I've been working on this for a good while and finally finished this past weekend. I never did like the look of the chrome finish on the cup holder trim in my 2008 Center Console mod, so I covered it up to make it match the rest of the interior.

In the process, I messed up quite a bit with an old can of paint where I got blobs and runs, and it took many repeated efforts to re-paint, sand smooth, re-paint, sand smooth, etc. to finally get all the initial "glob" defects worked back out.

It was a real bugger trying to get that trim piece out without breaking it, but I got it out and now I'm really glad I went to the trouble!!


Now all I need to do is paint the tan portions of the console to match my gray leather interior.

 

Looks good Pete. Nice work.

 

very nice job Pete .. I hate the chrome too

 

Looks nice Pete. The chrome definitely would stick out in an interior that has absolutely no chrome.

 

Awesome job Pete!! Looks really good. Any more pics in the truck?

 

Yeah Pete, I'd like too see more pictures of it in the truck also. Was it just basicly a bolt in mod?

 

Nice dad! I was wondering when you would finish that! It looks very OEM.

 

Looks good, I just might have to do the same thing Pete!!

 

I haven't taken any more pics of the install yet because I really want to wait until I get the painting completed and get my arm rest mounting posts covered with a custom home-made adapter cover.

It is a direct bolt in mod, but there are a few critical differences between this and the stock console.
- different mounting
- trucks with captains chairs have to remove the arm rests

The new '08's need their own mounting brackets... I bought a console without the brackets and had to order brackets from Ford (which also required tapping the mounting screw holes in the brackets before I could install them. Also, the new brackets have to go underneath the mounting feet of the captains chairs, obviously, on the inner side of the seats adjacent to the console. This in turn causes the seat to lean just a tad, so you also have to shim the opposite feet on the seats to get back to "true vertical".

The arm rests have to come off on captains chair arrangements. Otherwise, you can't get the lid all the way open and renders the mod prettty much just a bumper sticker mod... appearance only with minimal function. It sounds odd, but the new console is so big and so much wider at the top that the top of the console lid is what becomes your new arm rests. The lid also has a sort of tactile rubber feel, is compeltely flat, and you'll be surprised at how a sheet of paper will just sit on top of the lid and ride around without sliding off at all.

The single largest downside to me is the loss of the clipboard clip, but the size and other additional utilitarian aspects more than offset this one negative.

You can also get a different back piece with two molded cup holders for crew cab configs (from Ford)... the one most commonly found on eBay is just a simple back with no cup holders. I believe this replacement back piece is something like $45 from Ed at Y2K.

Now, I just have to manufacture my arm rest post covers, get the cup holder back, and paint it all to match the gray leather.

 

Looking good Pete. Nice write up also

 

Looks good Pete.Ive been looking into doing the console mod.I would definately do away with the chrome as well.

 

does anyone know if this would bolt in place of the fold down center arm rest 40/20/40 trucks?


edit- i think i found the answer, thanks for the link pete! https://www.thedieselstop.com/thread...p-seat.132578/

 

Yes... bolt in. Just have to tap the bracket mounting holes if bought new.

In fact, the replacement for the 40/20/40 configuration is even simpler because you won't have to remove the OEM armrests for the captain's chairs.

 

Thank you, im out of reps for you

 

Can you post up some Pictures of this mod in your truck. I've also considered doing this one as well.
Thank you sir.