Thursday, March 19, 2015

Glorious Glove Box

Before
As you may recall, after the passenger airbag removal, the Miata was left with a big hole in the dash, which was begging to be turned into a glove box.  This would be very handy, since I removed the original one.
I started by trying to figure out how I wanted this to work.  It isn't as simple as one might think.  When I had a basic idea, I went and got a couple hinges.  I played around with and bent one hinge to shape, but discovered a better solution, so scrapped that one and started with a new one.  When it was properly bent into shape, I went about mounting it.  There wasn't enough room to use a drill, so I spun a drill bit with my fingers and managed to make holes in the plastic of the dash.

My stubby screwdriver wasn't quite stubby enough.

With the hinge screwed to the dash, I slipped the other end into my custom bracket.  The metal piece is actually part of the original airbag assembly, as are the sweet acorn nuts.  I went with this mounting strategy because it was simple and adjustable, giving me some leeway if I didn't get things lined up perfectly at first.

This actually is a glove box.

Here's what it looks like when it's closed.  Pretty good, if I do say so myself.
After
 The back does stick up a little in order to let the hinge function, but it is not obtrusive.

Should have painted the hinge black before installing.  Now it's going to bother me forever, because there's no way I'm pulling that thing out again.

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