Custom centre console

[smokey]

Hey guys, I'm looking at building a custom centre console for my VG ute, It's a column shift auto with VS buckets in place of the old bench seat.. What I'm going to do is swap the standard ute centre dash panel and stereo surround for the one out of a wagon so that the standard centre console will meet up with the dash properly.. Then comes a bit of cutting and shutting, I'm going to cut the back half off where the arm rest is and replace that with an 8 litre waeco or engel fridge and fibreglass it to the front half of the standard centre console.. Then I will fibreglass over the hole where the floor shifter would normally go and where you would find the hand brake in a sedan.. Holes will be cut for 2 4" speakers that will be mounted side by side in the front section of the console, then it will all be painted along with the bottom half of my dash, glovebox, fuse box cover, etc. I'm wondering if anyone can see any problems that I might come across? Or any suggestions would be good.. cheers

 

[ari666]

the frame will be the make-or-break of this project. you cant rely solely on fibreglass, its just not strong enough. make a nice solid frame with plenty of mounting points before you go cutting anything.


personally i wouldve stuck with the bench/column, but whatever man

 

[smokey]

Sorry, I probably should have explained that everything will be reinforced with a steel frame (boilermaker by trade), and yes I would have prefered the bench seat, but when I bought the ute the bench was gone and had buckets and it was hard to find a bench in good nick for a good price.. The column shift is staying, as is the handbrake on the RHS of the drivers seat, so the centre console is 100% customizable.. Basing it on the standard centre console and lower dash seems like the best and cheapest option.. I've swapped the centre dash panel from the wagon to ute, but I'm having trouble with the a/c switch, so thats something that needs looking into.. no biggy

 

[smokey]

I also have a 3.3/4" tach that im thinking about incorperating into the mould at the front on the passanger side... Yes, yes, I know its an auto, but I have a brand new $90 tacho sitting there, I might aswell use it... I've also done a few measurements and found that the 4" speakers won't fit side by side with the covers on so im looking at a different location or possibly installing in the dash where they would be standard.. And after a bit of a yarn with mates tonight we have decided to install LED lights in the tray (3 in total) and hard wiring them all along with the fridge and having on/off switches where the speakers were going to sit.. As you can probably tell, my post was based on a picture in my head, haha.. but all will work out well and be done properly.. I'll post pics when complete

 

[ari666]

found that the 4" speakers won't fit side by side with the covers on

will they fit if you recess them a little?

 

[smokey]

They might but I can't be sure until I clean it all up and work out where everything will go.. I have 11 inches at the widest point at the front of the centre console and i need a minimum of 11 inches to fit the 2 speakers.. So I think i'll just work that one out as I go, even if I can find a way to fit them I don't think it would look any good, they will look out of place in other words