2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse with 8" LCD, Relocated Stereo & AC Controls

**sgf323** · 11-12-2005, 02:12 AM

After 7 days of work this is done... for now! I will later add front usb and a card reader but for now this is it... the wife would kill me if I spent another day in the garage on this! I'll also be making an enclosure to keep the pc case safe, at some point.

Celeron 2.13ghz, Asus P4P800VM, Antec Minuet case, 80gb Seagate 3.5" HDD, CD/DVD, 512mb DDR400, D-Link wireless USB, Lilliput 809GL

The paint I used was black textured paint from Home Depot. It turned out to be almost an exact match! I put a clear matte coat over the top to protect it.

The power button is hidden under the center console cover in a little recessed area that was meant to house a clip receptacle for the lid.

BEFORE (factory photo)

Here are the pictures of the work done:

Test fitting the stereo to make sure it goes back far enough for the clock pod to cover it.

The rear corners go under the dash so I had to make the plastic pretty thin so it would fit.

Originally the clock pod was so small and rounded I couldn't even set the face in front of it, the top corners were rounded about 1/2 - 1" too close. A heat gun took care of that! I later went back and sanded down all the little divits made by the heating, then primed and painted it to match the rest.

After it was shaped I sanded it down and repainted.

Works perfectly in its new location. Motorized face and detachable functions work as well.

Cut out the dash to fit the screen bezel, very slowly, lined it up so I could sand an equal part out of the bezel and dash to get them to be even all the way around.

The dash and screen after being sanded even.

The screen with some bondo to cover the lines.

**sgf323** · 11-12-2005, 02:13 AM

I made a bezel around the hvac controls and used a nail gun to join the pieces.

Then I sanded it down and angled the bottom so it would sit on the lower console the way I wanted it.

To get the hvac controls where I wanted I had to extend the manual cables. I used reinforced bike brake outer shield (with the inner wires running lengthwise) and wire from an old positron bike gear which was very similar to hard single stranded wire I've seen at hardware stores. I used ring terminal at the ends.

I used notebook backs on the sides to fill in the empty spaces and put it in the car so it'd have the correct shape when I coated it with resin.

Now that the cardboard is hard the next step was to build it up with fiberglass mat.

Here it is with the reinfoced matting.

I added some mat to the top to add strength so it wouldn't bow in easily and crack the bondo. Later I completely removed the plastic U shape that was left over from cutting out the factory pocket.

It took a lot of sanding but after about 4-5 coats of bondo it was ready. The pink marks are where I marked the pits with marker so I could go over them with bondo and a razor faster before the bondo dried.

Here are the controls in their new home!

**Cris** · 11-12-2005, 06:45 AM

Oh man, that looks hot! The amount of work put into it is amzing!
Top job!

Where's the pc?

**sgf323** · 11-12-2005, 08:38 AM

The PC's just in the trunk. There really isn't any room in this car for that! You can't even put an amp under the front seats, too low.

I plan on later doing a partial custom floor in the trunk to hide everything under.

**xpluisdf** · 11-12-2005, 06:15 PM

Exelent work!! i have dodge neon and i will like move the hvac controls but i was think that it are very dificult, and when i see your work, now im decided to move my hvac controls... Thanks for your motivation.

**ArthrDent** · 11-12-2005, 06:24 PM

I have to say. . . this is an excellent piece of work. I especially enjoyed the stereo placement. LCD looks excellent, and I love the new placement of the HVAC! Overall an exceptional job. Bravo!

**EsKALad** · 11-13-2005, 12:06 AM

******* A man. i give you major props. you made it look as stock as possible and you didnt lose any functionality only gained alot. all i can say is WOW