Sat-nav/ leather work

[DJ 190]

This work has been in progress for such a long time. I've taken quite a few photos during the project(s) and I could later elaborate on how I've achieved wwat you'll see here, but for now I thought that you might be interested in the end result, so here goes :-

Pop-Up Sat-Nav. in top of dash


The leather-covered flap , top of dash


Recessed Sat-nav


Raised Sat-nav


Sat-nav, lid lowered


Leather work


General interior


Interior/dash


Sports-seats, modified base to S.E. profile


Centre tray, leather covered


I Can't seem to load any more! I hope you like what you see ....

David

 

[DJ 190]

More photos .....


Centre, leather tray


Sydmeko arm-rest, re-covered in non-standard blue leather


Re-covered steering wheel


Centre area


Grab-bar


General interior


David

 

[Dave M]

Some lovely interior photo,s David with impressive subtle upgrades - very nice !.

 

[PeterS]

Looks good, and I love the colour of that interior!! I've had a thing for blue interiors since I had a B5.5 A4 with a denim blue cloth interior in 1999! Our cabriolet also has a blue interior, though it's not that bright.

 

[DJ 190]

Some preparatory work to achieve the end result :-

Aluminium undertray

Undertray attachment

Vent modification

" "

" "

I had previously modified those vent tubes using plastic from milk containers, but this time I did a much better job using alloy plates and pop-riveting them in place. The work was also far easier with the dash removed, although it can be done with the dash in place.

David

 

[murdo]

Very impressive David. Thanks for sharing.

 

[fbi]

Impressive work !
Your seats look like sports backseats and standard bases. Right ?

 

[DJ 190]

Impressive work !
Your seats look like sports backseats and standard bases. Right ?

Yes, that is exactly the case! I obtained some scrap standard seats and extracted the foam from the base. I then found that it was not possible to simply use that foam in the sports-seat base because the leather is stitched differently for each seat type. The solution was to just cut the side-squab off the standard seat base and after removing the side squab from the sports-seat (having to cut through some metal reinforcements, too), to attach them to the sports base with adhesive. Oh, the leather of the sports-seat base has to be trimmed and re-stitched to match the profile of the S.E.seat base.Whilst I had found that the extra support provided by the side-squab of the sports-seat back was quite beneficial, I found some discomfort from the raised squab on the base, as a result of hip-surgery that I've had previously. This way, I get easy access and still have the extra back support!

David

 

[A2Steve]

Some very nice touches there David. I'm not a fan of blue leather but can appreciate the work and attention to detail that has gone into it all.

 

[DJ 190]

I'm not a fan of blue leather

Hi Steve, I hadn't considered it to be a "Marmite" colour, but it does depend on the colour of the car's paintwork. My car is Azure Blue, so I considered that this leather colour would go well and compliment the car. ( I have changed from a Platinum Grey Leather interior). I couldn't imagine how awful a red leather interior would have looked! Blue does go with quite a few body colours, though, and seems to be quite rare .....

David

 

[A2Steve]

It's certainly not a criticism David, I think it looks great, just not my taste.

 

[MAXAudi]

I'm sure this has been covered at somepoint but have you thought about mounting the navigation unit into a flip up A1 mounting?

Did you do the armrest yourself?

 

[DJ 190]

I'm sure this has been covered at somepoint but have you thought about mounting the navigation unit into a flip up A1 mounting?

Did you do the armrest yourself?

Steve, I know that and no offence taken whatsoever !

MAXAudi

Yes, I had considered the Audi A1 set-up and I had nearly purchased a scrap unit, but it's a complete No-No. There isn't enough space below the A2's dash to install the mechanism (it works in a different way to my design) I have determined that a tray of about 35-40 mm in depth is the maximum without cutting too much of the air-vents away. If it could be done, then the A1 device would have been truly superb! I wouldn't say that it is totally impossible, but I'd have to completely re-design the whole ducting system with flexible tubes and couplings. Maybe I will, if I obtain another spare dash .... The arm-rest was re-covered by a local trimmer at a cost of £50.

David

 

[MAXAudi]

The stitching looks really good on the armrest and would have been great if matched on the binnacle leather.

I was considering an A1 flip unit bit couldn't bring myself to experiment on my dash, I also thought two screens with rns e might be overkill. Would be great if it was possible to move the rns e screen as a stand alone lcd into an A1 flip unit and keep rns e controls as per standard setup.

I plan to re-trim my binnicle, glove box in blk leather with stitching to match my alcatara headliner but that'll come after my sideguard retrofit.

 

[DJ 190]

The stitching looks really good on the armrest and would have been great if matched on the binnacle leather.

I also thought two screens with rns e might be overkill. Would be great if it was possible to move the rns e screen as a stand alone lcd into an A1 flip unit and keep rns e controls as per standard setup.
.

Well, I'd thought of that, too. I had discussed with Tom (Timmus) if it was possible to have dual RNS-E screen both fed off the main unit? I might even buy a complete Audi A1 pop-up Sat-Nav from a breaker and look out for an RNS-E that is not working, but with the screen intact. i'd be looking for another dash in "twist" and could do all the work at a leisurely pace! Having duplication of the Sat-Nav is not overkill, because the lower RNS-E screen is available for displaying other information apart from directions. Also, because the cover is press-to-raise and press-to-lock-down, it is completely discrete and hidden. You would not know that the Sat-Nav is there! I had paid £3 on a car-boot for a "Ghetto-Blaster" and threw everything away apart from that tiny mechanism! That was all that I wanted for my project. I had been looking everywhere for a suitable way to operate the opening and closing of the top, Sat-Nav lid and I knew immediately that this was what I wanted! I have designed it so that the Sat-Nav can be easily removed with just two side-screws. This means that the Nav can be used in other vehicles and that the tray in the top of the dash can be used for just storage, when the Sat-Nav is absent.I love finding other projects to put "in the pipeline" and I do have a few ready to progress. That is my back-lit rear number-plate and another electric-bike conversion.

David