HELP with DVD Overhead Fabrication & Mounting!

Man Ace · 05-05-2005, 03:22 AM

First of all, I am looking to mount my slot load slim dvd player into my overhead by fabricating it into the sunroof motor cover of my Jetta. This is an example of an overhead dvd install. This is a BMW though from another post.

I bought an extra sunroof motor cover to work with in case i totally screw it up. This is what it looks like.

This is a simulation of how my dvd player will fit in regards to size.

THe dvd player needs to slant downward so it clears the sunroof motor and it blend well with the existing piece. Now I am wondering how do I make my cuts for this.

A) Make a "T" cut then use a heat gun and melt the plastic in the shape I want it to conform around the dvd player. Like this:

This cut would be ideal for smooth slping sides that would blend the dvd player nicely into it. I would fill the middle gap with ABS Plastic Epoxy then recarpet it with headliner.

B) Make a "SQUARE" cut and heat the plastic then make it a slope where I can just slide the dvd in place. Like this:

I would then fille the open ends with ABS Plastic Epoxy and then sand them to look smooth and blend in. The recover with headliner.

My biggest concern at this point is 1) how to stablize and hold the dvd player in place so it isnt moving all over the place. I was thinking of a bracket that would screw over it and hold it. I have searched and havent found an indepth guide to securing a dvd player. So ANY help in that would be appreciated. I also realize the limitations of this project. Working with a heat gun could warp the orignal form of the sunroof cover that I want to keep OEM.

Anyways, thanks for reading and please provide me with some insight concerning this so I can start this soon.

Scouse Monkey · 05-05-2005, 03:39 AM

To be honest the heat gun sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. To do any kind of reshaping you need a controlled sustained heat not a heat gun. Maybe if you used metal plates a heat spreaders you could get something.

Do you have any pics of the thing in place?

As for securing the DVD use our good old friend the hot glue gun

Man Ace · 05-05-2005, 12:37 PM

After some thinking.. I think that cutting a square out of the cover then hot gluein' the dvd player to the square piece. Reattach the square peice with dvd player to the original cover at an angle with brackets then apply the ABS Plastic solevant to the gaps on the side of the dvd player...

This seems more logical than a heat gun because the heat gun probably will warp the original cover.

Altimat · 05-05-2005, 12:39 PM

Go with option B. Cut the three sides, heat the last side with some pieces of metal for a mask and a heat gun, then bend down slightly on the back. Fill in the sides with ABS, glue, fill, prime, paint.

Man Ace · 05-05-2005, 01:45 PM

Thank you for the insight.. I am definately going with B now.. thanks

Man Ace · 05-06-2005, 12:00 AM

OK I got home tonite from work and went to fabbin'...

I used method B and cut three sides. I then used the heat gun very closely to the attached side and seperated the two side slowly. It worked like a charm!

I then test fitted in my Jetta to see where the Dvd drive had to sit in order to clear the sunroof motor. Next I had ABS peices from a destroyed laptop that I cut and sanded to mold around the open sides. I also Put a poiece of ABS in the front so the drive looks flush when it is put in. Next, I used my plastic welding epoxy to hold all the pieces together. The plastic welding worked really good!! It is as strong as cement! My next more is to sand and cut these peices to look flush.

Here it is!

I am wiating for the epoxy to cure then i will probably get to sanding later tonite.

Altimat · 05-06-2005, 01:06 AM

Damn you don't mess around! Good work!

Man Ace · 05-06-2005, 03:30 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Altimat

Damn you don't mess around! Good work!

hahah.. nope.. I finished the sanding already. Now I am just waiting for the headliner card to come so I can pick out the matching headliner.

I will get a pic soon of it.

xdjxklusivex · 05-06-2005, 12:52 PM

nice i wanna do something like that with a ford or gm console im tryin to get :-D

Man Ace · 05-06-2005, 03:09 PM

The sanding was a pain and I didn't place the side abs pieces right so the drive didnt fit in there until i had to sand it all down. I might reattach another abs piece and work on it.

Stealth97 · 05-06-2005, 11:16 PM

Thats going to look good when youre finished.

Man Ace · 05-07-2005, 04:35 AM

Yea it will.. I am waiting for the sample card of the headliners to come in so i can find a match with my interior....

In the mean time Here are some pics of it without the headliner... just remember that the headliner is going to hide alot of the blemishes. (i think anyways.)

I used this ABS Plastic Repair kit: http://www.electricalconnection.com/...repair_kit.htm

It worked perfectly! It basically dries into ABS hard plastic so it did the job well. I let it cure and dry for about 4-3 hours before sanding even though it dries relatively fast. It is also cheap for anyone who is looking to do ABS work and doesnt want to deal with the mess of Fiberglass.

Anyways... Here are some pics!

Scouse Monkey · 05-07-2005, 06:36 AM

dude, there is a dead guy in your house!

Man Ace · 05-07-2005, 07:00 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Scouse Monkey

dude, there is a dead guy in your house!

Oh ****, You think he's dead?

He's only been sitting silently like that for the past 10 hours!

Scouse Monkey · 05-07-2005, 11:42 AM

if he blue yet?

light the BBQ and cook him before he goes off.