A while back i set out to install a spare 10 monitor i had laying around the house into a custom factory looking overhead console.
I used the original console out of my xlt to form a mold and i extended the conosle about 2 feet back. I ended up making it out of fiberglass and finished it up. After it was all wired and hooked up i was not satisfied with it. the monitor didnt provide enough light and didnt provide enough of a quality image for me. It was a LCD screen from a computer application converted over to mobile use.
The console, although great looking, was too damn heavy and it showed.

Heres a few pics of that...

 

Well since i was disappointed with the design i let it sit in the shop for while till i got the time and patience to do it again. i had a spare console.
So now summer vacation is coming up and the Screw is ready once again for family roadtrips. With less then a month left till our yearly trip down south of the border i decided it was time to revamp the overhead console.
I had a few quality mobile screens laying around so i decided to scrap the 10" project and took the electronics out for use on another project later down the road.

I have always loved sublte custom work to make something look like it was OEM rather then having somthing not "fit" in with the trucks factory theme. And i know they have a factory dvd package but i wanted the flexablity of an add-on since i already have the Kenwood 6019. Besides Ford wants a pretty penny for thiers, and mine cost perhaps a total of 200-300 dollars and has a greater flexablitly then the OE system.

So i took the orignal modded console apart... hacking off the 2' i had originally added till it was at its original size.
I then concluded that the 7" would fit perfectly inside the sunglass holder.
I use a sunglass clip at the visor or the dash tray so i rearely use the holder.

I took it all apart, those clips are a PITA but after a little work it came apart easily. I also took the electronics out of the monitor. If those get broken/scratched, your whole project when down the john.


i took the holder area and looked for the best place to mold the monitor housing in.


Once i found the location i liked i marked the excess off with a white pencil.


After carefull inspection (one eyed view at arms length lol) i took the die grinder to it and cut what i didnt want off.

 

Then came masking, i masked the area on the inside incase of errors and for paint later. it also had the misc button names on it and took a small dab of hot glue to hold the monitor in the place i wanted.



I had found this plastic putty epoxy stuff on sale and was in the mood to try it... Trust me, for small projects i will never use 'glass again! It worked amazingly well. it adheared very well and was rock solid in only a few min.
I used that to mold the monitor and sunglass holder together. i also added a little excess so the monitors corner wasnt so pronounced. it smoothed it out well.


the sides were a breeze, but i had a huge gap up top. I was skeptcial to use the putty, but i slowly built it up and worked it to cover the hole.


I didnt have to go but maybe 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick with the putty. it is very lightweight and very strong. Im suprised at how well it did across such a large gap.

 

I then smoothed the enitre thing over with a bit of glazing putty and sand it it all smooth. I then added a high buildable primer to the entire thing.


After the primer dried, i took a higher grit sand paper and went to town. all the high spots were removed and leveled as its visible in the pic.


i did this a few times to get it all super level.


heres a finished shot of the rear, notice all the extra space in there still.

 

i then primered it once again and let it dry overnight.



Meanwhile i also molded in a wireless headphone IR sender to the rear end of the console. I did this the same way as the screen, but as the monitor dryed my cam batts were recharging, so this is the only pic i got.


Next day it was all dry, and i added a few coats of ultra flat black. I also finished the outside blue housing with a few blue coats and some clear. Heres a shot of it sitting waiting for the electronics.


Heres the good stuff going in for final inspection, and cleanup.

 

and a perfect fit.


Heres where the wiring exits....


It was all then taken out, cleaned up, buttons reinserted and put back together along with the sunglass hold top (outside) cover. Heres a few shots.

 

and a shot of it being fitted into the housing. notice how well the flat black on the monitor matches the orignal black in the housing.



I checked for clearance, the housing had to be slit on the top side for the wire to slide and freely move as the monitor is opened and closed. This is pretty hidden and out of view so no one would even know you cut the housing, and is also why theres no pic of it.

 

By that time the outside housing was done, and i was only waiting on the small light holder cover to be done drying to put it all together. thats why the next few pics dont have the lenses in.
Here it is, all done and sitting next to an OE console.


It fit perfectly back into place and with the added tension of the wire it has a little more firmness to it when you open it as opposed to teh regular sunglass holder.
You can see the IR sender in the last pic.



Its all wired in the truck now, ill get a few shots later this evening and post them up.
Not too bad for the botched project it began as huh?
If it werent for the paint you wouldnt be able to tell it housed a monitor.

Post some Comments/ Suggestions/ Inquiries

 

Excellent Post. I was actually thinking of a way to do this, I have already have the monitor and extra storage bin. Just really didnt fell like going thru all of the fiberglass work. Might have to give that epoxy a try.

Do you have any pictures of it installed in the truck?

 

I snapped a few a little bit ago, but i didnt set the camera up with a flash so the pic looks crappy, it also picked up alot of red color from the IR sender, its no where near that bright in person.
the screen has excellent pic quality just as my 6019 but the camera makes them look like crap. Ill see if i can get some in the day tomorrow, but the truck has dark limo tint all the way around, so its always dark in there.
Ill get one of it closed, although if you have the console like mine you already know what it would look like.



Do you guys think adding two more in each front headrest is overkill?
I have two just for that purpose sitting right in front of me.
The reason they arent in is that i think it may be too much, and im too scared to make that first cut into the headrests.
also they dont have adjustments and are super bright so they white out alot of detail. in my dark interior it may be too bright. i was thinking two sets of headrest, so i could keep the incognito regulars in all the time and just pop the screened ones in on road trips.

opinions? suggestions?

 

great work, looks very oem... i would get a second set of headrests so you will always be able to swap back to stock. but as far as the overhead monitor goes it looks great

 

Do you have a pic of the console in the daylight. I would like to see it all closed sitting up there

 

04FX, it looks just like a normal non-rail overhead console except its painted,
sits just where the old one sat, and uses all OEM mounting points.

heres a few pics.







Not the best lighting (see tint post above) but you get the idea

 

Is there something to hold still it when it is in the open position? I was just wondering if it will bounce around when you go over bumps.

Looks great, by the way!

 

Thanks for the pics, It looks really good!!