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My Jeep has seen it’s share of center consoles. I finally grew
tired of replacing cheap plastic and poorly made particleboard
consoles. The cheap consoles also failed to provide any form of
security for any items stored inside. Anyone that removes the tops
and doors from their Jeep knows that security is a major concern. I
started looking into various manufacturers’ “security consoles,”
but could not justify spending the money on one when other Jeep
modifications were much higher on the priority list. While wandering
through an army surplus store one day, I noticed some old steel ammo
boxes. I checked them out and decided they could be modified into a
nice secure center console without much effort. I went home, made
some measurements of the space between the front seats, and returned
to the surplus store with my tape measure in hand to find the best
fitting ammo box. It turned out that a 30mm ammo box fit the
requirements**. I paid $19.95 and was out the door ready to start my
new project.
My first challenge was to figure
out how I was going to make the lid permanently attached
at one end and hinged. The ammo boxes come with a lid
that latches at both ends and lifts completely off. This
is not the ideal set up for a center console. I
decided to cut off the lip at the top of the box and
most of the latching mechanism except for the round bar
that held on the latch. I determined that the lid could
be made hinged by welding the round bar in place to the
back of the ammo box. Before welding the bar in place,
check to see that the lid will open and latch closed as
intended.
After the lid was modified, the
next step was to create a way to lock the console so it
would be secure. The best way I could
come up with was to purchase a hasp from a hardware
store. The latch mechanism on the ammo box has slots in
it that the hasp will conveniently protrude through when
in the box is securely closed.
I simply picked a spot on the ammo box so the
hasp would align with one of the slots and allow for
full motion on the latch
mechanism. Then I used the provided hardware to attach
it to the ammo box.
When the latch is closed, it covers the hardware
so it is all but impossible to remove without some
rather large, destructive tools. A padlock can then be
locked to the loop of the hasp making it impossible to
open the ammo box (unless you have the aforementioned
rather large destructive tools).
My next step was to put some sort
of limiting strap on the lid to keep it from opening all
the way back. I did this to relieve some tension from
the welds on the hinge. I made it out of a small piece
of nylon webbing purchased from the hardware store and
simply bolted it to the ammo box on the lid and the main
body of the box.
Finally, some sort of mounting
bracket is needed for the rear of the ammo box console.
I lucked out and had the bracket from
one of my cheap center consoles still around. It turned
out to be the perfect size and saved me from having to
make one. If it was necessary to make one, it would have
been very simple. All you would need is a piece of sheet
metal and a vice to bend it into a 4” tall mounting
bracket. I bolted the bracket to the floor immediately
behind the transmission hump in the tub of my CJ-7. I
also bolted the front of the console through the tub for
extra support and security.
I decided my console needed a
couple of cup holders. I was at a loss at first at how
to do this. I looked at a lot of different cheap
automotive cup holders, but failed to find anything that
would work with the console. Finally while flipping
through a 4WD Hardware catalog, I noticed that Tuffy
sold the cup holders for their consoles separately. It
was right around $20, which is a bit steep, but it was
good quality steel that would match the console nicely.
It was a perfect fit and was simple to bolt to the front
of the ammo box.
I painted the console with some
Hammerite paint and installed it in the Jeep.
I was very please with the way it looked and even
more pleased with the fact that I saved a ton of money
by building a secure nice looking console by myself.
A nice addition to the console
would be a padded armrest on the lid, but I have not yet
gotten around to doing that.
I estimate I have about $60 into
mine including the ammo box, cup holder, paint and misc
hardware. It could be built for much cheaper if you
skipped the Tuffy cupholders and some other things.
**After having the console in my
Jeep for a while, I have come to the conclusion that a
20mm ammo box would probably be a better fit. The 30mm
box that I used creates a really tight fit between the
seats and makes it difficult to operate the passenger
seatbelt. I believe the 20mm ammo box has the same
dimensions as the 30mm with exception to the width,
which is 1” to 1.5” less than the 30mm box.
n2jeepn.com
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