Wow. This is impressive. How did it turn out? Any pics?
Center Console Build w/ 4 Cupholders!
- Thread starter SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr
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- #22
Still working on it. I haven't gotten much done because I ran out of welding gas last weekend, but I made another cardboard template for the top piece that I will likely cut out and bend up later tonight or tomorrow.
Last night I welded up the entire bottom and I have been putting bondo around all the seams for a smooth appearance that should make it easy to wipe clean. The Tuffy consoles have 90* edges which hold dust and stuff.
I also started looking for a cheaper and locally available alternative to Dynamat and found this "Wrap-On Insulfoil" at Ace. It was only $25 for a 12" by 15' roll so I figured why not.
I looked at "Peel and Seal" at Lowe's but it didn't look like it would have handled heat and noise very well. I ended up putting Insulfoil in both floorboards, underneath the driver's seat, and underneath the console area. I still have a ton left and I will likely end up costing the underside of the console and underneath the shifter surrounds.
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@SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr Dude that is going to be sick when it is done. what finish are you going to put on it? i love the switches. hopefully you are keeping the template you used to make this with.
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- #24
I'm definitely keeping the templates. They aren't exact, but pretty close to the final pieces I am using. I thought about cutting out all the pieces to build one more, but it's pretty time consuming to free hand most of this stuff with a plasma cutter and then smooth down all the edges.
If I had a cnc plasma table I would probably end up making these to sell.
Hopefully within the next couple weeks I'll be done and it will be installed. Right now I'm thinking about painting it with a "Wrinkle" black paint that looks similar to the textured powder coat on Wagongear's tailgate storage lids. Not really sure about doing flat black, gloss black, bedliner, or matching it to the factory gray color. I'm going to have a matching gray leather armrest on top so that might be a cool contrast with the wrinkle black.
I cut out and bent up the top piece tonight. I still have some grinding to do, but it's 90% there. I'll be adding some more bondo to the inside tomorrow morning and might look at welding the top on tomorrow.
Then I need to figure out the lid/hinge, and see if I can fit a Wit's End console organizer in there, but other than those minor things I have everything else to complete it.
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Well done Sir. Well done. Looks like a lot of hard work here. In the end it will be worth it. You will have the best console on the trail. Keep showing off those pics. Ill be checking for the end results. I like your idea about the rino liner style finish. That will look sweet.
How about making it three layers with three compartments horizontally.
One layer level to the cup holders and working as a safe. The second level with the switches and finally your top lid. Also think about extending your armrest slightly longer than the current opening to be a more comfortable length for your arm.
Will also remove the blue glare from the switches at night.
Could also use the extended arm rest as a place to lay down and charge your phone.
One layer level to the cup holders and working as a safe. The second level with the switches and finally your top lid. Also think about extending your armrest slightly longer than the current opening to be a more comfortable length for your arm.
Will also remove the blue glare from the switches at night.
Could also use the extended arm rest as a place to lay down and charge your phone.
I agree...
Have you considered a separate top box that hinges up like the factory center box.
Cut your box down 3-4 inches weld in a floor hinges on the back... and your over all height would stay the same. Just my 2 cent
I like where you're going with this
Lou
- Thread starter
- #28
I haven't been able to do anything on the console in awhile. I plan to get back to work on it Wednesday afternoon.
I'm not worried about the glare from the switches at all. They aren't very bright and are only on when the switch is on. The angle is gentle too so the switches are easily reached. I could have gone with a severe angle like the cup holders, but thought this might be more ergonomic.
I am planning on putting a near vertical wall that will bolt in to keep things from sliding into the wires of all the switches that will be hanging down. Then if I need to remove the console I just unbolt this front internal wall and have easy access to all the wiring.
I will have a horizontal floor internally that divides it into two compartments, but I'm not sure if I want to hinge it or use something that falls into place like the middle console divider in the 100 series Land Cruisers. I'm not overly worried about organization for small things as I don't really keep small things in my console to begin with, and which ever Wit's End organizer that ends up fitting should hold that stuff nicely.
My main goal is to be able to store cameras, gps units, and electronics securely while leaving the truck in the middle of the back country while out hiking/biking. Usually I am hiding these things in strange places as the regular console barely holds my gopro case.
That's a good idea, but I want to keep it simple. I also have 1" tweeters that will be going up towards the top on the sides, and I would not want them on a hinged lid with wires in the way.
I'm not worried about the glare from the switches at all. They aren't very bright and are only on when the switch is on. The angle is gentle too so the switches are easily reached. I could have gone with a severe angle like the cup holders, but thought this might be more ergonomic.
I am planning on putting a near vertical wall that will bolt in to keep things from sliding into the wires of all the switches that will be hanging down. Then if I need to remove the console I just unbolt this front internal wall and have easy access to all the wiring.
I will have a horizontal floor internally that divides it into two compartments, but I'm not sure if I want to hinge it or use something that falls into place like the middle console divider in the 100 series Land Cruisers. I'm not overly worried about organization for small things as I don't really keep small things in my console to begin with, and which ever Wit's End organizer that ends up fitting should hold that stuff nicely.
My main goal is to be able to store cameras, gps units, and electronics securely while leaving the truck in the middle of the back country while out hiking/biking. Usually I am hiding these things in strange places as the regular console barely holds my gopro case.
That's a good idea, but I want to keep it simple. I also have 1" tweeters that will be going up towards the top on the sides, and I would not want them on a hinged lid with wires in the way.
- Thread starter
- #30
There are many reasons. I would suggest Googling "car audio speaker placement" and read a few articles. Sound quality would be horrible at that location. Even if you don't care at all about sound quality and just want it loud that still isn't a good location. The speaker will be facing directly at your side even if you build a pod to aim the tweeter. Ideally you would have an equal length between the left and right speaker and your head. People also have a better sense of where higher frequency sounds are coming from. Your midrange and tweeter are best placed close together or sharing the same axis. If you put a tweeter facing the driver in the console (presumably wired to the right channel), the difference in distance between the tweeter and midrange mounted in the door and you head will be too great. Also, because the tweeter will not be able to be aimed directly at you, your listening position will be off axis from the tweeter itself which depending on the speaker can cause uneven frequency response. You may also induce some weird echo effects since you will also have a tweeter wired to the left channel facing the passenger. You will hear the reflection of this in your right ear.
I would suggest at minimum wiring up the tweeter and listening to it there and other places before committing to placement.
@SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr How is it coming along? What did you decide on regarding the tweeters?
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- #33
Tonight was the first night in about a week I've been able to work on it. It is all welded up and I have the lid traced up and hopefully I will be ready to cut and bend it up tomorrow after class. Hopefully I will have the lid on tomorrow along with the lock. Then I will know if I will be able to fit a Wit's End console organizer.
With regards to the tweeters, I am going to put them in the kick panels. I've also decided and been researching amp set ups, and plan to get a 4 channel amp with 75 rms at 4 ohms for the Kicker KS65s in the doors and a 1 channel 150rms amp for my small 6.5" Kicker sub in the back.
Because it's a 4 channel amp I was unsure of what to do with the dash speakers and the best way to wire in the tweeters, so what I've decided to do is run the dash speakers off the original wiring without an amp, and pull the old front door speaker wires out of the doors and use those for the tweeters.
I pulled my passenger dash panel off to look at the 4" speaker in there because I left it alone when I did all the speaker and head unit work, and it amazed me at how bad it was. I ordered a pair of Kicker KS40s and installed one on the passenger side and the difference is night and day.
I also realized how much I like my air compressor switch by my air gauge so I'm going to leave it out of the 6 gang rocker switch holder and order a rock light switch to replace it on the holder. I will take out the old air compressor switch and put the new one in so they are all the same style. Since I'm ordering a rock light switch I am going to be ordering another set of cheap eBay lights that were bought for a house, and use them as rock lights.
Undecided on if I want to do the cool white or try and keep a period correct warm light right now.
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- Thread starter
- #34
Had to buy a 3" hole saw to cut out the cupholders so I did that today. Then I added a metal clip spot to hang garage door openers, hand held cbs, knives, or whatever else I might need to hang on the outside for quick access.
Cup holders tilt slightly forward to allow a phone mount to be mounted on the slanted plate just behind the cup holders.
I also got the lid cut out and completed bending the front and sides. Bending the lid was a little tricky and I ended up cutting out another lid. I will look at welding the corners of the lid up tomorrow, trimming down those edges, and installing the hinge.
I'm unsure if I want to use a piano hinge like Tuffy uses, or use a pair of hinges that can hold the lid open at fully extension. I feel like that's a more useful option while the piano hinge is a cleaner and more secure option. If I went with a pair of hinges, that would mean more space for the Wit's End console organizer because I wouldn't need a limiting cord.
I also ordered two amps, a Kicker KX400.4 amp and a Kicker CX300.1, a rock light rocker switch, and two 20 piece strands of LEDs in the cool white as rock/light the ground up at camp lights. I still need to figure which gauge of wires I need to run for the amps, and a good rca cable brand.
Cup holders tilt slightly forward to allow a phone mount to be mounted on the slanted plate just behind the cup holders.
I also got the lid cut out and completed bending the front and sides. Bending the lid was a little tricky and I ended up cutting out another lid. I will look at welding the corners of the lid up tomorrow, trimming down those edges, and installing the hinge.
I'm unsure if I want to use a piano hinge like Tuffy uses, or use a pair of hinges that can hold the lid open at fully extension. I feel like that's a more useful option while the piano hinge is a cleaner and more secure option. If I went with a pair of hinges, that would mean more space for the Wit's End console organizer because I wouldn't need a limiting cord.
I also ordered two amps, a Kicker KX400.4 amp and a Kicker CX300.1, a rock light rocker switch, and two 20 piece strands of LEDs in the cool white as rock/light the ground up at camp lights. I still need to figure which gauge of wires I need to run for the amps, and a good rca cable brand.
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- #36
watching.
- Thread starter
- #38
I finished welding up the lid, then ground it as smooth as possible.
All I have left is to trim the lid shorter as it is too long on the backside and then it will be ready to mount. I'm having trouble finding a black piano hinge. I bought a stainless one at Lowe's but I'm afraid the paint won't hold very long if I paint it. I'm having trouble finding a reasonably priced black piano hinge that isn't overkill. There's several on Amazon, but $40 for a 6 foot hinge isn't needed.
The amps also came in along with the rock light switch. Now I'm just waiting on the wiring parts, and rock lights.
Hopefully I can get a piano/continuous hinge soon and get that done this weekend.
All I have left is to trim the lid shorter as it is too long on the backside and then it will be ready to mount. I'm having trouble finding a black piano hinge. I bought a stainless one at Lowe's but I'm afraid the paint won't hold very long if I paint it. I'm having trouble finding a reasonably priced black piano hinge that isn't overkill. There's several on Amazon, but $40 for a 6 foot hinge isn't needed.
The amps also came in along with the rock light switch. Now I'm just waiting on the wiring parts, and rock lights.
Hopefully I can get a piano/continuous hinge soon and get that done this weekend.
Is the plan to put the amps in the console as well?
Are you painting or powder coating this thing? You can powder coat the hinge so long as there is enough space between the knuckles. Also, get them from McMaster-Carr ready to go in black: http://www.mcmaster.com/#piano-hinges/=y31s3h