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This ’55 Needed a Command Center
The decision to build a center console for any car or truck is not usually taken lightly, as there are a lot of considerations to be weighed. For example, take the ’55 Chevy sedan delivery we found at Ranger Performance in Riverside, California. The vehicle’s owner wanted a center console to house some gauges, locate a variety of switches, cover the floor shifter, add a storage bin, provide an armrest and (get this) include a drink holder that was chilled through the air conditioning ducting. That’s a lot of features for one part, but Atilla Vecsernyes of Ranger Performance is a master with metal, and he jumped right into the project.
This ’55 has a swivel driver’s seat, which complicated matters because it left less room for the console. The decision to use seats sans armrests and locate one extra-wide armrest on the console added to the complexity. The armrest had to be designed to flip up and allow the seat to swivel when the driver entered and exited the ’55.
Like most projects, this one starts out with cardboard patterns. Vecsernyes starts with a rough cutout of what he wants, does more trimming after the cardboard is taped into position, and provides a 3-D model of what the end result will be. Slowly but surely, the console comes to life through the use of 18-gauge steel and a MIG welder. Follow along as Ranger Performance creates a multi-functional center console. This one may make a simple console seem like a walk in the park.
