Back to the Front:

We tried at first to use the provided bolts, but they were a tad too short for us to get enough thread to show for the nuts, so I brought out my bucket-o-bolts to find some that suited better.  If you remember we were poking the bolts through from behind the windshield frame, so it was kind of tricky, even with the hole we hacked up for access.  J used the ol' fishing line trick to back feed the bolts until we could get them straight through the holes and into the console.  Since we had plenty of thread to work with now, we went ahead and not only tightened the nuts down good, but double nutted them to ensure no slackening and rattling.

      Fishing for bolts     

 Plenty of thread for nuts

 

 

Now that we got the front mounted up (and Jared holding up the back) we can get the U-bolts in the console and tighten up the rear.  We did the little-at-a-time method and cinched up each nut (accompanied with a lock washer) a small amount so the console would stay even.  A deep socket is definitely needed to reach the nuts.  After getting the console as snug against the roll bar as possible, we double checked the tightness of the front, and then moved to the last step of tightening the carriage bolts on the adjustable sliding part of the console.  Now there should be never be a rattle from the console, at least not from a loosening at the mounts.  We came to accept that the Tuffy locking mechanism and even the compartments are going to make some noise at times on the bumps, but the unit itself is secure and there's no fear of it ever falling or of it not supporting it's weight.

 

The last thing to do was to run the wires,  The console has pre punched holes at the front and rear to accommodate accessory power wires, etc.  We utilized one of the rear ones to run the antenna wire for the CB, running it back hidden underneath the zipped up roll bar fabric and then under the carpet to the antenna near the rear bumper.

We then decided to run the CB power wires through the console front so they would never be underfoot.  We used one of the smaller holes instead of the larger provided ones to run the wire through so it would not show at all.  Jared's '03 plastic windshield surround that we had earlier removed would make a perfect hidden route for the wires (and the other toggle switch wires to come).  We removed the plastic side surround as well, to run the wires all the way down through to behind the dash.  Then we took the middle piece and Dremmeled out a center section accommodate the console, finally snapping and screwing the assembly back down over the wires.

 

We also added the CB mic clip to the side of the console with some self tapping screws.  Then we just stuffed what coiled wire we didn't need to reach the driver, back up into the console through the provided hole.  Tuffy provides several rubber grommets to use in the holes and we made a cross cut in the grommet to let the wire move freely in and out.

The only thing we haven't had a chance to do yet is install the switches.  Once this is done and J's CB it switched from the outside, he can leave his console locked, and not worry about the CB bouncing around.

 

 

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