Fiberglass Center Console (triple guage pod + Android)

[ImportFanatiK]

I have been working on this for the last year on and off, and wanted to share some pictures with you guys.

At first, I just wanted to replace the center vents with the triple guage pod.
Here is the origional plastic piece customized using bondo & fiberglass:

By importfanatik at 2011-11-02
That wasnt too hard, but I quickly realized that it would crack constantly due to the different expansion rates of fiberglass, bondo and plastic,..
So I started trying to make a fiberglass mold...
Unfortunately, this took 5 attempts until I created a usable mold.
Mold1: brush on mold release, gelcoat, then 4 layers of fiberglass, wood reinforcement.
Result: aligatoring!! okay, try again,..

Mold2: brush on mold release, fiberglass resin, 4 layers of fiberglass, wood reinforcement.
Result: better, but there thin spots in the surface that quickly cracked away,. arg!

Mold3: brush on mold release, bondo, 4 layers of fiberglass, wood reinforcement.
Result: air bubles in bondo,..

Mold4: spray on mold relese, brush-on-40 liquid rubber, 4 layers of fiberglass
Result: usable!!

Here is a pic of my many failed attempts at making molds:

By importfanatik at 2011-11-02


Here is a pic of my first usable copy created from the mold!

By importfanatik at 2011-11-02

Here is a pic of my first copy, customized for my Acer A100 tablet:

By importfanatik at 2011-11-02


Here it is again but painted:

By importfanatik at 2011-11-02

Still a ways to go,...

Next step is installing the TTL bluetooth chip on my honda ECU so I can see my guages on the tablet.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.linszter.hondadatalog

By importfanatik at 2011-11-02

That plus GPS Nav & Multimedia of course..

Thanks for reading,
Regards,
- James

[fraze]

I was able to grasp every concept presented with the exception of A HONDA ECU in your MR2. then my brain barfed and I had to go to sleep.

[immorality]

Yes, but you can tune an OEM honda ecu yourself quite easily for very little investment in time or money. How many people tune their own OEM MR2 ecu? None. Sounds like a reasonable idea to me.

[adam]

Awesome work

[PearlWhiteMR2]

I wish this was Facebook so I could like this post! Very cool work! I love that you made an android tablet fit in there, SOOO much more you can do with it than just a regular car deck! Brilliant!

And yes, Honda ECUs have been seen on MR2s before, it's odd but it does work better for some people as Russ said.

[Oteck]

i got a slightly similar app for my iphone that does that for odb2 only
maybe one of these days i'll bug you to modify me a steering column shroud for my power tilt and telescopic column hehe

[ImportFanatiK]

i got a slightly similar app for my iphone that does that for odb2 only
maybe one of these days i'll bug you to modify me a steering column shroud for my power tilt and telescopic column hehe

Power & telescopic?? Nice! What is it out of?

[Oteck]

for now it's a secret Im lacking some wiring info so i cannot do it yet, once i do get it the system will be a breeze. notice the gaps on the column i had to cut out to get it to fit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJOzzNYk3jI

[ImportFanatiK]

for now it's a secret Im lacking some wiring info so i cannot do it yet, once i do get it the system will be a breeze. notice the gaps on the column i had to cut out to get it to fit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJOzzNYk3jI

nice!

[fraze]

Yes, but you can tune an OEM honda ecu yourself quite easily for very little investment in time or money. How many people tune their own OEM MR2 ecu? None. Sounds like a reasonable idea to me.

I had no idea this was possible. Now after researching it, this might be my next step. Thanks for the heads-up!

[Oteck]

i need to read up on mold making as i want to start making them for clear plastic pieces... my future project means a nice array of hi-powered led lenses shooting through clear plastic

[ImportFanatiK]

Decided to integrate the acer dock so its a bit more plug and play and I can use the remote.
still needs some minor sanding,.. but mostly done,..





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