Fitting new GPS part 3

I left you a few days ago at the point where the dashboard had been removed and the GPS docking station had been fitted to the dashboard. But without the pictures to go with the actual fitting of the docking station. So I’ll start there. As the theory behind the mount and the detailing has been explained in this previous post, I will leave it to some pictures to illustrate how the theory looks in real life …

With this part of the job completed I started at inspecting the car’s wiring in the centre console and fuse box area, in search for a good power take off point for the docking station. But first I had to find a way of removing the radio unit. As I still haven’t found the keys to remove it from its mounting shroud, I went for plan B. I turned the complete centre console assembly onto the transmission tunnel. This way I could easily access the locking tabs in the shroud with some feeler gauges. After which it was easy to remove the radio unit

After that I also cleaned up a few points that didn’t go to plan when I restored the car some 10 years ago. At the time I fitted some additional (green) LED lights to aid finding dropped items on the floor, and have some light in the glove box, in the dark. But for some obscure reasons the co-drivers side never worked. As I didn’t fancy removing the dashboard for that I left it there. But with the dashboard removed I could assess the problem. So I rewired that side and added some extra light to the driver’s side too. The lights are switched through the original A/C switch, as it is a suitable on/off switch that was there already! Added bonus is that it is easily accessible for both driver and co-driver.

And after a few hours of sorting through the wiring it was time to get the main part of the dashboard back in the car. This should be a straight forward job. But in my case some of the non-original wiring usually gets in the way. Or as was the case now a connector came loose. Luckily the dash wasn’t bolted down at that point, so easy but time consuming to rectify. But by the time I had secured the top of the dashboard it was time to call it a day ...