carcathan

I've owned this mk2 GS430 for a few months now and it truly is a fabulous car - especially for someone who likes to maintain their own car. But there are a few areas that i really wanted to change around the interior dash areas. It's not finished yet...







For various reasons i was forced to update the non-working radio and regrettably the OE satnav just wasn't going to be compatible with an aftermarket headunit. You don't appear to be able to get a double din fascia for a GS that keep the double din at the top - they're designed to replace the non-satnav radios. Looking down low to see the sat nav seems a poor idea to me, so i decided the Nav had to go in the upper section.

I bought a good secondhand Kenwood stereo with bluetooth and DAB, and made up a bespoke fascia for it from 3 different pieces of stereo fascia plus the kenwood bezel, really pleased with the close fit but the final finish is yet to be sorted.

I had to replace the touchscreen AC controls with a standard HVAC - but rather scarily then had to cut it down to within 2mm of the left and right hand buttons to make it fit the new location. I've seen one image of this done before so i knew it must work - but it was a nervous time fitting it.

For the satnav i really wanted to use an old Nexus 7 2012 tablet that i have. The tablet is primarily a satnav and MP3 player, but i didn't really want to lock the tablet behind a fascia (which i'd also have to make) obviously i wanted to be held securely in place for driving but also be able to pick it up easily to hide it or take it with me - i use it with OS(UK) maps for hiking and as a kindle on holiday. It's also useful being able to pick it up and use (with phone as a wifi hotspot) when you're acting as a taxi for the kids, sitting outside school waiting endlessly.

Having just replaced the wood steering wheel with a perforated leather one (probably the reverse of most peoples taste!) i decided to use black perforated leather for the tablet recess. The tablet is held by a Scosche Magnetic Flush Mount which really is secure, mounted on ply covered in leather. The ply is locked in top and bottom and can't be removed without removing the vents above. I have a steering wheel interface waiting to be fitted to allow me to use those controls again and just need to decide on the DAB aerial (it will be an external one) and sort out the subwoofer. Most things are bought second-hand so all of these changes should be close to cost neutral once i've sold all the SatNav/Amp/CD changer and wood steering wheel etc.

Not sure on the final finish for both the HVAC and the stereo fascia - may just be satin black (stereo fascia has had a couple of quick coats), might look at using a 3m wood film if i can closely match the rosewood and do the black plastic around the gear stick/cupholders as i like that look on the other LS/GS models. I also re-covered the gear **** in the same perforated leather (not very easy as it doesn't really dismantle easily).

Finally i'm trying to find the best solution to acres of dark beige plastic - it's the only poor part of the car's design in my opinion, a poor choice even allowing for its age. But I love the car's paint and trim colours otherwise. So, initially i've tried covering the insert plastic door trim in more perforated black leather to break up the beige - i like it! Again it's not an easy modification because of the tight curves and the fact that Lexus decided to make the window switch bezel part of the moulding, so careful use of a dremel was needed to allow the leather to tuck in. I think i made a pretty good job, the camera makes the door leather look more different in shade than the steering wheel leather than it does in reality but i may yet give them all a dye with liquid leather scuff dye to guarantee a match. I've yet to trim the other doors but the drivers door was the hardest one to do.

I'm half considering changing the dash colour, don't really want black everywhere either - both porsche and saab have used a burgundy/cordovan type shade on dashboards that i'm quite tempted to try if i can get a spare door card!

This isn't a short-term project. I've already added an LPG conversion (well worth it in my opinion in the UK due to fuel cost), next is a cat back stainless exhaust as the current one is hanging on by a prayer and i have a lexus detachable towbar waiting to fit once the exhaust can be touched. Also been collecting suspension parts - it's only on 75k miles but i'm keen to keep it tight without losing comfort.

Anyway - hope that's of interest to some of you!

kamlung

iTrader: (8)

looks good... that is a very similar move back in the day when we used to drop the climate control units down to make room for carputer screens... how did you secure the climate control?

cheers...

carcathan

It's obviously pretty tight in there, so there is no real side to side movement and it's too narrow to move forward.
The HVAC has black 3M foam insulation tape around the sides and the bottom edge (to stop anything slipping under and to eliminate any vibrations) and i lined any raised edges in the rear section of the console with the same tape so it grips and is cushioned.
It needs to be held securely at the rear long term though - so i've got a simple strip bracket with a shallow lip that will run from side to side on the top rear edge, it pushes gently downwards on the HVAC using foam tape and then the bracket has a 90deg bend at each end to secure to the sides of the console with short self tapers.

jmarque7

iTrader: (1)

My car came with two tone of gray. I wanted black interior. Got a few oem parts
and ended up doing three tone. I think it looks good. And ive gotten complements on it
Check it
... Lmk what you think