounded off but the router wasnt working.

posted_image

I also got the pocket done, just a little 1/8" box covered in black fleece, but it looks pretty good when theres something in it (otherwise it looks like a black hole unless the light is on)

now i just have to worry about selling the car.

i like it, what made you decide to move your radio down there if you had nothign to put up top?

just curious, most people move their radio's down ther because they are putting tv's up there and need the space or something... anyways, tv's are always an idea to take up space :-D

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Bad Boys Customs
audio - video - security

If you use it. Suport it. Donate to the 12 volt!

i wanted to do the center console first, but i wanted to make it with a cd player in it. At first i was going to put a tach where the old radio was but did a pocket instead (good choice guys). I dont regret doing the pocket where the old radio was instead of in the console. either way i would have had to do something where the old radio was since the radio is twice as tall as the cd player. I like the setup, its pretty comfortable having the pocket up top and the cd player lower down. I personally dont like tv's in cars unless its for the kids or something (which i dont have anyways, lol) If i was keeping the car i would have put the tach in though. Right now its up for sale.