Thread: Ford F6 Tornado Project Log

Progress is slow, but consistent - I am nearly at the point where I can do the final touches to the front of the fascia.....

First on the agenda though, was to mount the electronics of the screen somehow - well, I was not going to be happy to have pcb's wrapped in tape or whatever, and let them hanging somewhere, so a better plan had to be made.

I measured/cut/filed a piece of aluminium, and made a backplate, that bolts to the rear of the mounting brackets of the LCD in the fascia, and all bolts very nicely together - the added benefit of the backplate provides stiffness to the whole setup, making it a lot stronger than even the factory original

Anyway, here's a pic from the left rear - as viewed from passenger side....



and here is one, with the power-button pcb connected - I will relocate some of the buttons on this board, eg "Power" and "Menu" so that they are "available" if needed.



Well, I am really happy with the end result, nice, compact and tight, and very sturdy....couldn't ask for more - I am really glad I decided to opt for the in-dash mounted solution, and going with the 10.4" screen.....

Feedback is welcome.

Lots of work to do, in terms of finishing off the bezel/fascia, but made some good progress on the weekend.

I used a plastic filler/bondo-type thing, called Selly's - for sale at Bunnings, and it works like a dream - set rock hard in 20 odd minutes, depending on hardener used - difficult to sand, but yields a very good finish.....

Here's a shot of the bottom part, I used a primer to seal the balsa wood on this piece, need to sand it down and apply a few more coats, some spot-putty will come in handy to close the few pinholes...



and the newly fabricated top side - remember, ther used to be vents here, so had to use some balsa wood to make a new top cross-member - came out rather nice....



and a shot of the semi-finished front...



Booting Windows XP



and running Autoenginuity OBD-II software...



Feedback would be appreciated. thanx Guys.

Hey Phil.

Very nice work with the bezel, looks real clean. Im getting some addons together for my install now and im looking at OBD now. I browsed the Autoenginuity website and didnt see any support for Mitsu cars at all, though Ford they specialize in. What would you recommend for my Magna?

Looking forward for the FB integration, I am also going to buy one in the near future. Would love it if you can be real specific and take lots of pics of the FB install as I know I will have problems later.

aight, Ill look into it.

Whats the brand of the putty you used for the bezel ???

It's called Selleys 1001 - it's not really a putty, it is machineable etc.....very hard to work with, but finishes nicely - read smooth...

If you're in Oz, Bunnings stocks it...

Mounting the Space Traveler

I have managed to get my hands on a 3dConnexion Space Traveler a while back, and decided I will use this controller in conjunction with my touchscreen as an input device. Well, the problem is usually where to mount it, and still have an aesthetic appearance - in this case, it doesn't look to bad, although I had to sacrifice the cupholders in the console - well, I really don't need them in the UTE....

Here is a new cradle I have made out of balsa-wood, and it is very sturdy....



a View from the side...



and this pic showing how I am keeping the unit in place - it works very well, and I can take it out if I ever needed to



and lastly, a few shots from different angles...





from the side.....



and 2 last ones, close-up from the top - it blends in very well with the rest of the contours on the rest of the console....





Take note that I am only on the initial primer stage, there's still a fair bit of work to finish it off, before applying the factory standard color spec (lightning-strike).

Well, it sits extremely comfortable, with my elbow resting on the console lid, which feels very natural to me, my hand sits comfy on the unit - FPV should have brought it like this to the market...

Feedback appreciated.

Edit: I am considering cutting a nice piece of brushed aluminium and mounting it ontop of the wood, would really be hard wearing, and compliment the silver interior.