front console cover flare

[ssdelorean]

My friend came up with this fix for his car. I am also using it.

- - - -

Get yourself 2 normal picture hangers and some wire.
Tie one end of the wire to a picture hanger (see Fig. 2). Hook that hanger on the drivers side center console flap and pull the wire thru from the passenger side. Thread the wire thru the second picture hanger. Push in the passenger side console flap and at the same time twist the wire tight so it pulls the two flaps toward the each other. Snip off the remaining wire and your done. Only a tiny amount of the picture hanger
is visible (see Fig. 1 & 3).


http://ohiodeloreans.com/images/tips...rFlaps-Lrg.jpg

tips-CenterFlaps-Lrg.jpg

[David T]

My "fix" is to get 2 strips of thin sheet metal about 1" wide and about 12" long. You can slip them into the edge along the bottom on the backside on each side. Easier to do it after removing the console. Don't screw it. The metal strips will hold the console straight and tight against the carpet. If you do use screws, one day someone will try to remove the console and not knowing there are extra screws, may damage things trying to remove the console with the screws still in there.

[CriticalB]

My friend came up with this fix for his car. I am also using it.

- - - -

Get yourself 2 normal picture hangers and some wire.
Tie one end of the wire to a picture hanger (see Fig. 2). Hook that hanger on the drivers side center console flap and pull the wire thru from the passenger side. Thread the wire thru the second picture hanger. Push in the passenger side console flap and at the same time twist the wire tight so it pulls the two flaps toward the each other. Snip off the remaining wire and your done. Only a tiny amount of the picture hanger
is visible (see Fig. 1 & 3).


http://ohiodeloreans.com/images/tips...rFlaps-Lrg.jpg

tips-CenterFlaps-Lrg.jpg

I'm installing new carpet this week and noticed this issue. My plan was do do something similar to your friend's fix, but instead of hooking the clip over the outside of the flap, I plan to cut a small slit in the front edge of the flap so the clip can be inserted behind the vinyl. If it works as planned, the whole setup would be invisible.

[SBL]

My flare is at the bottom of the console cover. Well below the area where you would run a wire using the picture hanger technique.

Still thinking. One could pull back the vinyl at that bottom edge and use a small, very flat headed screw. Screw it so that the cover back is within 1/4 inch of the tub, then put the vinyl back where it belongs with some glue on the back side. The cover would not be flush with the hump, but very close and a whole lot better than it is now. Would not like it, though, if you could see the screw head.

[DMC-Ron]

Would the magnets that folks are using for the door panels work?

[CFI]

Would the magnets that folks are using for the door panels work?

Read post #3

[Col Bennett]

I reinforced my center console flaps to stop them from flaring out a bit more than I’d like - especially on the passenger side. It’s a nice invisible (when installed) modification that doesn’t take too long to do.

I used a 4ft 1/8” x 3/4” flat aluminum strip from Ace Hardware and cut it to the vertical height of the existing console card support. Thinner strips bend too easily and don’t provide enough support. (The 1/8” thickness is just the right balance. There’s even wiggle room to bend it if necessary during installation.)

I then marked and drilled holes along the metal strips to make sure they didn’t align with any of the existing metal staples on the console. You don’t want to be drilling through staples!

Once the first hole was drilled, I used the bar as a guide to drill corresponding holes in the console card. Insert the first rivet by hand to hold the bar in place (don’t use your pop rivet tool yet). This will hold then bar in place to avoid it slipping while drilling. It also allows you to swivel the bracket to pull the debris/fibers from the board as you drill.

I found it helpful here to press down on the bar against the console flap on a flat surface to flatten it as you INITIALLY drill to ensure the bracket is going to help straighten it. Once you’ve got some pilot holes you can then carefully drill through each hole with the bracket swiveled to the side.

Now you have to go SLOW and be VERY careful not to punch through and damage the vinyl on the other side. There’s enough padding between the card and vinyl BUT if you go too fast and lean too hard you’ll easily puncture it. I drilled horizontally while the console was vertical to avoid applying too much pressure.

Make sure to just punch through a little when it goes through to the foam. You want those holes to be very tight - just the size of the rivet head - because you’re relying on the pop rivet to grab onto the board to hold the bar tightly in place.

Before you start to rivet the bar onto the console, go grab a hammer and flatten the staples into the console. This ensures the bar lays flush against the board.

As you can see, I used lots of rivets to support the tension between the console and the metal bar.

As for rivet size. I used aluminum rivets from Ace Hardware - 1/8” x 3/8”. The head length was perfect to bind the depth of the bar to the depth of the board - with just enough to grab the board when installed and not leave any visible dimples through the foam/vinyl.

A totally invisible fix/support for a common issue. The flap issue seems to be exasperated by the brackets that affix to the console that hold the knee pads on. My bracket was so tight it had bent the card backing on the console and caused it to lose its rigidity on the passenger side. My driver side was fine - but I did it anyway.

So there you go. A nice invisible fix to add some strength to your center console flaps.