1969 Cutlass Center Console DIY -fiberglass-CAD-3D printing-newbie DIY

[jetmech442]

I want to share my progress on a console I’m trying to make in case anyone wants to see how a newb does things. Once I catch up, I’d love some feedback on what will be the 3^rd protoype(please be nice I have an idea of what I want, but like, zero artistic capabilities).


Last year I decided that on top of the custom 3-Link conversion and watts link in back, I also wanted to take on a center console. It started with a rough sketch, but since I have no talent, I needed a prototype. While researching all the consoles both custom and OEM, I found the 2017 Camaro and fell in love with the work of art that is the shifter bezel. Of all the consoles I saw-Ferrari, AMG, BMW..etc… some GM interior design engineer put some passion into it. I bought one from a company that smoothed and painted them-now I had to design a console around it that would do it justice.


Started by building a wood frame.



Then that started to take shape with some foam panels from Home Derps,



Then, watching “SprayWays customs” on youtube I got the jist of fiberglassing. I went with West System 105 epoxy resin, mostly because it doesn’t reek like bondo type fiberglass, it’s pricier but has really convenient pumps for mixing. I went with the 205 “FAST” hardener, and-yeah, it’s fast. Too fast for a newb like me to wet everything out so my next buy was the “slow” 206 hardener which gave me a lot more working time.

For the first prototype I used some really cheap fleece from the fabric store. I tried to trace it out and cut it from a single piece. Not sure why I did that-it worked to give a pretty smooth surface without a lot of overlapping fibers, but not sure if it’s necessary.


Then I sanded and used some standard bondo bodyfiller. The initial idea here was the console would be a high gloss fiberglass with the arm rest and shifter bezel base being wrapped in leather(vinyle/suede/something?). But the bezel base needed an accurate groove to mate the bezel and again, freehanding a groove that wouldn’t look miserable isn’t my thinig(I tried with expected results, lol).


I do however, have Fusion360 and Autodesk(both free for hobbyist) and among a lot of other stuff, they do photogrammetry. This is basically taking pics 360 degrees around an object and then letting Autodesk stitch them together to make a 3D model.

ProTip:it can’t stich reflective/glossy objects, but lay down some turtle wax and let dry to a haze, and then flick some water washable paint(my daughter was nice enough to share) and it gives the software tons of latch points to work with. -lemon squeezy. Below is a video of the results for that. My first attempt was on my G8GT, hadn’t thought of the turtle wax thing at that time, so I lightly misted it and doused it with flour. Funny looking and messy for sure, but it got the job done. --nm, I need to upload the vidz to youtube first, I'll try to do that tonight....

Now I had a 3D model of the bezel, but life go tin the way for a few months, so I ended up getting a “good enough” base carved out of balsa wood in the spare moments I had. It came out neither symmetric or visually appealing, so one of the next steps will be to 3D print a very thin base with the groove and contours and then fiberglass the inside for strength.

Next I'll post up my 2nd iteration and we'll be caught up with where I'm at.