An idea that's been rattling around in the brainbox for a couple of years is that of a tidy roof console for the RRC to house the CB and some Aux swithches - along with the general clutter that ends up in the centre console around the handbrake and gearlever...not to mention the cup holders.

I searched online for suppliers of an item that should surely be available to purchase. Eventually I happened upon "Th Department on the interior" .........http://www.consoles.com.au/index.htm - an aussie supplier of interior dash pods and consoles. Beautifully made but not too beautifully priced.....AU$430 plus shipping duty etc.....there must be an easier solution.

There is make your own for about $120!!!!
First I spiled off the curved centre line of the roof from a car with the headliner removed....onto a sheet of scrap MDF.

Then I drew out the possible shapes I could make it and tried to estimate how much space I would need for the CB etc.

Next I made a plug or blank former from some foil-backed insulation. I glued a few 25mm blocs together woth the glue gun on the foil side and traced out the shape I thought would work best onto the sides then trimmed it to shape with a variety of saws blades carving knives etc. It's easy stuff to pear as its hard but a bit messy as you start trimming.

As I dont have a sunroof I knew that space where the sunroof switches normally live would be a "pocket" for the tail of the CB to sit into. I also figured I could feed the wiring out thro' there or thro' the hole left by the rooflight which would have to be removed.

Double click the picture for a bigger version.

having been able to see the dummy in place I could modify the angles, length, width etc and also see how it would fit between the sunvisors.

Here's a shot of the before.

Once I had decided on the overall shape and profile I bought a sheet of 6mm marine ply. I wanted it to be as light as possible because at this stage I still wasn't fully sure how it would be mounted.

I clamped two pieces together and cut and shaped the two sides at once to ensure uniformity.

next I cut out the top - again using 6mm and the bottom using 9mm ply. I made the bottom heavier as it would have to withstand the weight of things in the console plus the possibility of knocks from below.

Next came the panels for the CB and I left a space in the end for a dvd player for the kids, whenever...if ever, the budget allows.

Initially I glued and screwed the sides together and let them set for 48hrs then removed the srews and relaced them with tacks as the screw heads would have prevented me from rounding the corners a bit. I used some hardwood to retain the removeable panels for radio and swithches. and glued these in - again waiting at least a day for them to set. At this stage it was starting to take shape, I already had a couple of Aux switches here with Led's so I bought two more and a four blade fuse holder and drilled for the switches. I hadn't cut out the sides at this stage fully so I came up with the idea of a flat panel over a hole where the light used to be - this would alllow me to bring all the wires through that hole and run them backwards or forwards as necessary and it would all be hidden behind the final trim.

At this stage I had a another bright idea - the problem with designing as you make! I decided there was enough room for a hand cut out and compatrment on the drivers side for glases or whatever.. so out with the hole saw and jig saws and a couple more internal partitions (with notches to provide for future wire runs).

After phoning around I found an upholstry shop in Dublin with a selection of vinyls. I had though of covering the console with a roof cloth salvaged from another rangie or discovery but the foam on these is usually in poor condition and it wouldn't take a huge splinter to cause all sorts of pulls etc whilst covering and working with glue. I really didn't fancy my chances of getting a quality finish if I went this route.

After rooting for ages in the Capel St. Shop I bought 2yardsof Vinyl (Way too much) for $35. I couldnt match the colour of the visors/roof cloth so I settled on a mid gray which is very close to the seat cloth colour. Two pots of evo stick and some gorilla glue and we were ready for covering.

I used the gorilla glue on the switch and radio panels - it acts a bit like expanding foam if you dampen the panel first. It has to remain clamped whilst setting so I didn't want to do the big piece with it. The advantage of doing the small pieces is that it sets so solid they could be trimmed up on the table saw without damaging the vinyl.

I used Evo stick for the main but of the box and there was lots of cursing and swearing as the tools stuck to the bench and my fingers stuck together but we got there after a couple of evenings.

Okay - that was the easy bit over. Now the whole thing started to get a bit tricky. You see this little project tied into two others - Finishing the roofrack lighting nd flooring and fitting an auxillary battry for the cb, rooflights and winch. But I wanted to do the whole lot before the LRmax show and I also wanted the rack to be removable. To this end I had purchased a marine deck fitting for the wiring from a Marine chandlers ( you can get them online too). I chose a marine one because they come with weatherproof caps so that in the future I could unplug the lighting, lift the rack away and cap the socket. I also wanted to do the same with the CB aerial.

At this point I had to drop the headlining so that I could assess the various mounting options. One plan I had was to rivet to parallel strips to the Rearview Mirror Sunvisor Bracket over the front windscreen then to the roof stiffeners, this would give a nuber ot fixing options along the length of the console. Once the headlining is dropped you loose your reference for where the box will finish up. So careful measurements had to be taken from the screw holes as they would still be visible. I dropped the roof cloth and drilled for the Wiring and CB mount. I also enlisted the help of Alex my 9yr old son to sat on the cubby box with the console balanced on his head and offered it up using the the reference measurements. I had to be quick at this point as, like most 9yr olds, he has a short attention span!!!

I decided to drill the roof stiffeners for rivnuts. Two either side of the interior light mount and two to the rear which would be accessable from the rear panel of the console. With the rivnuts fitted I ran the power wires up the nearside a pillar from the Auxilliary and I ran the power and earth wires to the lighting socket. With the Roof lining refitted and the wires fed through the hole from the light I offered up the console and cut the pocket for the CB to sit into (see pics).

I know from past experience you cant drill throught the headcloth - It gets caught in the drill bil and winds itself around it ruining the whole lheadliner. So I burnt two holes in the surface cloth using a headed drill bit then drilled through the backing to access the rivnuts. The panel bolted into place and snugged up beautifully. The headlining looks disturbed after cutting but settled back nicely.

There was just enought space behind the swithes to house the 4 blade fuse holder and relays for the roof lights I ran a bolt throught the internal partition in the box to connect all the earths and run back down to the battery.

Lastly the internal light had to be replaced - I bought a pack of 12v led's from Halfords but unfortunately they didn't have white in stock so we made do with green as a temporary measure. once these were connected the internal map lights in the mirror came back so they are obviously on a loop with the interior light.

I finally chose a spot for the mic just above and beside my head. I had cut a hole under the CB to allow the speaker to be heard and after trying a few old speakers for covers I purloined an old Nokia speaker from my wifes car. I whipped the cover off this and it ads a very neat finish whilst saving me running an aux speaker to the CB. I also borrowed an idea from the aussies and put a length of velcro tape on the side of the box to hold the Mic wire up out of the way.

This was a time consuming build and definitely made easier with access to a table saw for nice square cuts etc. It probably took 3 nights to make the box including changes to the design and miscuts etc. it also took 2 nights to cover it. However, I am very pleased with the end result it looks neat, doesn't intrude into your space in the cabin and provides easy access to all the swithces, which can be seen if they are on in the rearview mirror. Also you can also talk into the mic without unhooking it.

No not much left to do with this one except that flip down DVD!!!!

Total costs:
6mm ply $20
4 swithches $40.00
Fuse holder $8.00
9mm Ply harwood and woodglue from workshop "stock" (scrap)
Vinyl $30
Glue Evostick x2 €21.00
Gorilla glue $6.00
Wires and connectors $12.00 (est)
total $137.00. (Irish Prices converted to US$)

Note the front of this unit only would work with a sunroof.

If anybody needs further information contact me at willliamcrean05 @ eircom.net

The finished, fitted product.....

Very nice write-up! Great project that looks factory...a real improvement!