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 79-86 Center Console Restoration 

Please excuse the low quality of some of the pictures.  I had to try to use fairly high compression to keep the size of this site under control. Please be helpful and send comments here.

Go to part: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11

Part 11:  Final Assembly
A picture of the fasteners needed:



I cleaned them all up and painted them black.

First install the coin tray (install the pad catch first if you removed it).  Using the two screws with the metal flaring.



Attach the console pad bracket to the pad.



Attach the Pad and Bracket to the console with the bolts with washers.  Don't forget to put the inner metal plate in place!



Next Install the clock and status module along with the black plastic bezel.  This is the trickiest part as you have to jumble everything around.  I found getting the black bezel and the clock in position first was key.  Get the screw on the top of the console and the screw on the passenger's side to hold the clock in but loose gave me an easier time to get the status module installed.  Once everything is in place and lined up, tighten the screws.  Also connect the back lights to the status module.



Next put in the large metal support bracket that goes under the ash tray.  Snap in the wiring harness to the driver's side of the bracket.  The two connectors for the lighter should be in the right spot for the ash tray housing.



Install the ashtray housing.  Connect up the two wires for the lighter and screw the housing in place.  The screws go on either side of the ashtray opening to connect the housing to the lower bracket.  Pop in the ash tray and lighter.



Underneath, there are a few more loose ends.  I used some fabric black tape (not electrical tape) to tape the ash tray light in place.  That particular light always seems like it's ripped off from every console I find and the plastic fastener broken.  The tape worked very well.



Install the small metal bracket for the wiring harness connectors.

Ok, one last tip/trick.  Those three wiring harness connectors should be attached to the small thin metal bracket at the front of the console.  Most of the clips that connect the connectors to the bracket get busted. 

It is a major pain to get Ford wiring harness apart.  Couple that with being secured into place on the console and you can understand how people get frustrated and just yank them out of that small metal strip.  This also explains why that bracket is MIA on many consoles.

The answer is to use ZIP TIES!  The top two connectors in the picture below are zip tied in place.  What's great about zip ties is that if you need to, you can CUT them and replace them easily if ever the console needs to be removed from the car.  Cutting them, allows the harness to extend and that gives more room to disconnect the connectors from the dash harness.



Pop in the Shifter bezel and take some Glamour Shots!









Wow, my camera pics up the dust.  Those white specs are indeed just dust.







Yep, even did some painting underneath.  I went light.  Paint is expensive!:



Some outdoor shots.  My camera tends to make the grey look blue when indoors.





<coming soon>






In Conclusion:
Final results are impressive.  Plus I think I can break down and reassemble one of these in 3 minutes.  Asleep.

DONE!