So I got my center console all cleaned up, took a couple hours to get all the nasty grime off.



The armrest needs redone, luckily the padding is still good


I'm prolly gonna paint the whole console dark gray to match the rest of the truck

What color do you guys think I recover the armrest with? Dark Gray or Black, BTW I it will still be leather.


I also need some ideas of what to do with the old vent holes and and space from the radio and A/C controls.

Maybe a CB?

 

Also, I have to find some where mount these


And someway to route this wire

 

here is some of my threads

https://www.ranger-forums.com/f69/ne...u-think-78862/

 

love your seats, I think a CB there would be pretty nice

 

looks good, but fwiw, it's not leather on the console lid. vinyl all the way. if you are going to paint it, i would color match the lid. they are easy to cover with a heat gun and a staple gun. takes me about 10 minutes to do one.

 

First off route the Ipod cord to the glove box out of site if you have a controller built into the radio....

For the switch for your hellas if you dont use you cig lighter take the lighter apart so you just have the metal cylinder left then you can put that switch into the cig lighter... It fits perfect

 

Here's an Idea for you on those holes in the back, I'm going to get some type of a fuse block that will fit into one of vent holes and use it power up my accessories that I'm going to add to the truck. I'm also going to get a power inverter and fill up the other vent hole and add 1 or 2 120v plug ins right there. The big hole I'm trying to decide what to do with it. Just throwing some of my ideas at you.

 

Yea, I brain farted, I ordered a new cover, dark gray, the hole thing while be painted to match

I can't use the radio as the controller, I have to use the ipod

That's a pretty good idea


I think the switches for the lights and transmitter will be mounted on the top of the first cubby hole facing down. I'll do something similar with the bass control

Keep the ideas comin

 

can't you just make it an air vent out of it agian to make it blow air into back?

 

I don't need it to blow air

 

I'm doing something similar to my Exp console...

Like most of us, I have no use for the vents so I cut out the divider & rotation tabs & filled the area in with 1/4" plywood. Painted & drilled holes for 12v outlets. Also added a hole for a 5mm led on top to indicate when the 12v outlets are powered. Seems like there's never enough 12v outlets... I'm going to use the OEM console 12v outlet on the passenger's side and add a few more too.

My console was missing the rear fold down door/cup holder, so I'm currently looking for ideas as for what to do. I'm thinking about opening up that entire area (just leaving the attachment holes) and making an extra storage space below the console. Since the back panel is easy to remove, I'm in no hurry to get it finished, plus nobody can see mine anyway.

As for the radio/hvac control area... Maybe another small storage area, or a hiding place for my LED utility light. Could be used for a power distribution block or fuse panel for the stereo.

My lid had a hole in the middle so I decided to cover mine with gray automotive carpet. It looks pretty good, but I may change it to black carpet later. Unfortunately, all the fabric stores around here went out of business years ago, so I'm stuck using whatever I can round up.

I'm currently working on filling the "tissue holder" area in the middle section so I can have a nice semi-hidden area for my switches & horn button.

I have the airbag switch also. I found that there are 2 wiring harnesses (at least in mine there are 2) that are clipped to the dash. I finally got the clips removed & it gave me enough slack to pull the airbag switch forward & down enough so that I can mount it in the driver's side of the console, near the floor vent. Need to cut off some more of the metal console front bracket for clearance. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to re-use the OEM "OFF" indicator so it lights up when the switch is turned off. It won't be easy, but it should be worth the effort to make it look like OEM.

Pics to come here: https://www.ranger-forums.com/f40/te...s-more-106132/

 

I like the idea of 12V plugs for the vent holes.

I still think a CB there could be nice.

I haven't thought of anything for the tissue holder.

I ordered the recovering kit off ebay for like $18

 

I saw some of the recover kits, but I thought the vinyl material would be super hot in the 100* summer days.

I had a roll of gray & black carpet laying around, gray was the first roll I picked up.

You could probably fit a CB back there... maybe mount it vertically so that it stands upright. It will take up the space of the vents & hvac controls (make some panels to cover the openings) but the CB controls will be facing upwards for easy access.

I ran a 10ga wire from my power distribution/fuse block (mounted in the jump seat area) under the carpet & over to the rear of the console. I'll have a distribution/connection point under the console for easy access. It should be more than enough for a few 12v outlets, voltmeter and whatever else I might have the need for.
I may even have the 2 rear 12v outlets fused separately with 10a or 15a fuses to use with my emergency air compressor.

I gotta quit coming up with ideas, I'm never gonna get this thing finished.

 

I recovered mine in vinyl for 50 cents lol. I did the same thing with the 10ga wire to a aux 10 panel fuse block mounted to the floor underneath the console inserts. Worked great, kept everything neat and organized.