dr_broon Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Hope that fixes it mate. I've been keeping an eye on the spare wheel well in mine, and so far so good, and that's with a bit of rain and couple of rinses at the jet wash (no brushes mind you...) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 So, time for a bit of an update! I have started the double din conversion for DD. So, here's where we started! I cut the lower horizontal part of the single din section out of the spare dash I had. With that cut out, I then did the opposite with another spare dash and cut out the upper horizontal part of the dash. Next, the two parts were offered up together with the double din cage that I bought, to see how they fitted together. Pretty good as it goes, although there was a small gap of about 5mm between the two halves. This needed much work with resin and fibreglass to make it strong enough not to break. After fiberglass I used areldite chemical metal to fill over the join. and showing the rear After this, I sanded the filler smooth, and reshaped it to match contours of the dash. Then, sprayed with plastic primer. Once paint had dried, it was onto satin black... even though it can't be seen, I sprayed the rear of the panel too. The black looks shiny as this was straight after painting it so its still wet. It dries to an almost oem satin finish. I noticed on some of the conversions I've seen, the bottom half of the dash is now too long due to adding in the extra din size. This meant the little cubby tray at the bottom sits way down past the bottom of the console. I wanted to avoid that as I didnt think it looked right, so I cut around 5cm from the bottom of the bottom sections uprights (the bit where the heater would originally sit below the original radio). Can see where I've cut it in the first phot below of it fitted to the console... How it looks all roughly fitted together (clock is hanging our lol) Sooo, after fitting it together I have decided that I'm going to go over the joins with a fine filler, to get it absolutely perfect. It's hard to see the joins to be fair, but my ocd knows they are there! So will mask of the sides and then fill it so it matches all contours perfectly. Then just a case of spraying it again. All in all, really happy that I've got the bulk of it done and how it's turned out. Think once I'm finished, you'd be hard pushed to tell it didn't come from the factory like this! Then I need to choose the head unit! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_broon Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 That looks spot on mate! Good work 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 Thanks mate! Took a hella lot of work and many hours (and wasted a few consoles trying to get it right!) but overall happy with it so far. Good thing is, If I want to it can all be reverted back to oem dash. Would love to get the console 3D printed but from what I've seen and read would cost a fortune. Might still look into it though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiNK43 Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 That is really great Dave. Best conversion I've seen so far. The effort with the fibreglass etc makes a difference. Love it 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan1 Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 Looks so good! Definitely worth perfecting it now while its out the car. Will be good to see it once its all sorted and back in the car. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 Thanks guys! Just been and bought the fine filler and more satin black. Will report back once it's done 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patxi Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 I like your work, mines looks awefull now xD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 So decided that I wasn't happy with it, even though it was almost perfect joins wise etc. So decided to do more filling/sanding smoothing. Had noticed it wasnt even around the console when fitted, so masked console and started applying bumper filler followed by knifing filler for a smooth finish. got it sanded to a super smooth finish, and the joins were perfect. Once into rpimer, couldnt see any joins and all the contours were spot on! Spent hours sanding and shaping it so was really pleased! Went to get more satin black paint, got it from Halfords (my 1st mistake!) I should have learned from the past! Halfords paint is the worst ever! 2nd mistake was applying the halfords paint onto the lovely surround! Paint reacted and ruined it!!!!!! in this photo, you can see how nice the shape/joins turned out. Unfortunately, heres what the paint did on the rest of it! To say i'm gutted is an understatement! Halfords should be banned from selling this shit! I should have remembered from when I was doing the wheel refurbs the first time round, the lacquer was soft as hell and went flat and dull after a week. then rain/brake dust marked it all with in 2weeks. So, word of warning, do not buy paint from Halfords! I'm not beat though! I'll sand the paint off and then prep for painting again. Will use proper paint (same as first time I painted it) so the end result should hopefully be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 In other news, DD went for her mot today...................and failed! TBF, I took a chance knowing her handbrake was crap! That was all she failed on though so I'm happy. The chap at the garage is and older guy, been a mechanic most of his life. When I went to pick her up, he had me there for an hour blethering about DD! Said that he was really impressed with her, and that he used to work for a Honda dealership many moons ago and loved old Honda's! Currently drives a mk2 CRV himself and swears by Honda. He said he was surprised when he had her up on the ramp, saying that she was immaculate, even underneath! Said he could see she has been well cared for, and really likes her! after talking for a while, agreed the work on the rear brakes to get them spot on. They're also going to fit the brand new rear discs I got for DD, then she's getting a full "big" service as she's not had one for years (not done enough miles) but has now hit 10K since last one so deffo due. Said the big service will see everything done, new filters, new oil, new spark plugs, all brakes stripped down and cleaned greased etc. He said to make sure I keep looking after her the way we have as she's a stunner and not many around now. So seems DD has got a new fan, and we have finally found our decent garage down here! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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