The Brick, 1972 Dodge Dart Custom

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Just carpet to dash pad frame. I tried to use padding on the one I did on my Duster a long time ago, and had no luck with it. If you used dense enough polyfoam (like the memory foam stuff), I guess it could work.
 
What a beautiful Saturday! In the 90s, cloudy, and time to FINALLY get that console finished.

The cardboard templates were a HUGE help in getting the shape roughed out, but it still took a bunch of tweaking to get it right.

However, the finished product came out pretty nice. I understand, now, why Cudaspaz would charge that much to build one......this pretty much ate up the entire day. Oh well, it looks good, and adds a lot to the front of the car.

dash+and+consol2.jpg

dash+and+console1.jpg


Tomorrow, going to try to get the front speaker mounted and get the wiring to the amps done.......Thank God for Joe and Steve!
 
Looks great. Been wanting to add a console to my ride. What did you make it out of? Did you block the back so that the heat will flow around it? ANd last, how did you mount it to the floor?
 
I dig it... Very nice. Maybe a little black testors paint to make those silver screws not stand out against the black.

Looks really good.
 
HemiPar said:
Looks great. Been wanting to add a console to my ride. What did you make it out of? Did you block the back so that the heat will flow around it? ANd last, how did you mount it to the floor?
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It is made out of 1/2 inch thick MDF board, which was then carpet covered, and then installed in 2 pieces. The heater in that car never gets used (heater control valve is rusted shut :(). If I fix that, I will fabricate a heater air flow channel to push the hot air out wither side - Probably some 1 or 2 inch convoluted (thing dryer veny) tube, and then little custom grills on the side.

The console was custom formed to the floor, so is a very tight fit - no mounting done at all. Pretty much just wedged in between the AC vents and the trans tunnel.

@ Hemitheus - I am leaving it as is for now, as in order to wire for the amps, I need to be able to get it out again, then once all that is finalized, I will go ahead and paint those screw heads black.
 
HemiPar said:
Looks great. Been wanting to add a console to my ride. What did you make it out of? Did you block the back so that the heat will flow around it? ANd last, how did you mount it to the floor?
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Thinking about it now, I will not be too hard to seal the back of the console off at all, and then line the back with some heat barrier to keep the deck cool, maybe even a little fan, like one that would be in a computer.
 
PC fans are already 12v too so its easy breezy.

it also looks like you built it to horseshoe around the shifter base. Dont think its going anywhere
 
Yeah, it is pretty snug - took the family on a quick road trip for dinner to make sure it wasn't going anywhere and how the car sounds with a modern stereo in it. Again, kids thought it was the coolest thing. My daughter pointed out that all it really needs is the headliner and it is all "fixed up on the inside." This, from my 7 year old is a vote of confidence!
 
Have you thought of mounting the dash on the lower A pillar screw? Also you could mount the Sunpro gauges in the console and put the ashtray back in and place your Ipod in there when listening to music with it plugged into the radio.
 
74DartSwinger360 said:
Have you thought of mounting the dash on the lower A pillar screw? Also you could mount the Sunpro gauges in the console and put the ashtray back in and place your Ipod in there when listening to music with it plugged into the radio.
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I like the location of the gauges, keeps them high enough to be in eyeshot while driving, and as for the first question - that makes no sense to me, maybe I am missing something.

My buddy Joe has some plans for adding to the console, like a little "pocket" area to the passenger side of the shifter housing to hold my phone (which houses my music files and Pandora :)) and possibly even a cup holder or two. Right now, it is in there to get the stereo in place, and once the amps are in place, who knows what we will do.
 
Sorry about that little tired. I ment to say have you thought of puttin the tach on the lower A pillar screw that is where I have mine and it is great.
 
Well, besides the headliner, I need to get the original seats (been seriously thinking about this the last few days) recovered in my choice of colors and fabrics (thinking the heavy duty velour and vinyl), keeping with the Black and Tan theme I have going on, and then reinstalling them in the car. Not that I do not like the front and rear seats I have now, but they are out of a 2 door car, the back seat doesn't fit like it should, and having that center armrest up front would be handy. I looked at Legendary, and they make the front, but not the back seat covers, so I am on the hunt.
 
74DartSwinger360 said:
Sorry about that little tired. I ment to say have you thought of puttin the tach on the lower A pillar screw that is where I have mine and it is great.
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Had it there, and just moved it to the column. Not sure if I like it there, but it is sat low enough to not block anything, and looks pretty slick. It keeps it out of the eye line of anyone looking in the car too.
 
Thanks for the info. Sounds like I need to get going. I like the idea of cup holders. I have colum shift and dash mount radio so my console would be longer, so I have to think what else to put on it.
And I see we have the same radio. A pervious owner had hacked the dash for the radio there. It took me some work to get it to look right. Should have just replaced the dash.
 
Never had to worry about that on my 71 Duster - back in those days, you could still find decent shaft style stereos with all the goodies, but without the hefty price tags of today's units.

Building the console isn't hard, just time consuming. Get some cardboard, rough out the shapes that you need, cut to the outside of your lines, and then trim the side boards to be where you want them, add center bracing, and then build the front the way you like it. Or, get ahold of Cudaspaz, as his custom built console is pretty bad ***, and he is willing to make one for you.

I am interested to see what Teh Reverend (my friend Joe) will say about adding some stuff to the console. He is always full of good ideas, and might have something nifty for cup holders/accessory pockets and what not.
 
Got the amps installed (pics tomorrow) and all is working fine. The headlights dim just a bit when the bass hits, but since my friend Joe tuned the system to what I listen to, it doesn't happen often and sounds really good.

Now if I can figure out what I did to kill the interior lights......**sigh** it's always something. I wonder if it happened because I pulled that map light switch out......I guess that is a problem for next weekend.
 
BlackBrick said:
Now if I can figure out what I did to kill the interior lights......**sigh** it's always something. I wonder if it happened because I pulled that map light switch out......I guess that is a problem for next weekend.
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Yep, pulling that switch interrupted the interior light circuit.....so I got to fix that - maybe tomorrow morning.
 
i can get you some of that gold paint that you need for dash. i need a console fabbed up for my plum crazy purple datsun 521. r u game?
 
Hi! nice project!
but..I see your propotionig(?) valve for the brakes are mounted on the front brakes? I think (not sure) its best to mount them on the front brake line that goes to the rear brakes! this way you get full pressure to the front brakes, and reduce the pressure on the rear drums. I think you get better brakes this way!?

keep on wrenching!
 
Well, had to put the Brick on the back burner for a bit. School, work, family, and a move kept me pretty busy. Things are slowing down, so I will be working on the cooling system as it has been giving me problems lately.

@ Norway - I used the stock prop valve and a manual disc brake master. The adjustable valve is to back the pressure off the rear brakes to keep them from locking up before the front brakes fully engage. I have not had an ounce of trouble with the brakes since install.

@HemiTM - yes, but the rear seat fits like poop, but these work great until I can get the originals redone. Of course that part will have to wait until after my next move to the midwest this summer....

@ DarTT - hopefully this weekend or the next!
 
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