Bezel Fabrication:
No matter how I work it, my 10.4" screen is just too big for the original bezel. To keep the original case on the monitor, I need a bezel 2" or more deeper and at least 1/2" wider at the top; it can be the same as the original at the bottom. I want it to attach it the same way as the original, and I want it to look as close to stock as possible. The original already tapers, so more taper shouldn't look out of place. I don't want to modify the actual structure of the dash any more than necessary, but the bezel is just cosmetic. You can see the stock dash earlier in the thread.
To get the project moving, I bought a spare bezel on eBay. I've cut that bezel apart, slicing the center section away, and leaving the two outer pieces to work with. Here's the OEM bezel alone, a side view of one part to clearly show the curvature, and an inside view that shows the mounting points where it snaps into the dash:
Click images to enlarge.
I'm not sure what material these are. If I could find more of it, I'd use
turbocad6's technique and simply heat-weld new pieces in place. Because I don't have similar material, I'll try using a semi-rigid epoxy, Duramix 4040. I bought the 6-ounce system plus a dozen mixing tips at Finishmaster in West Palm Beach, FL.
The current plan is to split each of the side pieces, effectively separating the faces from the sides, just behind the curving transition, cutting all but the last bit at the bottom. I'll leave them still connected at that one point. I used a Sharpie pen to draw a dashed line on clear tape, and then trimmed the tape to less than 1/8" wide. I laid that on the cutting line to make it easy to see in these pictures:
The OEM silver paint will stay on to make the cut lines easy to see, but I'll use acetone to take it off once they're cut. Then I'll put the bezel sides back in the dash just as they're originally installed, and move the tops to their new locations, further apart and further out from the dash. Next, I'll make some plastic braces to keep them in the proper relationship to the sides, and adhere them in place. Once they're solid, I'll take the assemblies out of the car and add more plastic to form the revised and extended sides, with lots of fit checks and match checks along the way. I want to add enough material that I can trim and sand away the excess material and make them as smooth as stock. I'll leave the mounts as intact as possible; when the modifications are complete, I'll build extensions into the revised sides and remount them so they fit right into the dash.
I'll keep the front of the ducts absolutely stock, including the louver systems, but I'll slice off the back of the ducts where they fit into the dash, and I'll build a new middle section to connect the faces to those cut-off pieces.
Once the bezel sides are complete, I may have to relocate some controls. The monitor will be at the top of the bezel, where the head unit was located. Below the hole for the head unit, you can see two slots, and I'd like to use their space for the monitor, too. The left slot is for switches that control a/c on-off, the rear window heater, and the emergency flashers. These switches are on two separate panels and should be relatively easy to move. The right slot is for a big lever that controls recirculation of air. It appears to be an adjuster, but it's actually an on-off microswitch, so I could eliminate the big lever and use the switch alone. Since I want to install fog and running lights later, I could probably just make another three-switch panel, similar to what's on the left side, and locate the switches there. Then I could move all of these to the space below the a/c controls panel (the three circular controls in the middle of the center section) that wouldn't be moved. That would keep all the a/c controls close together, and make a logical panel layout.
Next, I need to fabricate brackets for the monitor up at the top, brackets for the DVD, which will sit below the new switch panel, and brackets for the relocated head unit, which will sit right below the DVD.
With the new mounts fabricated and all the pieces installed, I can remount the modified bezel sides and fabricate the center section of the bezel to fit everything. No matter what, when it's all done, my goal is to have OEM look and feel, OEM strength and durability, and OEM ease of access for maintenance.
I'll add pix and comments as the project progresses.