renew the original central consoles of a non-AC car

deQuincey

deQuincey

Quousque tandem...?
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just in the process of doing some interior elements, i know my car is a bit different i have to renew the lateral panels of the central console

it is essentially a non-AC car but with and odd aftermarket AC that was probably installed in 1974, lateral cuts are not very nice, but it has the advantage of the more beautiful central console área of the non-AC version

this is it:





wanted to renew them in nice new vinyl

the main issue is that the lateral panels are not flat, they have a slight bent in top área, that is the key business of this job.



draw the contours.




so cut the panels:








in order to bend the panel use a file and make a channel





and use a bit of wood



forcé it into the cannel



glue it together for super strong finish



see the angle that you have to achieve






done,a nice solution from the 70-ties



 
Jesus it seems the old pieces were done by you also. are you improving on your own work now? did you run out of things to do on your car? if so, would you restore my cars if I bring them to spain? ;)
 
Kizilsakal said:
Jesus it seems the old pieces were done by you also. are you improving on your own work now? did you run out of things to do on your car? if so, would you restore my cars if I bring them to spain? ;)
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ha,ha, noooo the old pieces that are now in the car are the original parts that were cut to accomodate the odd AC evaporator, so 40 years use left some dents and defects that i want to correct now

you were right that i did recently brand new consoles for a stock AC install

the point is that i do not really know which way to go, refresh the odd but period correct AC installation that leaves me enough space for my gauges, probably this will be the way, or, install the original AC including the horrible central grille that will force me to abandon the gauges, not likely...

i am trying to keep this as it is now, but with the AC blowing fresh air too

 
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LenS said:
Absolutely beautiful work Jesus! Now how are you going to reproduce the vinyl covering?
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thanks Len,
as to the material to cover them, i do have a roll of vinyl that looks very much the same as the original, it has a very nice texture, colour and feels like the dashboard pieces, i did that in the AC version panels, and the result was lovely, so i expect a similar result here,
i will cut the patterns and sewn them, then i have to open a bit the rubber channels to let the joint line come into them, and finally some staples will do the job

but prior to that i will have to work a bit more on the wood, and to bring the aluminium trim lines to polish and re-anodize

still a lot to do
 
Jesus, I have a tiny piece (3mm x 3mm) missing from the corner of one of my panels, luckily not where the faux stitching is. They're otherwise perfect. Any ideas about how to touch this up? I was thinking about trying liquid vinyl, the kind used for dipping tool handles...
 
LenS said:
Jesus, I have a tiny piece (3mm x 3mm) missing from the corner of one of my panels, luckily not where the faux stitching is. They're otherwise perfect. Any ideas about how to touch this up? I was thinking about trying liquid vinyl, the kind used for dipping tool handles...
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probably yes, liquid leather, or liquid vinyl, but maybe easier than that, what about a touch of paint ? i mean if you see a clear hole i would paint it
 
deQuincey said:
probably yes, liquid leather, or liquid vinyl, but maybe easier than that, what about a touch of paint ? i mean if you see a clear hole i would paint it
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I tried paint, but it would need many, many coats before the uneveness between vinyl and wood disappears. That's why I thought something with a bit more viscosity...
 
adapted shape to AC evaporator



place the front rubber profile



i have found two different ways of producing this shape



place the foam



polish the trim alu profile





as mentioned the right specimen was made in a different way so i have to reproduce the LH idea, using this special adhesive that really glues rubber strongly i prepared the top corner



 
I'm not sure about others, but my center console side parts were not made of fiberboard. They appeared to be multiple parts glued together in a jig of some kind using actual grained wood pieces. I also found the signature of the worker that made it and the part "born-on" date written in pencil.
 
Looks fantastic, how do you put the chrome trim on without bending it? I am doing the same, but find it very hard to put the trim on
 
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