Lower Console cap

[Henryfiat]

Has anyone put the console cap on and does it look good? Can't seem to fine a lower console that I can afford. Any suggestions?

[So Cal Mark]

the caps don't look very good, and aren't much cheaper than a replacement console

[bradartigue]

Has anyone put the console cap on and does it look good? Can't seem to fine a lower console that I can afford. Any suggestions?

edit: Mark posted about the same time as I. I think it valuable you get multiple opinions - and we disagree on this. What is important is this: they are no replacement for a real console. They look good, but they will never fool you into thinking they are a new console. You may also find a good leather/vinyl shop that can make a cover for it (the 82 spiders had a leather cover you can find pictures of)

Caps can look very good, so good in fact that you can't tell it is a cap.

Buy a good one. Talk to Csaba at autoricambi.us about your options; they aren't pricey. Prepare your old consoles:

Remove them and remove any vents, switches, wood pieces, etc. installed in them
Clean them with "interior prep / cleaner" (made by Griot's Garage and worth it)
Sand the vinyl on the old consoles lightly, use 100 grit or so
Remove any cracks on the old consoles with a razor blade

Use a good contact cement with a long set-up time to fix the thing. This way if you get the alignment, etc. incorrect then you can re-position it.

[DieselSpider]

For the cost of some of the replacements you may be able to find a local leather worker who can do an excellent job on your consoles or dash. Some may be able to do the job for even less. You may be surprised if you call around what a local tradesman may be able to do for you.

I know of some who took a leather crafting class and ended up doing a great job themselves on similar project.

[4uall]

you could always eliminate it

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=28643

[So Cal Mark]

I've yet to see a cap that didn't look like a cap. It just depends on how nice you want the interior to look, I prefer to pay attention to detail. If I'm sitting in the car and can see the edges of the old console under the cap, it just irks me. A cap is a Band-Aid in my opinion

[spidernut]

I've done several caps and several replacement consoles. Here's my opinion and experience

PLASTIC CAPS
1. A bad cap looks like a bad cap
2. A good cap looks like a good cap
3. An excellent cap looks like a good cap
4. Paintable plastic with a little scuffing
5. 7 out of 10 for price, fit and finish

The problem with the caps is the texture of the faux vinyl. It is WAY too course on every one I've used. The original vinyl had a barely noticeable texture. Still, if you trim off the lower part of the cap along the bottom of the console, trim off the cracks, cut out warped areas, etc., you can install a cap and may it look good. It will never look as good as a console. The fit on some of the caps is pretty lousy around the heater controls. Expect to have to trim it in several places regardless of where you purchase it.

FIBERGLASS REPLACEMENT CONSOLE
1. Looks just like the original
2. The very thin fiberglass console is easy to install because it lacks the thickness of the original console. It will need trimming around the heater controls (the fit is just as bad as the caps in my experience)
3. Lacks a rearward brace to hold it to the floorboard beneath the rear coin cup. You'd have to fiberglass a brace on it, or bolt/rivet on a brace. Either way you'd have the bolts or rivets visible on the side of the console in the rear
4. The louvered vents will not stay in the openings for the heater output
5. Paintable but is a gelcoat surface so will require scuffing first.
6. 6 out of 10 for price, fit and finish. The big problem is the cost. They're not cheap

These install rather quickly and look great. The fiberglass is extremely durable.

FULL REPLACEMENT CONSOLE (Hard plastic type)
1. Looks just like the original
2. Fits just like the original
3. Lacks a rearward brace just like the fiberglass cap
4. Needs LOTS and LOTS of trimming to fit the heater switch and illuminated fan/def window. Did I say lots and lots? I mean, lots and lots and lots and lots of careful trimming. Everything else fits like a glove
5. Paintable, but certain vinyl paints will not last and scratch off easily
6. 7 out of 10 for price, fit and finish. The cost and need for careful trimming hurts them severely

The plastic used is a bit waxy feeling and paints tend to scratch. The plastic is some odd brittle type of material and can be damaged when trimming. They are the best looking of the three, but just barely beats out the fiberglass replacement console.

THE BEST OPTION
1. Take your old one to an upholstery shop. Take a copy of the photo below and have them recover the old console. The fit will be perfect, the finish will be perfect and the cost is comparable to a replacement console. You'll have a 9 out of 10 for price, fit and finish. This is how Fiat upholstered the 81 consoles when you had leather seats. I bought one new and had this console in my car. The arm rests were also upholstered. Pretty cool solution to a mashed up console! Note the curled up area around the Ebrake just needed to be glued back down. It normally lays flat

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/spidern ... 2.jpg.html

[bradartigue]

I had the fiberglass ones at some point; unless they improved (and they may have, this was 15+ years ago) they were a terrible, inflexible fit. Scratched easily.

I found a car once that the owner had carpeted the consoles. Man was it terrible. But funny.

[4uall]

I prefer leather

[Nanonevol]

So do I.

[Nanonevol]

Don't worry, 4uall, not trying to steal your "Schtick".

[4uall]

No worries

[phaetn]

Back to your regularly scheduled programming: console caps.

I have both a dash cap and lower console cap (both sourced through Auto Ricambi) and both branded "DashTop" by Falco Industries, if I recall correctly.

For sure they are much different than the original. They don't have that soft give to them and aren't smooth but textured. For me, they were a huge improvement over a very cracked dash and a badly peeling centre console. To put mine on I removed the centre console completely to slip over the cap and then reinstalled it, after having to cut a hole for the fan switch. This took a fair amount of work. I also spray painted black any exposed foam under the cap that might have been visible from an angle. I tackled the dash cap at a later date, and did so mainly because I was so pleased with the console cap. I chose to use screws to secure the caps which I know is certainly not to everyone's taste, but only because I was concerned about the glue and the huge extremes of temperature to which the car is subjected since my garage is not heated.

It's certainly not stock, so it's not going to win any awards for a restoration. That said, it does have the original type of look to it that is faithful to the original design of the car (in that it's not a complete mod). I'm very happy with them and don't think a second thought about them; on the other hand, the cracked dash and peeling console bugged me every time I got on the car. I was just at FFO with dozens (?) of other spiders and never even thought about the fact that it wasn't original nor did anyone mention it...

Your mileage may vary.

Console Removed:


New cap:


Old, cracked dash:


New dash:


Lots of other changes since then, including a proper black shifter knob, replaced vinyl on top of door cards, repainted ash trays, etc, etc.

Latest addition (also from same manufacturer and bought from A/R) is a front spoiler. Not original to the year of car, but I'm really pleased with how it "grounds" the front of the car...


I still have the original seats if I ever want to put them back in...

Cheers,
phaetn