Swapping 2010-2014 Center Console into 2005-2009 Mustang

This is not my vehicle however this is very similar to the original interior of my car minus the leather seats and black dash paneling. I failed to take a before pic, my bad but this will give you a general idea of what it was. (Sorry for stealing your pic, furthermore the car is very clean)

1) First step is to obviously remove the original center console, this is done by unfastening the two 7mm nuts located in the base of the glove box, then unscrewing the two phillips screws underneath the console lid (both highlighted in the picture below).

Continuing Part 1) The console is a two piece design so the cupholder/armrest is seperate from the console. After removing the hardware the upper half is only held in by clips.



After removing the top half, two 7mm bolts are then exposed holding the lower piece into the radio bezel (highlighted red below) remove them and the two wiring pigtails connected to the cigarette lighter and aux output (A third pigtail may also be dangling below, in my case it was not connected prior). After extracting the two bolts, the lower half should come out. If any issues with removing the original console, a good video reference would be;


Step 2) Side by side compare the two consoles, the newer gen console is considerably longer and should give you an idea of how much trimming is necessary (my picture is after cutting off the extended arms). Also the 05-09 shifter boot and emergency brake will not fit after the installation and will need to be fitted with the newer items.



Test fit the new console into your car, in my case my shifter would not go into any of the gears positioned forward in the H-pattern, and the console box holes did not line up with the studs mounted for the original console. This again would help you understand how much trimming is involved. The new console has a series of clips in the front nearest to the stereo bezel, they will need to be trimmed. Practically all of the fastening hardware on the front of the new console will be cut/removed.



Step 3) (LOWER PIECE) Don't be scared to cut, but don't get over zealous. We found a jig saw worked the best to cut through the plastic without melting it. At this point in time I'd like to give a big thanks to MM user @Azure for sacrificing his night to make many many cuts with his jigsaw. We used cardboard templates to mimic the curvature of the right and left side pieces of the radio bezel, then squared the center console to insure both sides were cut in the same place. After many many cuts, the final arches of the new console were cut back until 7/16" were left. Use your own measuring system to figure out how much you need, the console was installed and removed numerous times over a span of 2-2.5 hrs to insure proper fit.



Step 4) (UPPER CONSOLE PIECE) Again a lot of cutting is involved to fit the upper piece back into the lower half. The "sync" button was drilled out, again take your time measuring and marking your cuts. This material isn't as resilient to scratching so make sure to tape anything up your plan to keep as is.

Step 5) Installation, the alignment between the new console and factory radio bezel does not fit flush unless you are a fabricating guru which I am clearly not. My next step in this process will be to design and 3D print a prototype piece that will fill the gap between the two pieces, then build a more permanent piece out of ABS, plastic weld, sand, and paint. The final product is still in the making but this is its current standing. As stated earlier, new shifter/emergency brake boots will need to be purchased if not purchased with the console. The hazard/trunk/traction control switches are also placed on the new console, a trunk switch can easily be wired up off of this. This particular console also had the 'My color' option, I hope to get working as well.



FUTURE PLANS: The tan interior needs to go, I plan on paint matching the consoles center/upper piece with the radio bezel. the rest of the interior pieces will be painted black. Black carpeting and headliner will be installed also 2010-2014 premium door panels will be fitted as well, hopefully soon..