custom center console fab

[Seanz0rz]

not sure if this is more the fab forum or 3rd gen 4runner, but here goes.

started my center console fab today. after living with that useless POS they called a console from the factory for over a year, i decided to junk it and start fresh. the design goals are: cupholders for both front and rear passengers, since i knifed the front cupholders that were broken anyway; a new home for my carpc; a better designed arm rest, something close to my arm, not 2 inches too low; and finally, get rid of the cracked armrest! it will also house a number of switches both for the computer and for general control of the vehicle electrical systems(whatever that is?).

Construction:
the basic frame is being made of 3/4" x 3/4" x 1/16" square tube. its both light weight and strong. it will be covered in fiberglass, and painted black.

ok, enough alphanumeric characters, heres what you want, the pics. the black pieces of tape roughly represent the placement of mounting tabs that will be 1/8" plate

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0254.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0253.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0252.jpg


ill have plans up after im done with the fab, incase you want to make your own :) more progress tomorrow and in the coming week. hoping to have it at leastly mostly completed by pismo on the 12th.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Off to a good start Sean, keep it up!! Can't wait to see it finished

[rocket]

I love your ingenuity but your almost crazy for doing this. Besides the rare SAS and dual cased 3rd gens, your prob the first one wiling to scrap the factory console. Looking forward to seeing the progress!

[Bob98SR5]

sean,

looking fwd to seeing what you build. good luck!

oh, are you going to make it a lockable storage unit? I hope you do because I've thought about building a lockable storage bin after some scumbag valet stole my gerber gator knife a few years back

bob

[Seanz0rz]

im thinking about making it lockable. problems i see is that the outer shell will be fiberglass (at least for now) and that isnt the most secure thing in the world. the idea for this is the whole shell can be lifted off to service parts underneith.

i wont have a ton of space for storage because the computer will take up quite a bit of room. im hoping i at least get some time to make the mounting tabs and brackets and test fit the computer case. im not sure if i should just mount the cage to the unit with screws so it can be removed, or make it slide out for easy maintence. im thinking the former for security and fab reasons.

hopefully more pics later today! thanks for the kind words.

[Bob98SR5]

why not spot weld 1/16" plate or thinner? drill holes in the outer 1/16 metal about 1 to 1.5" from each other and spot weld.

[Seanz0rz]

ive decide to cover it in the 22 guage sheetmetal i have lying around.

didnt get to work on it today, had another project to do :roll: but ill get to it tomorrow. i miss having a console, seats, a computer, a vehicle. lol. i plan on having it in by wednesday. lots of pics by tomorrow night.

[Seanz0rz]

sadly no updates today. long story. anyway.

i do have this to say. it will be done tomorrow!

[Seanz0rz]

well, i am finally "done"

when i say done, im done with what i wanted/able to complete.

so i got the motherboard try welded in, mounting plates in, drilled and mounted to the vehicle. plus the driverside panel has been welded on, though its not pretty.

i negelected to realize the cables for my dc-dc power supply were so short, so i had to modify my plans for mounting. right now i have NO clue where it will be mounted, currently its just sitting there. i ran out of light, and was too tired and stinky to work. i got tired of grinding, and was sensing some hostility creeping over the fence, so i got just what i needed to done.

ill give you pictures now:

oh and ignore the orange... long story

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0255.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0256.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0257.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0258.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0260.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0262.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0266.jpg

as it sits now:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0271.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0272.jpg

and my kitty loves having the passenger seat in the living room!
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/100_0265.jpg

[Marc P]

I hope you add some padding....looks like a "funny bone" killer.

[Seanz0rz]

yea there will be a plastic tray in the top, with a flip up armrest. that will probably be next week.

[blknblu]

some scumbag valet stole my gerber gator knife a few years back

bob



What?!? How can this be? Oh wait... you only got your "num chucks" recently. I forgot.

[Rock Slide]

Sean, cool idea...I have enjoyed the build progess thus far. :D

Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[Erich_870]

Looking cool! Something to think about as the project progress is keeping templates and measurements of the pieces that work so we can all have somewhere to start :angel: Those irregular lines along the bottom where the console will meet the floor and carpet will probably take several tries.

Secondly, what kind of housing are you planning for your car-puter? Do you plan to address vibration isolation/damping, etc?

Just wondered :)

Erich

[04 Rocko Taco]

Hey Sean, off topic hijack, but do you have a pic of your Stock console, and what are your plans for it? i am looking for one VERY similar to that of my 04 Taco, to retro into my '84 Runner.

[Seanz0rz]

to chris: not sure how similar they are, but youll get a pm eventually.

the sheetmetal on the left side is... well, amature. it will be redone after pismo, as im not happy with the result.

the computer is screwed into the orange piece of metal, right now the power supply is held on by a zip tie and some cardboard, the harddrive is actually shock mounted on memory foam. it will asorb shock but not bounce.

once i get back from pismo a full solidworks drawing is going to be done of all parts, except maybe the sheetmetal work on the outside.

i got the computer in and found my soundcard is toast. trying to track down a new one that is usb to avoid the problems with the pci slot ive had previously.

keep the comments and tips coming, i appreciate them!

[neliconcept]

you gonna close up the computer? might want to with all the sand, dont wanna kill the parts

[Seanz0rz]

yea, ok long time no update, been doing other stuff. but in that time i learned some valuable things. one, its just a tad too wide, two, it was about an inch too high, three, the ebrake would work best if it was modified the same way for a 99 console.

so the ebrake mod is coming up, no point in documenting that as its clearly outlined in bob's guide on swapping in a 99 console. i chose not to narrow the width on mine, as it was acceptable (if i do produce these, i will narrow the base by 3/4 inch and the top by 1 inch). only modification i made for mine was lowering it 1 inch.

here are the pictures of it painted, after i cut, rewelded and ground it smooth. tomorrow will see another few coats of paint (black rustoleum hammer finish) and then i will start making the side panels for it. side panels will be made of 1/8" abs plastic, and i have not decided on an exterior finish for it yet. im considering the same plasti-cote spray rubberized finish i used on my custom radio bezel.

some notes for others if i decide to produce this: all right angle joints will be mitered and welded. this is something i SHOULD have done on mine, but hindsight is 20/20. i plan on improving on my design in the next iteration, but im very very happy with this right now. obviously not every one wants a console that holds a carPC, so ill also be working on a full size interior bucket for storage, as the carpc iteration will have a very shallow tray. also, i would appreciate any input from those with rear heaters, if there is interest, and ideas about fitting the rear heater.

ok, enough words, now to the metal pr0n.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/DSC02199.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/DSC02198.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/DSC02196.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/DSC02197.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/DSC02194.jpg

[Seanz0rz]

also feel i should post an update on the computer.

with a brace for the sound card (the cause of many crashes in its old iteration) i have never had the computer crash as a result of vibration, shock, or what have you. even jumping the vehicle at pismo, which reversed a conical washer on my shock... no damage to my computer, and it has never skipped a beat.

[TrackRunner]

What's up Sean! Awesome project man, if you need some extra computer parts let me know; I have a few older boxes laying around that you can cannibalize. Are you using a laptop hard drive for storage?

[Seanz0rz]

yes using a seagate 60 gig, 5 year warranty, so im sure ill use it one day, ive had the HD for about a year and a half. plus those notebook drives have a bit better shock protection than desktop drives.

i have plenty of parts, thanks for the offer. realized after i left at pismo you never got a chance to see it.

tomorrow ill work on the panels, top next week i think.

[TrackRunner]

plus those notebook drives have a bit better shock protection than desktop drives.
that's exactly what I was thinking.

Have much do you think you would be selling these for?

[Seanz0rz]

well once i get a complete material list done, i can price out all materials, etc. and then give a final price. right now im ball parking it around 150-200, but that is really a shot in the dark. it might be much more expensive, much cheaper.

[Seanz0rz]

ok so got some work done on it today.

started with fiberglass, and didnt get very far:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/DSC02202.jpg

i just simply suck at fiberglass. maybe im going about it all wrong, but i just dont like it, im not good at it, and im not going to use it.

what i AM good at is ABS plastic. coming from experience with my molded touchscreen, working with abs is quite easy for me.

here is how far i got tonight:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/Center%20Console%20Fab/DSC02203.jpg

that is the template for the right side, left side will have the most forward piece about 1-1.5 inches higher, to accomidate cupholders. i have drawings for the front and lower portion, just have to draw them up and cut them out. the rear panel is a little more complex and will require it to be fitted in car, for a nice appearance.

hope to be somewhat done with the damn thing tomorrow. im sick of this project and want to get it done! i miss my car PC!