Console Lid

[Gars68]

I bought a console lid cover and was looking for some installation advice. Has anyone ever tried trimming one? The stock lid is much shallower. If I decide to trim the bottom edge, how in the world would I be able to keep a nice straight line?

[greydog]

Got a woodworking friend? There are laminate trimming bits for routers that do a nice job.
I shaved mine off on my belt sander before I glued it down.
Dan

[FergO2k]

Now I am seeing it, large overhang.
Put protective tape, but durable, like the thin glossy packing tape on the inner landing surface of the console.
Now you run a safety knife along the slippery tape, making a scribe line in the molded cover on inside surface.
Tip it up so the bench keeps the scribing side of the cover supported on the backside, so the line can be seen.

Remove it and use a dremel or drum sander (recommend the second) to work your way up to the line.
Always tilt the sander towards inner, so outer look stays clean edge. (Crown molding trick)
Recommend block sanding to final edge.
Hint: we have a tendency to put piece in a vise and hold the drill with the drum sander.
Try opposite approach.
Put drum sander in a drill, put a rag that doesn’t cover the cooling inlets, and put it in the vise, softly.
Now put the drill on constant ON, and feed the piece across, stroking while material gets removed.

Because of the variability of the consoles, replacements are always molded bigger, trim on assembly. (That just comes with the vintage of our roadsters)

[dynaguy]

Maybe try a large 10-12" bastard file, if you do not have power tools. FWIW Pat

[GeoffM]

Instead of trying to trim the lip, I went the opposite way and used some high density foam as a spacer between the original lid/lock and the new cover.

[Gars68]

All great ideas thanks. What about this....glue the cover on the old lid. And then use a thin piece of metal as a guide for my sander. Of course I'll need a shorter piece of metal for the front and back as I work my way around the lid. The metal will prevent me from going too deep and keep a nice straight edge.

[Gars68]

would somebody mind posting a pic or two of their console (late model) specifically of the shift plate area? Ideally a shot from right above the shift plate looking down, and, one where it "hinges" itself to the silver metal area of the console. The skin that I installed is keeping my shift plate a little too high and not allowing me to hinge it together. Also, does the plate sit on top of the console, or does it sit level with the side runners of the console? I'll post a pic of mine later as my old Android started having a "blinking" disorder while trying to post
Gar

[mraitch]

why don't you post a pic of the area of what you have (thus what you want). With the perspective of what you are looking for!

[Gars68]

Here's a pic showing the shift plate and how high it sits. After taking this picture, I experimented with loosening the front holddown tabs on the underside of the silver ashtray assembly. This allows for the assembly to lift just enough for the shift plate to hinge itself in. We'll see.

[mraitch]

The shift plate sits under the console and the screws (captive) go through the console and anchor the shift plate.

[redroadster68]

Hope these picks help folks.

[redroadster68]

I set mine up differently. Every pic I’ve seen has the shifter plate sitting on top of the console ... I’ve put mine underneath. I think it looks pretty clean. Happy with the way my console refurb turned out. Any questions let me know

[Gars68]

Nice job and thanks for posting the pics!

[spl310]

I have often wondered why Nissan put the shift plate on top of the side rails of the console rather than fitting it in between them. It would look a little better to me.

[rwmann]

Reviving old thread for a related question... What type of seats are those?