Where did you find that foam? Google search says it’s used in medical applications…(?). I’m taking a look later today at foam that is used under laminated flooring to use on my console. Apparently it’s 1/8" thick so maybe it will work.
Also, since the side of my console (like yours) has an indentation in it for the seats how did you install the foam and then the vinyl? Did you glue the foam to the side and then (as you said) you glue just the lip of that indentation on top of the foam?
I purchased the foam from ACOR used it on the sills and all other foam applications
did not use any of the open cell foam anywhere on the car, medium density black 1/8 inch
classic jaguar uses this foam, thats where I got the idea from. used brushable landau top contact cement, on every application, the foam gets contact cemented on to the steel, and the vinyl only gets contact cement on the recessed lip maybe 3/4 inch wide let that set up. and then pull the vinyl around the edge and contact cement down keeping the vinyl smooth as you go, around the shifter housing you want to use piping around the Y then install the housing in the U area .
Roger, regarding properly attaching the vinyl to the the area on the sides of the console where the indentation for the seat is: did you cover the entire side with the foam or cut out the foam so that it was only on the top of this indentation - then attaching the vinyl so that the “bottom” of the indentation had nothing between the vinyl and the metal of the console so that it would lay flat? Or will cementing the foam to that “bottom” area result in the indentation when the vinyl is attached to the recessed lip even though the foam is covering all of the side?
One additional question…does your shift “gaiter” (the cover that goes over the shifter) attach (sandwich) between the “Y” piece and the metal console or underneath the metal console?
the metal shift surround that is vinyl covered that contains the leather shifter boot goes between the Y TOP and the console, it should fit pretty snug with the piping around the U cut out, also the split rubber strip that the handbrake lever goes through gets glued to the bottom of the Y top, I used super glue, it adheres to rubber pretty good Roger
I’ve now progressed to the point where I have the console completely finished and began the installation. From the many comments I’ve found both on this forum and elsewhere I expected a rather difficult time getting everything to fit underneath the center radio console. I certainly was not disappointed! In fact it was one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had with my Jag so far…
NOTHING fit like it should!
But in the end I did manage to get it all in the car pretty much as it should be except it is so tightly wedged in, there appears to be no way that I will be able rotate the gauge panel down sufficiently to the point needed to change a fuse. Oh well…
Here’s how it looks:
If you look closely you can see that the vinyl wrapped onto my “shift gaiter” suffered somewhat from all the tugging and pushing and my attempt to install the chrome trim piece (from XKs Unlimited) on the inside rim of the gaiter was a total failure (if you look closely at this picture you can see how badly it came out…after I took the picture I just pulled it off).
I’m also not happy with the way the piping looks around the gaiter but if I can get another chrome trim piece correctly installed I will be ok to leave this project for the moment and go on to fixing the other things on my list.
So…anyone have suggestions on how to install that chrome trim piece? (here’s a picture).
Is there a better option then the one that I bought from XKs Unlimited?
take a piece of solid copper house electrical wire, you know , the stuff in conduit. white , black or green, fit it in the open groove ( in the jacket, doesnt have to be bare), then using a heat gun warm it up in the middle, start forming it to the shape of the opening. the goal is to bend it all into shape with the ends meeting at the top. but heat, bend, check repeat until you get it just right, let the top ends pass each other until you finish.
the copper wire will do two things, it keeps the plastic in shape and keeps the opening from pinching closed while you bend it. once you finish and its cool, pull out the wire and fit the trim in the opening.
cut one leg in the top dead center, then double check about four times before you cut the other leg so that once its all tucked in place they touch
I just saw your post and I know exactly what I would do. I now have the boot installed and it looks great!
Ths car had a clip on the front and another on the rear of the parrots beak on the inside. I carefully bent a piece out of 1/8 inch wire which nicely fit into the clips. I overlapped the ends, wrapped copper wire around them and soldered them together. It worked great UNTIL I had to install the leather boot. I slid the leather into the hole until the perimeter fit properly. Pull ou down too far and the leather bunches up too little and it has gaps. I got it right (easy and obvious) and then tried to install the wire hoop, It would not fit because the leather has to go under the clips with two thicknesses of leather. Even after prying open the clips I could not get it together. I made a second hoop smaller around the perimeter, ends overlapping by 1 inch or so but not soldered or fastened together so I could expand or contract it, It worked like a champ. I glued the leather boot down and Bob’s your uncle! You can do the same thing if you haven’t covered your parrots beak yet by riveting clip inside. But that also means your car originally was done some other way.
Thanks Mike! I’ve ordered 3 new chrome trim strips and I’m planning on following Bob’s excellent advice. That will give me two mulligans if I get it wrong!
