Ford Ranger - Mp3Car 8" 16:9

**basketcase** · 08-30-2006, 08:12 PM

Nothing special of a vehicle, but I spend alot of time in it and also alot of time on the computer. See I am your typical everyday programmer/truck driver. (Long story)

Ever see something at the store and after measuring, you know it won't exactly fit, but you buy it anyway? Well that's what I did with the Mp3Car 8" 16:9 touchscreen. ( http://store.mp3car.com/ProductDetai...Code=MON%2D022 ). Amazing little screen. i figured I'd just do my best to make it fit.

Before pic :
Pretty crowded lil bit of space.

Butchering begins :
In order to get an 8" screen to fit, the cig lighter and 4x4 control will have to go elsewhere.

Using the included tray:
Not brave enough to use the bezel. Hmm, gonna have to cut the sides back quite a bit to get a smooth transition down to the tray.

Test fit :
Well, it's ummm big. Didn't really like the way it overshadows the a/c controls, so I made a couple new holes and slid them down as far as they would go. So far in fact, I had to make some indentations in the trim to allow for em.

Better fit:
Looks a lil better. I also slanted the screen slightly toward the driver. Wow, look at those gaps to fill! You can't tell in the pics real well, but the bottom of the console is much farther back than the top, so the screen really sits in back there.

**basketcase** · 08-30-2006, 08:12 PM

So now the real work begins, and you start to spend ALOT of time with your console. So much in fact, I ended up naming mine, her name is Samone and we're quite close. What fun we've had in the past ... all the places we've gone. And now we're on to something bold and new! Through those long nights of touch ups, sanding and painting ... you know you almost swear you can hear her talk. It was nice at first, but wound up being a huge headache, cause all she wanted to do is ***** and complain .... "all you ever wanna do is stay home and sand .... you never take me places anymore ..... I saw you eyeing that factory replacement the other day" .... and on and on. We'll be so glad when this part of the project is done.

**basketcase** · 08-30-2006, 08:44 PM

Securing :
Well, prolly not the best way, but it worked out. I started by epoxy'ing the corners of the tray to help hold it in place. I then took some tshirt fabric and let it drape over the sides of the tray down to the side of the console to make a natural curve. I secured the fabric to the console and to the tray with epoxy, then covered it in fiberglass resin. Added some fiberglass matt later to help stiffen it.

Filling in:
Filled in the front with bondo and sanded her down ... ALOT, will spare ya all the nasty photos of the rough stuff.

Here you can see how far it actually sits in. Still have to finish the bottom of it.

Quick coat of primer to spot check:
No where near done, but a quick coat of high build primer to check the surfaces. Pic does it way more justice than it deserved at this point!

Another test fit:
Stupid sun. Well, looks ok, still don't like how the a/c contols look under the screen, def not a factory look. Decided to cut some small arches to let them slide down even more.

Ugly stuff:
Can see the cut outs for the a/c controls and some ugly looking stuff.

We pause here for mass sanding.
ssssssssssssssssaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnndd ddddddddddd

Finished console with final coat of primer:

With glossy black paint:
Well, I was gonna go with a flat or satin, but all I had in the shop was glossy tonight, so put a light coat of that on to see how it looked. I mean a glossy finish is just plain mean and unforgiving to body work, so I figured it would be a test. I think it passed? Altho, I'm still not gonna use glossy as the finish coat.

And that's where it is, drying as we speak ............

**romul** · 08-30-2006, 08:48 PM

its a nice tilt but dont u think some of the screen will be hard to see cause of the way the screen is going in on one side ? you see what i mean?

**basketcase** · 08-30-2006, 08:57 PM

Originally Posted by romul

its a nice tilt but dont u think some of the screen will be hard to see cause of the way the screen is going in on one side ? you see what i mean?

Yea, I know it looks like alot, but it isn't really. Is 100% viewable from from all seats easily. I will be test fitting again tmrw in the truck, will grab a pic directly from teh drivers view point.

**turbocad6** · 08-30-2006, 08:58 PM

nice bodywork, if it looks like that with gloss black it's sweet

good luck with your project... nice going so far ...

**basketcase** · 08-31-2006, 07:06 PM

Thx turbo.

Here is a pic of it in the truck fromt he driver view point.

**basketcase** · 09-12-2006, 09:53 AM

Decided on and ordered the rest of what will be going into the truck. Very simple, budget, and what I believe to be a very good bang for the bux. Only thing left to decide on is the GPS software, am leaning toward IGuidance. OH, and no the huge Dell is not as is, will be gutted and mounted in a custom case molded into the passenger side-well behind the rear cubby-seat.

Here is a quick pictorial layout of what is to be: