TRD Dash Trim Installation

TRD Dash Trim Installation
By: Rick 

After looking at these pieces for quite a while, I finally broke down and got the TRD dash kit pieces. This was my second dash kit for the Spyder, and is by far superior to its predecessor from exotic wood dash. Their brushed aluminum package looked like a “Wal-Mart special” kit- faux background covered with about ¼ in plastic. The TRD pieces are a mix of plastic and real aluminum.

Parts List

Here is an illustration of the kit in its entirety:

The individual pieces are as follows (you must buy them separately):

 NOTE: All instructions are in Japanese- I don’t have the English version of them

 Installation of this kit is very simple- save for the parking brake lever (and it is not too difficult).  Most pieces mount with double sided mounting tape, as you can see in the pic below. I suggest you warm the tape with a hair dryer or heat gun after peeling back the plastic overlay. Also, you will want to use an adhesion promoter ( 1 is included with the “metal panel” set).

Installation

First piece I installed was the shifter trim. This piece covers the area around the base of the shifter knob. It is solid metal, and only fits one way- test fit it BEFORE you remove the tape covering so you don’t get it backwards. Clean area with alcohol, apply adhesion promoter, heat with heat gun, and press into place. 

The procedure for the rest of the parts is the same:

1)      Test fit, 2)Clean area with alcohol, 3) apply adhesion promoter, 4) heat with heat gun or hair dryer, and 5)press into place

NOTE- make sure you test fit ALL pieces to make sure you have them in the right place, especially the side vent covers!

 Here is the kit installed, minus the parking brake handle:

(Pay no attention to the paper towel on the console or the RCA jacks behind the radio. They consist of: 1) Trash and 2) Part of my headrest speaker project)

Installation of the parking brake is a different story than the rest of the kit. This requires measuring, cutting, epoxy, and set screws. BUT, it is still VERY simple. So, here we go:

First, gather the following items: 1) tape measure 2) epoxy from the parts bag the handle was in

3) Dry Erase marker , 4) a screwdriver with a 90 degree bend, like the one shown, 5) a SHARP kitchen knife (and of course the handle itself)

First, measure 80mm from the tip of the stock brake handle. NOT the button, but start to measure the perforated vinyl itself. I got lucky and it lined up directly on a row of dots (and I wish the same luck to you). Use the dry erase to mark your cutting line all around. Use the Knife to cut along this line. You must cut fairly deep to get through all of the material. Then cut a long slit along the top so you can remove this piece.

Remove this chunk of vinyl and throw it away. You will see this:

Now, you can either scrape off the old epoxy, or just apply over it. It is best to scrape it off, but I chose to leave it as it was very solid (this way I would have the texture to help hold the knob on as it has ridges on the inside). The next step is to apply the new epoxy. There are 2 tubes, and a little plastic piece that you use to mix/flatten the epoxy. I used several beads all the way around, and alternated beads between tubes, then I mixed the 2 gels- Looks very appetizing: