Centre Console - Classic Ford

tech features
inside this issue:
Getting technical with the best in the
business. Here’s all you need.
114
PROJECT cortina
Our MkII gets cut
about to take a
six-speed ’box.
120
the ford
specialist
Dave Bean has got
’60s Fords covered
in the USA.
ClassicFord 148 buying Letters a
mki transit
How to pic up a decent
parts hauler
for the right price.
Before you
start...
Safety FIRST
1 2
Always remember safety first when it
comes to power tools and welders so that
means goggles and gloves where
necessary and a decent welding mask (I
would recommend getting a reactive
helmet), and never try and work with a
cheap hand held. When using power tools
always use the correct guards and clamp
the work piece securely to prevent injury.
Before cutting into the steel or alloy sheet, start by
making a template. Some stiff card and a marker
pen are needed here and line it up where you have
decided it will go.
You can then cut the card to shape and make any
adjustments now before transferring the template
to the metal. Remember to take into account any
mounting lips and return folds.
3 4
5
Once this is done, trace round the template onto
your work piece, marking it out as accurately as
possible. Use a biro or similar as it will give a more
accurate line.
6
Using decent tin snips, cut out the console
following the lines carefully. If using thicker allloy
then you may need to use a jigsaw, but make sure
you protect the metal to stop it getting scratched.
7
To add some detail we are putting a series of holes
down each side, so after marking them out with a
pen, the centre of each hole is marked with a centre
punch, which will stop the drill from wandering.
Make Your Own
Centre Console
Don’t want to cut your dash to fit extra gauges or switches?
Then make your own centre console for just a tenner.
For photographic purposes we have removed the
guards, so don’t try this at home kids! We are using
a 25 mm/1 inch hole saw to cut out the holes, five
down either side.
Using a simple vice-mounted folder, the two edges
were folded over at 90 degrees; this will make the
panel nice and stiff and stop it from flexing.
Words and photos Jon Betts
This month we show you how to
make the ever popular centre
console, a common addition to
many modified classic Fords, especially
those going for the race or rally look,
as it creates somewhere to fit all those
extra switches you need. They are also
a popular addition to many road cars
allowing you to insert extra gauges, a
stereo head unit or switchgear without
having to cut into the dash.
A simple console can be made from
either steel or aluminium, the latter
often the preferred medium, although
personally I have opted for the steel
version as it is a little more forgiving
and once painted looks just as good. If
you do opt for an alloy version take
great care when handling the metal as
it is easily marked, and you don’t want
to bugger up all that hard work with a
big scratch right down the front. As
“Perfect for
that race or
rally look”
Info
Tools: pillar drill, hole
saw, hole flare tool, tin
snips, welder, grinder,
hacksaw, file, punch,
hammer, metal bender,
vice and spanners.
Time taken: About an
hour should do it.
Cost: Around 10 quid
for the steel maybe
less if you raid the
scrap bin.
well as painting you could cover it in
vinyl, leather or cloth to match the rest
of your interior — the choice is yours.
We used a piece of 1 mm steel and
again put our Frost hole flaring tool to
good use to add some detail and
strength to the folded edge. No other
special tools are required so you should
be able to tackle this one easily at
home. Again we used and abused the
facilities down at Retro Motorsport in
Harlow, and made the console to fit an
Anglia that was in the workshop
awaiting Gary’s special touch.
8
Using our Frost flaring tool, we added some detail
to each of the holes; this also helps to add strength.
The tool simply clamps to the metal and flares out
one side.
9
The mounting flanges at the top and the bottom
will also need to be bent, but because the sides are
folded over we couldn’t use the folder so a couple
of pieces of angle iron in the vice were used.
10
The piece was then trial fitted in the car so we could
see how much more the lips needed bending. It’s
best to do this a little bit at a time as the piece can
deform if you try to straighten it out.
110 January 2009
January 2009 111

CFTech
11 12 13
Using a body hammer we made some slight
adjustments to both mounting flanges until the
piece fitted perfectly in the car. Using the hammer
kept the bend nice and tight.
14
You can mount just about anything in the console,
but we have opted for a battery kill switch and
some simple toggle switches. So decide where
they are going and mark the position for the holes.
15
We need to drill three holes for the switches and a
1 inch hole for the kill switch. Once drilled, de-burr
the holes and then trial fit all the hardware.
16
We decided to make a small bracket to put an
external pull cable on the kill switch, this was just a
small diamond shape bent in half and braced. Once
welded we cleaned it up with the grinder.
17
Here you can see the bracket better, along with the
M8 nut we welded in place which will house the
adjuster, similar to the ones found on your old pedal
bike on the brake lever.
Sadly I couldn’t find an adjuster so decided to make
my own from an M8 allen head bolt, I simply drilled
down the centre with a one-eighth drill bit to allow
the cable to go through it.
18
Here you can see how it all goes together after
everything has had a lick of paint. The cable
goes to the outside of the car allowing a
marshal to kill the electrical system and so shut
down the car in the event of an accident.
Next
Month
spare wheel
mount
And here it is in the car and I reckon it looks pretty
good. They can be made to fit just about any car,
and if you are lucky you will be able to use some of
the original fixings on the dash to mount it.
112 January 2009