- Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:21 pm
#247614
Saw this on H-T and it was in an EK but could be done on an EG as well 
http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2917753
Guy did an awesome job... I hope this inspires someone!
http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2917753
Guy did an awesome job... I hope this inspires someone!
[quote=MonkeyPuzzle;44984946]I decided to make a new thread since the last one spanned three years, so below is just cut from the original[/quote]
Original thread here http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2419223
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I broke my dome light in my hatch a long time ago and have been hunting for a replacement. But then I got to thinking how good it would be to have front map lights (which I already have but not installed) and some storage etc. So after a drive in a friends Jeep a little while ago I liked his console and picked one up from Ebay.
Here is it just held in place. I will be removing my headliner tonight to make this a nice and stock looking install. If anyone has seen these in a jeep they usually display temperature, direction, mpg etc etc, but of course I can't do that, so I'm replacing the display with an amber clock to match my amber SI gauges and interior
again, just held in place, not installed, but the curve is almost exactly right so it should be a pretty neat install when done
as you can see in this picture the rear has a step down to match the cherokee's roof line, I think modding this part will be my only real challenge.
here you can see how closely the fabric matches, the lower is the jeep console, the upper is my current sun visor
and one of it lying on the floor. You can see the two rear lights, two front lights, one compartment holds a garage door opener, and one holds sunglasses (wooo that'll be super handy)
So what do you all think? I'm hoping this will be a fairly simple install, should look stock, and I don't think I've seen it done before so that's always a bonus
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<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DOHCVTEC4life »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i agree this will be a new fad gave me some ideas
it is the little small things no one has ever done to make your honda stand out</TD></TR></TABLE>
surely I wouldn't be the starter of a fad??? can I join the ek squad if I start an EK fad???
seriously though, the overhead console option for the "ek" body is pure suck, I'd be very surprised to find I'm the first to mod a different console into an "ek"
proof the EK optional overhead console sucks, see here is an awesome EK
but sadly check the console
Modified by MonkeyPuzzle at 4:47 PM 10/29/2008
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ok a little more progress
it is now attached to the headliner. Still left to do is cut some more out of the headliner so I can reupholster the headliner into the console all into one piece.
the console was stripped of its fabric and stripped of its components.
the rear attaches with a tab like thing, I simply cut a slot into the headliner. So with a little flexing of the console that step in the rear is almost gone. The small gap left should disappear when its all reupholstered into one piece
the front fits very nicely, there is a slight mis-match, again reupholstering should make that disappear
a pic from the back-side, you can see the tab at the bottom/rear of the console here slotted into the headliner. I will need to cut more out of the headliner so I can access the back of the console to reattach the components of the console and to complete the reupholstering
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progress as always moving slowly, but I finally got the last part I need to finish this project.
I have the fabric and glue and etc etc.
but now I have the clock. I searched for a long time for a clock that was the right size, was the right colour, and would retain the time even when the car was off.
Now just some wiring magic, some gluing and such and this is ready to go back in my car.
I plan to use the buttons that were already in the console, that previously scrolled through the old computer display's menu, for the minute and hour adjust. so it should as planned look like a completly stock install.
the item
and held in place to see how it looks
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ok a little more progress.
Since it will all be recovered by new fabric I decided to fiberglass to console to the headliner.
this should make for a much smoother and more solid fit
I will need to sand the fiberglass down, then bondo and sand again for smoothness.
Should be ready for new fabric after all that.
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and some time spend sanding the fiberglass down, bondo may not be needed as the fabric I will be using to recover the whole thing has a foam backing. I will lay it over tomorrow and see how it looks to decide if bondo and more sanding is needed to smooth it out any.
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so after a little testing the slight concave on one side at the front was unbearably obvious, so a little filler just there and while I had it out a few other random spots.
Bondo was possibly a little old, was thicker than usual but once kneaded seem to be alright, so I guess we shall see.
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and the beginning stages of upholstery, some minor wrinkles here and there but nothing that I shouldn't be able to work out of it.
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I tidied up the edges of the fabric and just laid some of the plastic parts on to see a little of how it will look
And worked on some wiring.
Here you can see that I wired the buttons that are in the console into the clock, these now adjust the hours and minutes.
To the right is the box that hold the garage door opener, I've relocated the battery backup for the clock to here so I can change the battery without removing my whole damned headliner
I'm no rywire or chasebays but I'm proud of my work, I'm a crap solderer
ok left to do:
1: wire the lights
2: run switched 12v power up to the roof for the clock. Currently it only has full time 12v so the lights can be turned on without the key in, and 12v controlled by opening the door, neither so good for the clock.
3: put it all together
4: put it all in the car
5: bask in my own self pride
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thought we would get this finished today but looks like I screwed up on the re-upholstering. I didn't pull the fabric through far enough in the middle, this means that there is a very rough uneven edge where the black plastic meets the fabric, looks just aweful, so shameful.
but moving on, I will just add an additional layer of fabric over the top, this should smooth out a few of the other imperfections I saw before but pretended were not an issue
but, with my dad's help we figured the wiring out
his hand drawn wiring diagram, things were obviously more simple that he and I though
And proof, here they are wired into the car, switching on and off as planned.
The clock in and working (pics rotated to appear how they would in the car)
And here you can see the raggedy edge
Am going right now to get some more fabric
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don't hate me, more slow progress
securing the clock in place, hot glue for hold, and duct tape to block out light behind the clock
then onto the relining after my epic screwup cutting it too short last time
Laying the new fabric on, gluing in small portions has worked the best, so I did this about a quarter at a time
stopping point for the night
next night I glued the edges securely and tucked them under
next will be trimming those edges, and then glueing the center section and CUTTING IT RIGHT THIS TIME!!!
why do all my projects take so damned long you ask?
kids, family, too many projects at once, and also...
catastrophic transmission failure on my daily driver
teeth missing all over the place!
enjoy, coming up tonight will be more glueing, and then hopefully this weekend the actual install (but don't hold me to it
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the piece itself is now finished, if the kids will ever stop screaming and at least pretend to be asleep I will put it in the car tonight!
cutting the center of the fabric and gluing in
The final product all glued and screwed as seen from the back
And from the front, gotta say (pat on back) I am VERY pleased with the outcome
now just to put it all in the car and plug all the wiring together and fingers crossed. I've checked the wiring before but you know if its ever going to not work its once all the wiring is tucked away up in the roof
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mmmkay, well I got it in... side the car
Ok so the lights and the clock are wired to separate sources, the lights get constant power so you can turn them on when the keys are not in the car, and the clock gets switched power so it will only turn on with the key in and turned to accessories.
Well, it would appear that although I ran a wire up to the roof for the switched part I didn't ever finish wiring it into an actual switched source at the fuse box (or somewhere), whoops.
So I COULD plug it all in at the ceiling and put the headliner in and screw all the handles and visors back in but then if the wiring at the other end didn't work for whatever reason I would have to undo it all. So I've decided to leave it just sitting how it is until tomorrow (at the earliest) when I can wire in the switched source (have I mentioned I hate wiring?)
anyhoo, here it is sitting in the car and the lights part working
I'd say its a nice fit with my grey and black seat
I retract my prior self back patting, and replace it with annoyance at my own stupidity, I was so damned excited about having this all in tonight!
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wiring part A
I've extended the wire that runs to the roof, I'm using wires taht were already in place, there are two wires that run up there for the dome light.
part B will be to connect that wire to a switched source, but I'm getting antsy to have the headliner back in so I might just wire it all together and test the connections a few times then put it all in place tonight
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tonight my daughter got to stay up late and help out in the garage, the boots were necessary of course
She helped me strip out the seats so I could get around to put in the headliner, she was THRILLED for her chance to sit in the car without her regular car seat
and what you've all been waiting for, it is now IN THE CAR!!!
view from the back seat (the australian flag covers my trunk area
from the back
from the driver's side
here you can see that the sun visors fit nicely in place
from the passenger side. You can see my other addition, a handle on the drivers side, not a usual feature in the civic but I frequently wish there was a handle there
here you can see my only flaw, I ripped the fabric just behind the hook in the rear area, I might have felt a little cry happen inside, but like a man I choked it back down and pretended I ripped it intentionally because I'm just that tough!
gotta say I'm pretty damned proud of my work, with noone left awake in the house I was tempted to wake up my daughter just to show her, I don't think she would care much though, although she does love a chance to play in my driver's seat
and there you have it, a weekend of work spread out over 3 years
Do Not PM me your technical questions. Post them in the forum!
My 1992 SOHC Turbo Hatch
My Youtube Channel: 6th Gear Garage
My 1992 SOHC Turbo Hatch
My Youtube Channel: 6th Gear Garage
