1978 m20j

[mooney2201]

I would like to remove my center console to have it painted..Its sun faded.Just don't know if its a bear to remove...1978 m20j

[ArtVandelay]

Lots of rivets and you’ll have to disconnect and remove all engine control cables and vent cables, might be easier to paint it in the plane. Obviously you will need to remove seats, tape off interior, etc.
What’s the condition of the rest of the interior? Seats, plastic panels, windows? Might be time to redo interior, which would make painting console considerably easier.

[KSMooniac]

I moved an entire console and nose wheel well plus all systems from an 81 J into my 77 to delete the throttle quadrant. It was a tremendous amount of work.

The black portion is a formed cover that is installed with pop rivets and removable with a bit of effort. You'll have to remove all of the knobs from the cables, loosen your engine control mounting nuts, etc to coax it out. You should drop the flap and trim indicators very carefully from below as well as the visible ends are delicate and brittle.

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[Marauder]

43 minutes ago, KSMooniac said:

I moved an entire console and nose wheel well plus all systems from an 81 J into my 77 to delete the throttle quadrant. It was a tremendous amount of work.

The black portion is a formed cover that is installed with pop rivets and removable with a bit of effort. You'll have to remove all of the knobs from the cables, loosen your engine control mounting nuts, etc to coax it out. You should drop the flap and trim indicators very carefully from below as well as the visible ends are delicate and brittle.

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Scott - do you have before and after pictures of your effort? Curious how much room you gained. 

[KSMooniac]

I do, somewhere! I had intended to write up a story for that process, but haven't gotten around to it in 6 years ago far. It was a ton of work... 100-150 hours I guess, but I'm slow. I really wanted to get rid of the quadrant and it was worth it to me. I would not (could not) pay a shop to do the work, though. And it really helped having the full salvage plane to use for parts and reference. I enjoy the knee clearance and higher precision if the vernier mixture and prop controls. (I bought new ones from McFarlane, and everyone should too!)



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[Danb]

Scott must be easier to get in/out. I always liked the quadrant in my ‘77 J,   when I got my ‘88 J I liked the vernier better do to the precision 

[KSMooniac]

It's definitely easier to get in and out, especially with my long legs! I'm so glad I made the change.

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[Jocbay]

I’d like to repaint mine as well.  A po used some kind of solvent on it and turned it a cloudy whiteish. Anyone know of a good paint that sticks to plastic?  I’ve got my interior   out (started with just wanting to remove the pilot shoulder harness for repair and quickly got out of hand) so I could spray, but would rather brush. 

[PT20J]

SEM. Phantom white is a good match for interior off-white panels. Satin Black for the black. But you really need to spray it. You can get it in rattle cans.

[DCarlton]

12 hours ago, PT20J said:

SEM. Phantom white is a good match for interior off-white panels. Satin Black for the black. But you really need to spray it. You can get it in rattle cans.

Yep.  I used this plastic parts cleaner first but SEM makes a prep too.  I've used Krylon Fusion for Plastics to; satin black.  Works great and it's more readily available.

Edited September 8, 2021 by DCarlton