Because the
Alcantara I ordered took so long to reach Cesar, he had meanwhile gone ahead and started work on another project - modifying the center console to accept the OEM Toyota Aristo rear center vent. This is something that had bothered me for a long time - I mean, are there really people driving around with their smoking buddies in the rear seat? If there are, I guess that explains the
Puratron air purifier dealer option Nissan had, and without rear windows that roll down, I suppose a rear seat ashtray is needed...but as I don't smoke and I don't allow smoking, drinking or eating in my car, this ashtray is useless.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTua6_ixpa2t5UTIS1b7XkbLU_ILUAH7gXONxfYf-cMVWzLgc1wEpbcoNB_JkdpNnN41Gzlq8tAwdiZqLuucvMJXE9LTxayLuMzRrwnnfq-6xcgflhibnCwSJ36F-6bHrdq5hbBYtPJCD/s640/600x400-2016021500165.jpg) |
Does anyone actually sit in the BACK and smoke in these cars? |
As before, I'll let the photos do most of the talking.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssKA-v9law9sapbPqTUW4J9pmjsjvjxRKtlEG5MC1PZjf43L2YjHaSfy1vYrYjYm4eDyyp0zLkmyTRQaIv2jTTxqK7mDv6br-aD1bkrOC6bhHYEhj1EOnJ1h8NeN5QTTnlx3TiJxeqkyH/s640/WhatsApp+Image+2016-09-10+at+6.51.36+PM.jpeg) |
First, Cesar cut out the center part which previously held the ashtray |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjudgNHjqw4LtHYcMzLw9i7D_qR7SPx597xh1yNabhqaSQ0C1-iYsvnyyTmKGilRLNx8IRRwoQWfDwO5Rf4GjjQa5p_WdaXgb2z__BGUrOMOIQR8YSOLcRduZvfcaGPJkBcTcKwBdQGRiwH/s640/IMG_0276.JPG) |
You can see that he crafted a metal frame for support. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibR8caP8-llxdykJer0_ThT0Jpg0O3_1o0f6r-adZrqr4bEsa73GdjfsNwRWnnhnFXkoV2KaoHiTvtNsn5sV4EhhZj7vgpcHCsCguRwZTsKr3AYcW4pYwp3sQNtpcL3Hz0r2QaXRoTsWc5/s640/IMG_0274.JPG) |
So that's what those round rivets are for. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75GI2grU4oKVSFynpToexocUkvcX9MR8DXs8qBZYhLhFL1A9rVZFKgw8uHqbumrullEIfmRDd2GRlH6x8IINwbOyC-956WLIRTIS62oa8Asi-HoTFxKbdRhVhvowbByheN7scXmonDNaW/s640/WhatsApp+Image+2016-09-10+at+6.51.38+PM.jpeg) |
Here you can see that the center console has a tray which the air vent will have to clear. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVeGigw4XswNBBqGZQTnM-S9_1d42rSnUDpFUi8_tXEgaassvHG_vmTbFzr_hdlXs_Zgxw5w2_XRxWWtvsxyJgjftOZMQ14vePTsMXDyyv1Zv3WerlSzn7eLG9WhJLMdS8an6jkmWW8g0/s640/WhatsApp+Image+2016-09-10+at+6.51.43+PM.jpeg) |
Test fitting the air vent. So far, so good. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFd9BApvtqXWRLyEXf1DFicn_j6nyaeQLNKUC_dViTXT85weat1IW0sG_XzAZrfQiSiOLyXZa_dCDpbN6YI2H53E0gsV4XRvzesYImZxrdlUQkSRIv3PMiiCZLHStnLcirIMXQYeED_Zd/s640/WhatsApp+Image+2016-09-10+at+6.51.46+PM.jpeg) |
Close up view. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qH-z_Y_sCCiwxkc2mFabNoyvL-L2qUtmF9cTn5UyIJTlJISqjK54uVp_-l5To4H04xHAquvcCcFZ53HWv3wBbwjM9e8kxTHBZDa7yde1QWLAGLn7HmyBK1bcSOe7sLjXoPRPIGamyOUv/s640/WhatsApp+Image+2016-09-10+at+6.51.54+PM.jpeg) |
The next step was to apply some epoxy to smooth over the rivets |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLro6NgkpxZiU18x25wtTsL2S63vTYbPcUMLDB72gORC_kCAu1LlO_7K_nDEAqXzp4j8mmcDBajgQFYSgC5oIIh4VqOekuR9JcD9aPPzjpjTd0uuR4Umryvj6PUMtv9Pl2r0wi6pFOQS1n/s640/WhatsApp+Image+2016-09-10+at+6.51.56+PM.jpeg) |
Once the epoxy was dry the vent was test fitted again... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDUA_DYVHZSw3fgtowJAKBKvZyNIS5U1IX1VHj77cuq3r9x19U4znvAInXY0xjOrmIGvz5NH2Phju9H8KsW0_bVx0lP5Y3sFqQU1wEnd0blCrFJXEZY3pdCBi-9TCIfFFKQCKErZ1Ghhd/s640/WhatsApp+Image+2016-09-10+at+6.52.00+PM.jpeg) |
View from the side... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYznlgwVYpYq9Z_UPY2Xrz3B9dBMPif8aWu9GQOIDHnl1mojgk4SE6DhK2GDxuKuW3J5gt0rnI1bdI3_iqHzdKQy4ekCPLb8iN1fuewbsYjmeST-N8YjLZttgWXGrt35adlikn8buCo18/s640/WhatsApp+Image+2016-09-10+at+6.51.58+PM.jpeg) |
You can see how rough the epoxy texture is at this stage. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwaT0rsr22bHYy753PDVtkRzy3GJt4U0MQ2lZSZzsNvueOGbPAQZvA96j7WPHaxgs02egmAWHP1DD-BL3Tf2iZ7X6UKQGvaJsBBS3jHnIeUhtUTy86sZk6d72NDPBgx8QiaF3Ekew1FEOh/s640/Imagen6.jpg) |
And when it was sanded down to a smooth surface. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00uM_LU3D-Tauy78EqkVqayGA7NqBXNJkJFME8tgTWuadVz2bIWjo_9mmkL02rwE14CLDOFlA5hB67tGBVaGBBi7L0BkBZ69IVE1ZZ2gS7T2tX4nv58oL5mkbUnne4tzitJxLuDHrZmNC/s640/Imagen5.jpg) |
From the side, you can see how the epoxy follows the curve of the air vent. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwl-SUMp8VMeuiyjFNS-hbvDzbMhpPzyZhDdPlyzZi3ZnT-DGmI-3WIabjtLJIAAsGJU4-AtipTaLZWS_5jQwIOmOYwJ57VvP3I7Ynta_nmW26d6kxiO_2V5yPhWHe0zerL1-AoLBJXG1e/s640/Imagen4.jpg) |
Another view point. |
And so by now, you must be asking, how did it all turn out with the leather? Indeed, I had the same question and had to wait a few days for Cesar to send me pictures of the finished center console. So I will also tease you with those photos in my next post, ha ha. Stay tuned!
2 comments:
awesome
this is so unique!
please update more aki san!
Don't worry, I have bunch in the pipeline...thanks for reading this, hope you find it enjoyable!
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