New little dash mod.

[nimbyfaygo]

I made my own little grille for my double din whole with a single din headunit.

All I did was take an old grille cut it down to fit and re glue it. I took a Q45 symbol and epoxied it. I think it looks pretty cool.

[pdqwrx]

Looks good, just an idea though. If you painted it or covered it black it would look like the rest of the black backrounds of the heater control and shifter, it would look more OEM. Passengers who didn't know better would think that Infiniti put that together. Also, if it is a mesh speaker grill you used, you could back light it with a small neon tube (Available at Pep Boys etc.) so that it would "Glow" when your in the mood.

CheersScott

[pdqwrx]

Another little Nissan/Infiniti detail you can do is to re drill the radio brackets so the radio will slide about 1/2 an inch back and rest where the stock radio did. That way it will look like the rest of the black areas of the dash where the material rolls into the control.

CheersScott

[nimbyfaygo]

Another little Nissan/Infiniti detail you can do is to re drill the radio brackets so the radio will slide about 1/2 an inch back and rest where the stock radio did. That way it will look like the rest of the black areas of the dash where the material rolls into the control.

CheersScott

Now thats a good idea. I'm going to try that tomorrow if I get the time.

[Haitian_King]

That **** is hot. What do you mean by grille? How hard was it to do something like this?

[elwesso]

wow, that is unique, i like it!

[louiegz]

What would realy be cool if there was a way to make that a door and have some kind of bin in there. There's a lot of room for a deep bin. Yea, I'd paint it black so it wont stand out so much.

[pdqwrx]

Over the years, Nissan has made many bins with hinged doors on them. The cool thing about older Nissan radios is that they are all pretty much the same bolt pattern and width and height. So if you were to spend some time at a autowrecker or a pick N pull you should be able to find the bin you are looking for. I found one from a old stanza that I am using in my 240sx. I cut out the back and installed my turbo timer behind the door so I can hide it from view. Anyway, if the pocket looks faded or dirty just run it through the dish washer and then paint it with a satin black or matte black paint and it will be as good as new.

CheersScott

[nimbyfaygo]

I added two 8mm white LED bulbs today. Looks amazing, I've never seen anything like it. I mounted the bulbs on the bottom pointing up so the light reflects off the underside of the headunit.

Of course this creates more problems. First the letters are partially blocked by the mounting ring There are random tabs sticking out on the mounting ring I made that didn't show until they were backlit. Plus you can see the brackets and wiring back there. I can make the opening translucent instead of transparent by putting a piece of wax paper behind the grille cloth. And I can use my dremel to smooth the edges of the ring. That still leaves the issue of the letters being blocked and off center

[Haitian_King]

where did you get a grille from?

[nimbyfaygo]

where did you get a grille from?

I made it from a little home theater grille.

[Haitian_King]

is this grille metal? Or fabric? I'm interested in doing something like this my Q.

[CINNALOCKS]

Nice Idea indeed.What happened to painting it black? It will look more like oem and at least one issue disappears. No longer will see the wires and connectors.

Just a thought, but how about just illuminating the "Q45 emblem" instead of the whole piece?

[Ozzie]

The Q45 badge looks as though it was mounted too high anyway.

Is it easy to remove the badge and relocate it?

Maybe you will have to make another one if you can't.Just put it down to a "live and learn" experience.

I do like the way it's all lit up though.

Instead of wax paper, how about using a piece of aluminium foil, and attach it behind the LEDs, so the light reflects off of it. Maybe try a flat, smooth piece vs a crumpled, rough piece and pick your favorite.

Hell, just decribing it makes me want to see what it would look like now........

DOOO EEEEEET!!!!

PS: find a way to replace the analog clock globe with a white LED too, to help tie it all together. See, you change 1 thing, and now it snowballs

[Ozzie]

I also noticed, yet another shifter that is opposite to mine.

You move the shifter down, and to the left to go into "D", then down, right, down, right into 3rd, 2nd, then 1stMine goes down and to the RIGHT into "D", then down , LEFT, down, LEFT into 3rd, 2nd, then 1st

I think CrimnsonQ said his also goes to the right into "D"

Anyone know why there would be a difference?

[pdqwrx]

You could also paint the grill black and then mount the Q45 emblem behind the grill and back light it. That way you would only see the Q45 when it was lit up..... Very stealth and cool

[nimbyfaygo]

The Q45 badge looks as though it was mounted too high anyway.

Is it easy to remove the badge and relocate it?

Maybe you will have to make another one if you can't.Just put it down to a "live and learn" experience.

I do like the way it's all lit up though.

Instead of wax paper, how about using a piece of aluminium foil, and attach it behind the LEDs, so the light reflects off of it. Maybe try a flat, smooth piece vs a crumpled, rough piece and pick your favorite.

Hell, just decribing it makes me want to see what it would look like now........

DOOO EEEEEET!!!!

PS: find a way to replace the analog clock globe with a white LED too, to help tie it all together. See, you change 1 thing, and now it snowballs

I will have to replace the cloth. I can't get the emblem off without ripping it. I know that its too high, I just have to wait untill I get some more cloth.

I'm working on the clock right now LOL.If that comes out nice, I'm going to try the gauge cluster.

BTW I got the LED's from Ebay, the seller is *spectrumleds* Here is a link to a similar item. http://cgi.ebay.com/20-5mm-60-...wItem

[nimbyfaygo]

is this grille metal? Or fabric? I'm interested in doing something like this my Q.

Its fabric. I wrapped the cloth around a little plastic ring I made.

[maxnix]

I also noticed, yet another shifter that is opposite to mine.

You move the shifter down, and to the left to go into "D", then down, right, down, right into 3rd, 2nd, then 1stMine goes down and to the RIGHT into "D", then down , LEFT, down, LEFT into 3rd, 2nd, then 1st

I think CrimnsonQ said his also goes to the right into "D"

Anyone know why there would be a difference?

LHD vs. RHD.

[Q451990]

I also noticed, yet another shifter that is opposite to mine.

I bet you also have the shifter position indicator in your instrument cluster? I tried to buy a JDM cluster on eBay once, but got waaaaay outbid.

Heath

[Ozzie]

I bet you also have the shifter position indicator in your instrument cluster?

Indeed I do...... An unnecessary addition in my opinion.
Modified by ozzie! at 3:13 PM 2/22/2007

[Haitian_King]

Wish I had one. My instrument cluster looks so plain. It was weird going from a Jeep Grand Cherokee to my Q. Like I had an oil pressure gauge and everything.

[AlabamaDan]

I like that idea!

You could also paint the grill black and then mount the Q45 emblem behind the grill and back light it. That way you would only see the Q45 when it was lit up..... Very stealth and cool