My new Connect

[Drizz]

Thanks see here:

http://www.alonzecustom.co.uk/

£50 a wheel (for 15s)

[Drizz]

Today i used the heatgun to split my headlights:






Sanded down the insides:








Whilst my van was in having the damaged sill repaired:

[Drizz]

When i arrived at the painters this morning my sill was done:






I think my vans had a good whack to the passenger side in the past as there was a lot of filler in the old door. More to prove this shortly in this update.
Washed the rear down:






And fitted up the new bumper with the reversing sensors. The top trim is a crap fit so i think ill have to get an OE one:





Fed the wires through for the sensors and also found the rear 12v plug, and speaker connections:






Also shaved all the old sealant off the headlight lenses (god it was boring!!!):






Got a hand to fit the new side door:







But it didnt line up with the bottom of the passenger door. Top gaps, rear gap and meeting the sill was fine though. Appears the passenger doors been bent in the same way the side door was. So had to make the sliding door fit tighter by cutting and welding the lower runner bracket. Now the door shuts and lines up, but now wont lock when closed. When its on the latch it locks, but obviously opens again as its not shut properly. I checked the connections with a power probe with the door open and theyre all ok, So it seems it now shuts too tight for the contacts so ill look into that tomorrow. Having the hump i moved onto stripping the van of the seats and the bulkhead:






And took a stanley to the dash:





And began working out what i had to do using the template:






And checked the heater controls moved down to where i wanted them:






So now i need to tinker some more and then find a bit of ally to make up something proper.

[Drizz]

Today i started on the template for the console with cardboard:






Then knocked it up out of MDF:






Blocked off the vents:






And decided i needed to move everything down a bit, so made another one:






That took bloody ages and now i need to order some metal and mock up another one maybe with an aluminum fascia or something. But got bored and moved on to stripping the doors:







And began fitting up the electric window mechanisms, looms and mirrors. Put the three fuses in (one for the mirrors, one for the windows, and one for the heating) and it all worked! Im lucky enough to be plug and play





Only issue was the Mondeo handles were completely different

[Drizz]

My new plates turned up. I didnt think 3/4 size would be that noticeable but clearly they are lol Show use it is then!






Bit of research on the handles said you have to cut the pin. So one on the left cut, one on the right not.....






Pin cut from the mondeo and the connect handles and both the same bar colour:






Mondeo handles in the mondeo case, and then one in the connect case:





Cut the speaker connectors off and rewired:






And Infinity speakers fitted with the handles:






Fitted the 12v supply in the back and added the fuse and now all working:






Stripped my old manual mirrors down so i can have the cases painted/wrapped:






Got all the door cards back on:






Then i stripped out the arch liner to run the amp power cable properly:






And installed the grommet:







Then ran it through the centre instead of down the sides:






Then decided to move the heater controls to here instead of making them fit the console. Ill make a plate up and put them the right way up etc as i dont use that tray or use the heater controls much. Then i can use the spare space on the centre console for the boost gauge, phone holder etc...






Then pushed it outside and t-cut the back up as it looked a bit tired. Not polished it yet but it looks better already:






Popped to the scrappy to weigh in some bits and came back to a sleepy Dean lol:






Once he woke up we got cracking stripping the rear end down:






And the beams off ready for welding







Road trip tomorrow to Devon to collect an RS Turbo

[C8XY]

Nice bit of progress! I'm hoping the dash turns out awesome, have you thought of just doing the dash in mdf, resin then filler? Will be seriously easy to mould and the finish can be sprayed smooth and glossy
How do the heater controls work? Is it cables that might stop it from working if they get restricted etc? (ie not electrical)

[Drizz]

Yeah they're cable and seem to move freely there. Yeah my mate said about the mdf resin malarky! I told him he has one himself a job lol

[C8XY]

I reckon you could buy an iPad case, modify it by cutting the top off to allow for iPad to slot in, mount it to mdf, cover the entire thing with fleece, resin it, cut out top slot and screen, filler the entire thing and rub down (a few times), spray it gloss black

Obviously you'd have to fix the dock cable securely before you fleece it so when it slots in later it will connect perfectly, but that would work really well and not damage the iPad as your only slotting it in a case!!

If you wanted to mould a nice shape in to the panel you could easily do it, the fixings could also be accessible by cutting out part of the rear iPad case.

Do exactly the same for heater controls, all the materials are cheap and easy to work with albeit slightly messy and hazardous to health

[Drizz]

Lol I was going to flock/cover in accoustic carpet the iPad slot so it doesn't scratch

[C8XY]

I've just found a thread that uses an iPad case and resin, take a look:
http://www.fiberglassforums.com/automot ... ipad2.html

[Drizz]

He never showed the case tho lol

[C8XY]

True but it's a two part case, so all you do is buy this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/OtterBox-Defend ... 847&sr=8-1
Glass the front part to the mdf and unclip the rear for access

I have high expectations now, you can do it

[Drizz]

Im confused how that works lol
Surely youd fix the rear in and then clip the ipad in the front?

[C8XY]

I think his entire panel was removable with push clips, it'd take longer to remove the iPad but looks completely built in.

[Drizz]

Done the headlight buckets in black:






New rear beam:






Had to cut this much off the shock bolt (to make the total length to 3" so it cleared the U bolts:







And on:







Oh bugger the Jack wont come out lol






With a lift from the arch and an assistant it came out:







Out side to turn it around (notice newer bumper rested in place for now)





Back in stripping the front down:






And out side! Just got to fit the rear hangers, then straighten the rear beam up so its straight and even: