A-Body console Information needed

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Mopar-Mitch

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I bought a console for my Demon, going from column shift to floor shift, and I noticed the console is made of what appears to be SMC fiberglass. All the E and B body's I've owned were injection molded plastic. My question is were all the coffin shaped A-Body console's 68 to 76 SMC or are some of them injection molded plastic?
 
Aside from the top finish, woodgrain in later years and silver around 68 and earlier, they come in A/C and non- A/C flavors. The A/C ones got put through the chop saw at the end to clear the duct.
 
I bought a console for my Demon, going from column shift to floor shift, and I noticed the console is made of what appears to be SMC fiberglass. All the E and B body's I've owned were injection molded plastic. My question is were all the coffin shaped A-Body console's 68 to 76 SMC or are some of them injection molded plastic?

The outside surface has the leather grain look and the inside has cast bosses for screws and the part numbers cast into the plastic. I wouldn't call it fiberglass.
 
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If you ever break a console then you'll see its not the typical ABS they used most everywhere else. SMC sounds right, mixture of fiberglass and nylon or plastic.
 
I don't know if my 74 Duster had original but it is pot metal mostly. It is heavy as hell and rattles. I took it out and plan to make a fiberglass replacement.
 
I don't know if my 74 Duster had original but it is pot metal mostly. It is heavy as hell and rattles. I took it out and plan to make a fiberglass replacement.
Yes the top plates are pot metal. the hollow body is molded some chit.
 
All I have seen are that composite/fiberglass material, not plastic. You gotta remember, plastic was fairly new in the 70's so it was not being used in cars much until the 80's rolled around. Before that they had bakelite which was a decent material but was not very impact resistant.
Correct on the nose being chopped on AC cars that used the under dash vent.
 
I repaired one using mar-glass. To get the pebbled finish i used the sticky side of duct tape. Once i painted it, was barely noticeable.
 
I need to paint mine, no cracks but it has some scratches. It has that peebled looking finish, maybe organosol? It's got me thinking maybe spray on bedliner? I want it to look correct. Any ideas? Thanks.
 
I built a box for my flat screen tv to sit on,and to hold the center speaker, i sprayed it with paintable undercoating and a couple coats of rattle can black.
Looks good.
 
SEMs dye for plastics and vinyl works. The textured finish will remain if its not flooded with paint.
 
Mopar Connection online magazine just did an article about restoring an a body console. It It was a good write up as they had to make some repairs to the console and they listed all of the part numbers for the products they used. They used SEM dye and SEM also makes a texture paint to match the grain on the console. Here is a link to the article:
Gallery: Low-Buck Dart Console Rebuild With Classic Industries - Mopar Connection Magazine | A comprehensive daily resource for Mopar enthusiast news, features and the latest Mopar tech
 
Mopar Connection online magazine just did an article about restoring an a body console. It It was a good write up as they had to make some repairs to the console and they listed all of the part numbers for the products they used. They used SEM dye and SEM also makes a texture paint to match the grain on the console. Here is a link to the article:
Gallery: Low-Buck Dart Console Rebuild With Classic Industries - Mopar Connection Magazine | A comprehensive daily resource for Mopar enthusiast news, features and the latest Mopar tech
Thanks! Great article.
 
Aside from the top finish, woodgrain in later years and silver around 68 and earlier, they come in A/C and non- A/C flavors. The A/C ones got put through the chop saw at the end to clear the duct.
Is there a noticeable difference between AC and Non-AC, one that you can tell easy enough by just eyeballing it?
 
Is there a noticeable difference between AC and Non-AC, one that you can tell easy enough by just eyeballing it?

Yes. The AC consoles were just cut off at the front.

img_20161030_172026763-jpg.jpg


If the AC was added by a dealer sometimes even more was cut off, as in, the entire front of the console. It depended on what they installed for an under dash vent. Like this...

s-l1600 (1).jpg


s-l1600 (2).jpg


s-l1600 (3).jpg
 
Mine was a column shift car and I added a console. I set it back a few inches to get the aftermarket shifter in the correct location. I guess I lucked out by gaining extra clearance on the A/C ducting as well.

console 1.jpg


console 2.jpg
 
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