The Chronicles of 95riosnake's OCD Machine

[Det_Riot]

Cool, I just want to see what this gap looks like, I haven't seen a pic anywhere.

Where did you get the dye you used? I found a black 98 console on eBay but it's faded pretty bad, otherwise it's in good shape. I could just hit it with some dye and call it done possibly.

It's not terrible, but it's probably about an inch or so? Idk it's hard to explain it haha

Cj Pony Parts! You search it by year and interior color. Make sure you get the right one for the hard plastic. I forget which is for the plastic but it's all in my dying center console thread.

[Det_Riot]

Sir, the pictures you requested:

[Yeahloh95]

i am sure there is an easy fix for that gap

[Det_Riot]

i am sure there is an easy fix for that gap

I think if you get a 99-04 carpet then it has that bump molded into it

[Jeremy95GT]

That's weird about the gap... My 98 console doesn't have the gap? I thought they were all made relatively the same...

Jeremy

[Det_Riot]

^99-04 cars have a different trans tunnel than our cars. the gap accomodates the different trans tunnel

[95riosnake]

Thanks for the pics, that gap isn't too bad but I'd definitely have to figure out some way of filling it in or something. I have a line on a black 98 console from a guy on the other site so hopefully that will work out. Otherwise I may have to go with a 99-01 and dye it, then figure out something for that gap. I would have it a little better since my interior is black, it would blend in more but would still bother me.

[95riosnake]

I've been tied up with "real life" most of the day today but here's a little bonus mini-update. I spent a few minutes getting the trunk floor panels perfected before they get covered.

I haven't been very happy with the gap where the floor panels meet the raised portion for the sub, it was 1/4"-3/8" in some places.

So I grabbed a bit pf 3/16" plywood and cut out a trim piece that tightened up the gap, then liquid nailed it in place. One step closer to being done.

[Number Tew]

Go the hell away. Nobody likes all this perfectionistism! Looks so awesome man

[Tony]

i think its so cool that you are a diy'er. especially a diy'er that does stuff right and clean!!!

[95riosnake]

i think its so cool that you are a diy'er. especially a diy'er that does stuff right and clean!!!

Thanks man, I love building stuff from scratch when possible. It's also usually a necessity because I'm usually trying to do something nobody makes! lol

[Prokiller]

i still think you're nuts for doing those cutouts. car is already loud enough.

[95riosnake]

i still think you're nuts for doing those cutouts. car is already loud enough.

Maybe so, but on the other hand being a little nuts is why I do a lot of the things I do to my car lol,

[95riosnake]

Finally getting a chance to update this thread with this past weekend's progress, ugh... been busy as hell the past couple days!

So while the console was out, I was reminded the poor shape my lower shift boot was in, I rigged it with some silicone last time it was out when I was installing the new shifter for the Tremec, but this thing is beat IMO.

So I ordered Latemodel Restoration's replacement boot, plate and hardware kit. I'm pretty impressed how nice it is. It has 1/4" thick foam on the bottom for a really nice seal against the trans tunnel.

Installed :thumb:

Next up was a little more refinement of the trunk floor panels. They didn't want to sit level because the edges overlap the side interior panels, and the trunk floor in these cars isn't exactly level. So I cut out some strips of 1/2" MDF to add to the bottom of them; they sit nice and level now. This also allowed me to add a thin panel to close out the cutout I had to clear the bump in the floor near the back seat. This way the panel will be nice and flat with no need for a cover or anything added there.

Next up was blending the trim piece I added around the sub cutout last week with some bondo. Took it out to our shop at work to make a mess with it. When I was sanding the bondo down, I sanded down some of the edge of the trim piece so it's a nice gradual contour. It should look nice and smooth when covered :thumb:

In place, and looking great IMO

Next up, I FINALLY found a black 98 console and it showed up at my door on Friday. It's in great shape, but I think I still may hit it with some black paint from CJPP, it looks a little neglected and I can't get it to look nice and deep black like my factory console.

And here is the key design aspect of it that I was after, the removable cup holder insert that neatly snaps down in place.

Here's a rough mockup of the plan I have for it. The water temp and volt gauges will be mounted in a custom fiberglass pod using the cup holder, should look pretty nice when I'm finished with it.

I ended up remaking the PVC inserts so they were positioned closer to the middle of the cup holder areas, then epoxied them in place.

After the epoxy was dry, I stretched fleece over the cup holder insert and the PVC pieces, mixed up some fiberglass resin and brushed it on. The fleece is great because it stretches really nicely in all directions, and once you add resin to it, it gives you a nice strong shape to sand and add filler to.

I let the resin cure for a couple hours, then cut away the excess fleece and trimmed out the holes. I gave it a quick sanding to get an idea how it looks and I'm really happy with how it came out. It obviously still needs a lot of sanding and shaping, and a little bondo work to get it smooth.

Gauges mocked in place. Notice the dent in the trim ring around the water temp gauge, my dumbass dropped it on the floor

I emailed Autometer and they said if I ship the gauge to them, they can replace the ring and crimp on a new one for $12-17, which sure as hell beats $130 for a new gauge. Nice little tip for any of you guys who may have a gauge with a dented trim ring! :thumb: You just have to print out a form and fill it out, then throw it in the box with your gauge.

Snapped it into the console real quick to get an idea how it looks. It'll look much more at home once I sand it down nice and slender and get it smooth. Also, I talked to the owner of Carbon Driven and I'm gonna ship the pod to him when I'm done to have it wrapped in real carbon fiber so it'll tie in nicely with the other carbon bits I have in the interior :bananen_smilies039:

That's all for now!

[Blackmage]

Looks awesome. I don't know if i'd like em there though, seem like a hard spot to quick glance at and I'd prob be slapping my wrist on it all the time shifting hah.

[95riosnake]

You don't really need to keep constant tabs on water temp and voltage, that's why they're going there. I just glance at them here and there, like at a red light or something. I had them below the radio before which was about the same really. I have the important gauges like the oil pressure and DPSS (tach/shift light) on the pillar and the wideband and boost gauge in the cluster pod.

[Prokiller]

looks great dan! i don't think i realized that you have c2 gauges in there. i love them for the most part but the downside is how freakin bright they are. at night time, they are almost blinding.

[95riosnake]

looks great dan! i don't think i realized that you have c2 gauges in there. i love them for the most part but the downside is how freakin bright they are. at night time, they are almost blinding.

Yea I've considered changing over to a less harsh setup but I don't feel like taking the hit selling off my gauges and buying a whole new set. Plus I don't know what other gauge line I would want to run instead. They are definitely bright as hell, too bright at night IMO but oh well, I rarely find myself out driving it at night much anymore.

[Drake]

^why dont you just throw a light tint on em.

[Det_Riot]

Or a tint film over the bulbs themselves?

[95riosnake]

^why dont you just throw a light tint on em.

That's a possibility, maybe some headlight tint film...

Or a tint film over the bulbs themselves?

They don't have removable bulbs like a lot of other Autometers do, they're backlit with built-in LED's so that's a no-go.

[Steve@CJPP]

So I ordered Latemodel Restoration's

:nono: support your vendors lol :fish:

Next up, I FINALLY found a black 98 console and it showed up at my door on Friday. It's in great shape, but I think I still may hit it with some black paint from CJPP

:nod: there you go lol.

[Prokiller]

i was actually thinking of doing the same thing, headlight tint that is. i was going to wait to do mine until i re- re-do my gauges....still unhappy with the setup.

[95riosnake]

:nono: support your vendors lol :fish:

:nod: there you go lol.

Haha I didn't know CJPP carried the lower shift boot.

Oh and Steve, if I'm doing just the plastic console, I only need the can of interior spray lacquer correct?

[PapaSmurf]

Your car is full of so much win that even Chuck Norris would cry. Gorgeous!

[Det_Riot]

Haha I didn't know CJPP carried the lower shift boot.

Oh and Steve, if I'm doing just the plastic console, I only need the can of interior spray lacquer correct?

Yes

[95riosnake]

Your car is full of so much win that even Chuck Norris would cry. Gorgeous!

Thank you sir! :drinktothat:

[OnyxCobra]

love that gauge pod you came up with, pretty cool idea

[95riosnake]

love that gauge pod you came up with, pretty cool idea

Thanks man, I'm always trying to do something different!

[stang232]

Great idea. Waiting for the end result, already at this point looks very good.

[SVTurbo 98]

I love this car! The detail work you put into that irs is amazing! I'm looking forward to seeing the trunk completely finished as well as the interior. Awesome work so far

[Number Tew]

Never would have thought of gauges in the cup holder. Then again, I use that stupid thing all the time lol. Awesome man!

[Tony]

Finally getting a chance to update this thread with this past weekend's progress, ugh... been busy as hell the past couple days!

So while the console was out, I was reminded the poor shape my lower shift boot was in, I rigged it with some silicone last time it was out when I was installing the new shifter for the Tremec, but this thing is beat IMO.

So I ordered Latemodel Restoration's replacement boot, plate and hardware kit. I'm pretty impressed how nice it is. It has 1/4" thick foam on the bottom for a really nice seal against the trans tunnel.

Installed :thumb:

Next up was a little more refinement of the trunk floor panels. They didn't want to sit level because the edges overlap the side interior panels, and the trunk floor in these cars isn't exactly level. So I cut out some strips of 1/2" MDF to add to the bottom of them; they sit nice and level now. This also allowed me to add a thin panel to close out the cutout I had to clear the bump in the floor near the back seat. This way the panel will be nice and flat with no need for a cover or anything added there.

Next up was blending the trim piece I added around the sub cutout last week with some bondo. Took it out to our shop at work to make a mess with it. When I was sanding the bondo down, I sanded down some of the edge of the trim piece so it's a nice gradual contour. It should look nice and smooth when covered :thumb:

In place, and looking great IMO

Next up, I FINALLY found a black 98 console and it showed up at my door on Friday. It's in great shape, but I think I still may hit it with some black paint from CJPP, it looks a little neglected and I can't get it to look nice and deep black like my factory console.

And here is the key design aspect of it that I was after, the removable cup holder insert that neatly snaps down in place.

Here's a rough mockup of the plan I have for it. The water temp and volt gauges will be mounted in a custom fiberglass pod using the cup holder, should look pretty nice when I'm finished with it.

I ended up remaking the PVC inserts so they were positioned closer to the middle of the cup holder areas, then epoxied them in place.

After the epoxy was dry, I stretched fleece over the cup holder insert and the PVC pieces, mixed up some fiberglass resin and brushed it on. The fleece is great because it stretches really nicely in all directions, and once you add resin to it, it gives you a nice strong shape to sand and add filler to.

I let the resin cure for a couple hours, then cut away the excess fleece and trimmed out the holes. I gave it a quick sanding to get an idea how it looks and I'm really happy with how it came out. It obviously still needs a lot of sanding and shaping, and a little bondo work to get it smooth.

Gauges mocked in place. Notice the dent in the trim ring around the water temp gauge, my dumbass dropped it on the floor

I emailed Autometer and they said if I ship the gauge to them, they can replace the ring and crimp on a new one for $12-17, which sure as hell beats $130 for a new gauge. Nice little tip for any of you guys who may have a gauge with a dented trim ring! :thumb: You just have to print out a form and fill it out, then throw it in the box with your gauge.

Snapped it into the console real quick to get an idea how it looks. It'll look much more at home once I sand it down nice and slender and get it smooth. Also, I talked to the owner of Carbon Driven and I'm gonna ship the pod to him when I'm done to have it wrapped in real carbon fiber so it'll tie in nicely with the other carbon bits I have in the interior :bananen_smilies039:

That's all for now!

great job on all this!! ok..ok, now i'm considering this a competition on who can do the sickest trunk, i admit it..hahahaha!!! badass dan

[1997cobra]

Very nice job on the gauge pod. I'm going to have to steal that fleece trick for my gauge pod on my jeep!

[Schiffy]

Damn man... Everything in there is so clean and though out and executed! Thy need to come shoot your car for the magazine again, it's getting better and better!

Tapatalk made me do it!

[95riosnake]

Yes

Ordered it Tuesday night, unfortunately it says it will ship in 4-7 days...ugh. Other colors didn't say it would take as long, 94-98 black must be a popular one. Won't be putting the 98 console in this weekend.

I love this car! The detail work you put into that irs is amazing! I'm looking forward to seeing the trunk completely finished as well as the interior. Awesome work so far

Thanks man! Side note, is that your dog in your avatar? The wife and I are getting a malamute the second week of June... so my life is going to get even busier lol.

Never would have thought of gauges in the cup holder. Then again, I use that stupid thing all the time lol. Awesome man!

Haha thanks, I very very rarely find myself drinking anything in this car, but I am thinking I might swap the flip-out 95 cup holder storage bin into the 98 console so I'll still have some kind of cup holder for road trips.

great job on all this!! ok..ok, now i'm considering this a competition on who can do the sickest trunk, i admit it..hahahaha!!! badass dan

Thanks broseph! I think we're both going to end up with a super clean setup. Your design is completely different than mine so it'll be a bit like apples to oranges, lol.

Very nice job on the gauge pod. I'm going to have to steal that fleece trick for my gauge pod on my jeep!

Yea I forget where I saw that trick but it works great. For parts like these that don't have to be rock hard like the sub enclosure for the trunk, just the fleece and resin is plenty. Sand it smooth, add some filler and it's ready to paint :thumb:

Damn man... Everything in there is so clean and though out and executed! Thy need to come shoot your car for the magazine again, it's getting better and better!

Haha I appreciate it! Yea I'm kinda bummed that the feature came before absolutely everything in this thread, lol. A LOT has changed about the car since that feature, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't secretly hoping to get a second feature someday from them or from some other publication

[SVTurbo 98]

Thanks man! Side note, is that your dog in your avatar? The wife and I are getting a malamute the second week of June... so my life is going to get even busier lol.

Nice, congrats!..and yes that's my female siberian husky. They're very similar to malamutes in the way they act just a smaller breed. They're very smart and easy to train when they're pups but can be stubborn at times. I'm sure you and your wife have researched the traits of malamutes/huskys so you know what to expect. I wouldn't recommend them for everyone but if you have the lifestyle to be able to keep up with one they are awesome companions. Let me know if you have any questions about anything.

[95riosnake]

Nice, congrats!..and yes that's my female siberian husky. They're very similar to malamutes in the way they act just a smaller breed. They're very smart and easy to train when they're pups but can be stubborn at times. I'm sure you and your wife have researched the traits of malamutes/huskys so you know what to expect. I wouldn't recommend them for everyone but if you have the lifestyle to be able to keep up with one they are awesome companions. Let me know if you have any questions about anything.

Oh ok, couldn't see the blue eyes in that pic, they looked brown so I thought it was a malamute. My brother in law has a husky and we love that dog. My wife has been doing a crap load of research on malamutes and is dead set on one. We're going to go meet the breeder up in Michigan on Saturday and check out the litter. I'm pretty active with running and such so I'll be bringing the dog along for a lot of that once she is trained, hopefully that will help get her enough exercise. Other than that my wife has been so bored lately with nothing to do that she will love training a dog (I'm just not super excited about waking up EVEN earlier than I already do - 4:45am - to take the dog out before I go to work in the morning haha) I'll hit you up if we have any questions!

Aaaaaand I'll stop derailing my thread now, lol. Back on topic

[Det_Riot]

Oh ok, couldn't see the blue eyes in that pic, they looked brown so I thought it was a malamute. My brother in law has a husky and we love that dog. My wife has been doing a crap load of research on malamutes and is dead set on one. We're going to go meet the breeder up in Michigan on Saturday and check out the litter. I'm pretty active with running and such so I'll be bringing the dog along for a lot of that once she is trained, hopefully that will help get her enough exercise. Other than that my wife has been so bored lately with nothing to do that she will love training a dog (I'm just not super excited about waking up EVEN earlier than I already do - 4:45am - to take the dog out before I go to work in the morning haha) I'll hit you up if we have any questions!

Aaaaaand I'll stop derailing my thread now, lol. Back on topic

Hey, Michigan?! Where at???

[Drake]

^what he said bring the beast lol