Thread: 98 4runner dash fab, a/c relocation

i have pictures!!! here is what ive gotten done so far:







i cut out the bottom to recieve the ac controls, something ill have to work on when they get here. the screen is held in at the top and via those wings on each side. im unsure how im going to fill up all that voided space, but im thinking carefully crafted pieces of abs plastic, all epoxied together to provide structure, then maybe fiberglass over that to smooth everything out.

any bright ideas, things i might have forgot, etc? it helps to know now before i get too deep in. thanks guys.

Sean, go to any supermarket, food4less, ralph, vons .... and buy yourself a favorite popcicle. Eat the crap out of it and save the stick. Use it to fill the gap. If you don't like popcicle, just go to any craft store (Michael?) and buy some balsa wood. Other option is paint stirring stick from Homedepot or Lowes.
I use balsa wood on 2 of my installation. Look at my recent Supra fab.

well luckily i have tons of plastic left over from what i cut out, so im cutting and using that to fill in. this weekend ill be able to pick up my sheet of abs from home and start using that to create the front.

im not sure my plastic epoxy is holding...

i did some research on my plastic type >PPE+PS< and i think it should work, but when i picked up the piece today i heard a crack.

anything else i should try?

i know of the cupholder mod, and i know the guy who wrote that.. lol.

i use the rear ones anyway. when i offroad i have a camel bak strapped to my seat anyway. im working on a new center console to be started after this is completed...

so i got alot accomplished, but no pics of the process. i filled in spots with abs, got the shape with expanding foam via a "great stuff" can, bondo over that, its going to crack on the edges, but i have a pretty good solution for that that will come in next week. so stay tuned!

now to the pics:








i ran out of daylight, hence the rough appearance. im doing a road test with it tomorrow to make sure everything works and nothing falls apart.

any ideas on how to mount my ac controls in that hole below the 1 din slot i created? im thinkin of something like a din sleeve that it fits down into and locks in. and then mount that to the metal support panels in the dash.

any ideas?

ok so try number one on the extending the ac controls failed misserably. im having a hard time tieing the two metal rods together, and the set screws im using to hold the plastic sheeting in place end up crushing it and holding the rod in it.

The AC controls have been relocated, what a pain in the ***!!! anyway, they are done and in and it works great. now all is left is mounting it to the dash (kinda just hanging in there right now) and fabbing up the dash bezel which leads me to this...






its all still very rough, and very soft in spots. im slowly adding, filling voids and cracks, smoothing everything out while letting it get hard, then thursday and friday are reserved for sanding.

hoping to have it done by saturday for the car meet, but we will see.

the abs sludge method seems to hold on to the PPE just enough to keep it from cracking, and i will be extending the abs out over the entire surface in hopes that it wont crack.