Dune Buggy GPS Sun Shade Project

Three weeks ago or so I finished a project of mounting a GPS into my dune buggy.  I know this will be a nice addition to the car while I am driving and I also know that most of the time I will have the top off of the car.  With this of course brings the sun and along with it some difficulty in trying to see the GPS properly.  So a sun shade was what was needed for the GPS and I am happy to report that I put the finishing touches on it a few days ago.

Here is a good shot of the GPS (without the sun shade) and it's mount on the steering column.  Since all of the gauges for the car are located in the center of the dash the location for the GPS worked out rather nicely.  

I had worked out the design for the sun shade that I wanted for the GPS using Fusion 360 software. The first attempt I had come up with was very similar to the finished design pictured above but ended up being to large and bulky to make it work properly.  This new design has a visor that is only a couple of inches long and 1/8th of an inch thick overall.  

Again using Fusion 360 I was able to model the GPS to scale along with the sun shade to get a good idea of how it would look. The sun shade would be slid over the top of the GPS to secure it in place. A nice look that should serve me very well. 

Once I was satisfied with my design I 3D printed it. Then sanded it smooth to prep it for priming and  finally painting it a nice glossy black.  

The inside of the sun shade where it touches the GPS was lined with felt to get a nice soft/firm grip on the GPS.  This also eliminated the chance that the sun shade would rattle around on top of the GPS while being used. The new sun shade can also be installed or removed from the GPS in less than a second so I am very happy with the fit and finish of it. 

The original design I came up with for the sun shade had a visor that was three inches long.  This ended up being way to close to the steering wheel for my liking.  With this new version and it's shorter visor length I think I finally have it dialed in to where it looks good and should shield the GPS rather nicely when I am out and about driving in the sun. Plus the fact that it can all be easily removed and stored away when I am not using it in the car.  A win-win for sure.  

I have to finish the glove compartment project next. Things with that project are also going smoothly so I should have that wrapped up in the next week or so.  (Keeping my fingers crossed.)   Then I have one more large project for the dune buggy that will be coming up. Once I have more details ironed out I will start posting about it. That project looks to be another nice addition to the car that will bring some challenges as well as some nice rewards. Something that will make driving the dune buggy even more enjoyable!  So check back again as hopefully you will find that project very interesting as well.  Have a good one!