Tex's Dash project... WILL IT EVAR STOP!?!?!?

[Tex Arcana]

So I picked back up on the project a couple weeks ago, and we had left off with that stinkin' USB/AV connectors. I had filled in the area yet again with sludge, and had this:

The media connect fits fine, just need to clean the holes up. I used a ream I the AV port (round):

Got some filing to do... :meh:

Gotta have some of wifey's taco soup first (nom, nom, nom):

***in-A, man! this sludge **** has more holes than Swiss cheese!!

Hmmm... If this fails yet again, maybe I can work this bit in:

So, clean it up a bit, just in case:

So, some marine epoxy, to act like Bondo:

Slather it on with some old painter's knives:

All slathered on like Bondo:

 

[Tex Arcana]

So, this past Sunday, we have this:

The epoxy had set, and ready to be worked, like so:

I used 150-grit sandpaper to get most of the flatness down, and the jeweler's files to work the USB hole, and the ream on the AV hole.

Looking good, curvature is nice:

Eh, a few flaws yet, just gotta work 'em out:

You can really see them here:

Ugh, the backside looks awful, the sludge really doesn't like to be slathered on thick:

Quite a bit of work later, the holes are looking better:

The connectors fit well:

Buuuuut... I don't like how the holes look, especially the bare ABS.:

And the backside looks like arse:

So, back to square one, and more epoxy:

Nice thin coat on the front, to get the low spots:

And the entire backside with a nice thick coat:

 

[Tex Arcana]

The final bit of the last Sunday thrash:

I've had this nice Boston Acoustics home theater subwoofer, that I got from my brother-in-law; a few years ago, the cone surround shredded, and I had to replace it. While waiting for the order, a friend talked me into picking up a cheap 10" sub driver, an Infinity, for $35 at BeastBuy, and I tossed it in. Sounded okay to my untrained ear, but the front grille never fit right; and I forgot to cancell the original BA order, which meant I had the original.

So I decided to replace the Infinity with the Boston Acoustics part!! (yes, this may be auto-related--be patient!!)

So here's the sub as it sits now:

Yeah, I know, it's dusty: bite me.

Nice Infinity subwoofer:

(by the way, have I mentioned how much I HATE photo***kit?? They've lost 5 or 6 pics I've uploaded tonight...:wtf

My ghetto holddown system:

Out with the old:

Hmmm, tuned port FTMFW:

In with the new, a "new" (5-yo?) sub driver:

The "bare" spots are where I had to cut out for the Infinity driver:

Colored the bare wood with black marker, and put down black RTV to seal it (there was a nasty cut on one side that could let air thru):

Grille on, and it's perfect, PERFECT!!

Which leaves me with an Infinity 10" subwoofer:

And THIS is where it becomes automotive-related!! (See?? Told ya so!)

If anyone can interpret this, and tell me if it's a decent driver, or a total POS, let me know. I know I'm thinking of doing the 6.5" or 8" in the rear pillar holes, but if someone can convince me this is a decent unit and worthy of use in my truck, I might use it.

And THUS closes Sunday's activities!

 

[Tex Arcana]

So now comes Tuesday, and the continuation...

So, after some sanding, the front face is looking good:

The backside is well-set, looks like arse but this before sanding:

Mmmmm, smooth:

Even the back is decently smoothed:

Sanding down the surround panel, getting the worst scratches out, working from 100-grit to 400-grit:

Heating my feet, the garage, and the primer with my 500-watt work light--makes an awesome space heater!!

Test-fit of the MediaLink bit, looks good:

All sanded smooth, ready for primer:

Some extra lighting, found the lamp on the right, and put a 100W(?) spot bulb in that I had laying around:

The one on the left needs a 23W/100W-replacement CFL for max lighting, it's a magnifier (thru which pictures do NOT take magnified--go figure).

And on to the next day:
Freshly primed, ready to sand:

Just a couple small blemishes:

Went into the truck to pull the instrument glass, and dust out the gauges... And ended up yanking the rest of the driver's side panels:

So, I've got all the above junk out, and I get to thinking: why not do the foglight mod??

 

[Tex Arcana]

the foglight mod:


You HAVE to cut the face off to get to the cam (ramp, whatever) and cut it down. I can't figure out how the guy in the svtlightnings.com link managed to get to his without cutting it off. Either way, I cut mine off like in the pics in the links, and started dremeling/filing the cam:

I ended up cutting the cam to allow the knob to be pulled out at both the autolamp position, and the parking light position. Simple enough, a dremel helps, but the final shaping should be done with jeweler's files.

However, during testing, pulling the knob out at the Auto position feels "mushy", and here's why:

See the notches in the shaft of the switch? They allow this detent to fall into the grooves, and gives you the "click" feel when you turn or pull the knob:

So, to get that proper "click" when it's in Auto and you pull it out, you need to lengthen the notch, like so:

I started with that pointed tip, but swapped to a 3mm ball bit to make the basic groove, then followed up with the triangular jeweler's file to finish the shape. As you can see in the last shot, the cam is fully modified, and I put some white grease on to help it slide better. It clicks nicely (tho I don't think I cut the slot deep enough in the Auto position, I have to pull the knob a tad harder to get it to go into Fog mode), in all positions. I superglued the face back on, where the tabs were, it should hold, and if it doesn't, I'll pull it apart and fix it better.



Turns out, there's a better way to do this: jump a pair of wires, which would power the fogs no matter what position the switch is in. ffffuuuuuuu... Ah, well, at least I actually did the job,

 

[Tex Arcana]

So, now I tore down the left dash panel, got the vent out, disassembled it, and sprayed it with PlastiDip:

I also tore down the door, and replaced the seals:

And the seal to the duct:

OMFG... It was made in fokking CHINA!!! how do I know?? "STV"!?!?! :angst:

Final priming was done the night before (I think I got the days and nights all screwed up, so move everything back by 24/36 hours), and final sanding and cleanup done, so here goes the spraying:

PlastiDip is such wonderful stuff!!

And, the results (turkey day):

Just a couple little blemishes:

I figure they came from the fact I was at the end of the can of PlastiDip, so some of it thinned out a bit, or somesuch. The next coat will take care of it, I'm sure.



So ends phase eleventythousand...


Oh, and don't forget, kids!

 

[SID297]

Gesh, that's a lot of work. Looks like it's coming along though.:beer:

 

[Tex Arcana]

Gesh, that's a lot of work. Looks like it's coming along though.:beer:

Yeah, it is, one small step at a time, and they add up.

For instance: got some more done today...

Fitting the MediaLink:

Extra shimming, making sure its right:

Another test fit:

Yeah, that's gonna work, blacked out the AV plug and parts of the USB plug:

PortaSol FTMFW:

Ground soldered:

Link box back together:

another few coats of PlastiDip, it's looking GOOD!

I couldn't do any assembly because I need to let the stuff set more, it's cold out there, and it'll take a bit for it to set properly. I'll get to that tomorrow or Thursday.

 

[Tex Arcana]

And now... The Final Thrash:

Heres the radio surround, finally PlastiDipped:

Mmmmhmmm, looking good:

Beginning the final assembly, the MediaLink screwed into place:

Nice and neat, looks good there, too

The rest of the panels are ready, too:

The truck backed in and prepared for the thrash:

Lots of light, courtesy of my 500-watt worklight:

Lots of heat, too... Necessary tonight, it's cold (yes, the back window is open, to let the heat in)!!

Yep, plenty of light to work with:

 

[Tex Arcana]

Modifying a vampire tap to do the electrical part of the foglight mod, normally these just let you tap one wire; by digging out this groove, you can splice two wires together without a jumper wire, a whole load simpler my way. I just cut the slot with my Dremel:

The brown and yellow wires (this better work!!):

The tap placed on the wires--you have to have the metal piece out to get them to lay in place, then put it back in before crimping it onto the wires:

And, done:

I wasn't able to get pics, but it worked! Any position the lights are turned to, the foglights come on without issue, even when the parking lights are on!

Lots of help, courtesy of LightningRodder.com and my iPad2:

Left side panel and light pod in place:

Pulled the MediaLink wiring thru with a coathanger:

The "bundle of snakes", mofugger you wiring snobs, YOU try to reach in there and make it "perfect"!!

Testing the MediaLink, tried to make a video, but when I hit "record", the playback pauses!! :wtf: :shrug: yes, it works!!

Main dash panel in:

 

[Tex Arcana]

These last pics were taken with my iPad, the battery died on my phone.

The final piece of the puzzle:

Yes, the final product:

And the dash is done... finally. <whew>

I'll post daytime pics tomorrow, I hope it looks as good as it did tonight!

 

[Tex Arcana]

Okay, last pics, taken today in better light and with a MUCH better camera (yes, I PROMISE to stop spamming y'all!!):