From classics to new trends: tuning VAZ 2107

On many cars, the front panel has a console in the middle part, which rests on the floor and serves to accommodate a wide variety of equipment. The so-called beard of the VAZ 2107 model is a fairly functional interior detail. The central console is an excellent stylistic solution for the developers of the VAZ 2107 car interior, and it is also very functional. Tuning enthusiasts often make this unit with their own hands and give it an original look. Additional elements are added to the design that increase the usefulness of this device and give it uniqueness. They often put on the beard:

1. Watch.
2. Radio or other multimedia device.
3. Dimmer switch for instrument panel lighting.
4. Switch block for electric fan, exterior lighting and fog lights.
5. At the bottom of the gear lever there is a convenient pocket for small items.

Tools and materials

Tuning consists of making a new beard, on which it is necessary to provide in advance the mounting locations for indicators, switches, control devices and other equipment. The most affordable material for making a beard with your own hands is plywood. The thickness must be chosen at least 6 mm, otherwise the product will not be very rigid. To trim the console, artificial leather is most often used; it is matched to the color of the interior, or carbon fiber of a suitable color.

Often, tuning the beard of a VAZ 2107 is done by covering the front panel and doors with leatherette or carbon fiber. To make a customized beard, you will need the following tools and equipment:

• pencil;
• locksmith corner;
• roulette;
• jigsaw;
• grinder;
• drill or screwdriver;
• glue gun;
• furniture stapler.

The new beard is installed in place of the old one, the old console is dismantled to make the measurements necessary for the workpiece.

Seats

Tuning VAZ 2106 seats can be done in two ways:

• change the upholstery;
• replace the seats by taking them from another car.

Seat reupholstery

To reupholster the upholstery yourself, follow the instructions:

Remove the seats from the interior. To do this, move the chair back all the way and unscrew the bolts in the runners. Then slide it forward and also remove the bolts. Remove the seats from the interior.

Installing seats from another car

Updated seat upholstery will decorate the interior, but will not make them ergonomic or comfortable. To do this, seats from another car are placed in the “six”. Seats with a distance between the runners of approximately 490 mm are suitable here. Many car owners say that seats from Ford Scorpio, Hyundai Solaris, VAZ 2105, VAZ 2107 fit well into the cabin . But to get a good result, you cannot do without replacing the fasteners.

Replacing seat fastenings

The slides on which the seats in the “six” are located are not located at the same level, so the old fastening requires replacement. To do this you need:

Move the seat back all the way and unscrew the front bolts. Then move it forward to the dashboard and remove two more screws from the runners.

Making your own beard

A beard is a complex structure; it is made of flat parts. To make them you need to make patterns; it is best to make them from cardboard. It is necessary to achieve high precision of the console parts; rigid cardboard is quite suitable for this. If you are not confident in your skills, first make a mock-up of the console from cardboard. This will allow you to make sure that the drawings are made correctly and to estimate how the new beard will fit into the installation site.

After making the pattern, mark the details of the beard and cut them out of plywood with a jigsaw. All parts are connected using glue and screws. The latter will allow you to fix the console elements until the glue sets. This is the most reliable and easiest way to connect beard parts.

After the beard frame is ready, it is covered with carbon fiber, leatherette or fabric. For their fastening, finishing materials, furniture stapler and glue.

After the glue has dried, all that remains is to install the new console in place of the standard one. Attach switches and devices and secure.

Radio tape recorder

No upgrade of the “six” is complete without installing a speaker system or at least a simple radio. A standard place for a radio receiver in the beard of a small-sized “six”. It should be trimmed to standard 1DIN. This can be done with a metal file. Then sand the edges with sandpaper.

Installing a radio

The radio tape recorder is attached to the beard using a metal case. Radio installation steps:

1. Having bent all the tabs, use special spatulas to remove the radio from the case.
2. The metal base is inserted into the prepared hole.
3. We fix it using special tongues.

Cables are included to connect the player. The most commonly used are:

• black - “earth”;
• red and yellow (often wound together) - ignition “+”;
• blue - power for the active antenna;
• white - front left (FL) speaker;
• gray - front right (FR) speaker;
• green - rear left (RL) speaker;
• purple - right rear (RR) speaker.

Tuning beard VAZ 2107: Video

The front panel of the VAZ 2107 has a console in the middle on which various equipment is placed (cassette recorder, watch, cigarette lighter). Car enthusiasts call this fairly functional part of a car’s interior a “beard.” Tuning enthusiasts often pay special attention to this unit, making it original and increasing its functionality. Tuning the VAZ 2107 beard involves adding additional elements and devices that make it more useful:

• MP3 player.
• Dashboard lighting control.
• Watch.
• Switches for external lighting, electric fan, fog lights.
• USB sockets for charging gadgets.
• Control devices for the operation of the vehicle's electrical network (voltmeter, ammeter).
• A compartment for small items, located near the gearshift lever.

What can be placed on the center console

Tuning enthusiasts make their own beard to place on this panel:

• 
  How to replace a torpedo on a VAZ 2107 with your own hands

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• watch;
• multimedia devices (radio, radio, etc.);
• knobs for adjusting the level of illumination of the dashboard;
• switch block for fan, fog lights, external lighting;
• pocket for small items;
• USB sockets for charging gadgets
• part of a car's control devices.

Before taking measurements for the manufacture of the center console, it is necessary to remove decorative trims from the existing part and anything that will interfere with the installation of the new part. In order not to be mistaken with the dimensions, you must first make blanks from cardboard and try them on.

Materials and tools

Console tuning usually consists of making a new VAZ 2107 beard, on which mounting locations for switches, indicators, control devices and other equipment are pre-provisioned. The most affordable material for making your own beard is plywood. The thickness must be at least 6 mm, otherwise it will not be possible to achieve the required rigidity of the product. For finishing, artificial leather is most often used, matched to the color of the interior elements, or, more recently, carbon fiber of a suitable color.

Sometimes tuning the beard of a VAZ 2107 is accompanied by a comprehensive redesign of the interior design with the replacement of finishing materials for the door trim and trim of the front panel with carbon fiber or leatherette. To make a tuned VAZ 2107 beard, in addition to finishing materials, the following devices and tools are needed:

• jigsaw;
• electric drill or cordless screwdriver;
• “grinder” (angle grinder);
• locksmith corner;
• pencil;
• ruler (roulette);
• glue gun (tube of glue);
• furniture stapler (for fastening leatherette).

The new console (beard) is installed in place of the standard one, which should be dismantled to free up space and take the measurements necessary to create the workpiece drawings.

The most common reasons for dismantling

There are a lot of reasons for removing the tidy on a VAZ 2107, and some of them can be called banal, but nothing can be done. The most common reason when you need to remove the instrument panel is a burnt-out backlight bulb. Replacing light bulbs in the dashboard of a VAZ 2107 is carried out only when dismantling the device, and this procedure is simply impossible to perform otherwise.

The dashboard on the VAZ 2107 must also be removed for a number of the following reasons:

1. Malfunction of pointer indicators.
2. Failure of the instrument lighting, as well as lack of functionality of the arrow indicators.
3. Replacing the device with a new one, for example, if a digital panel is installed instead of the factory instrument panel.
4. Tuning or upgrading the device.

As practice shows, most often the need to dismantle the dashboard arises precisely because the backlight bulb burns out. If the device is dismantled for this reason, it is recommended to immediately replace conventional light bulbs with LED ones.

Required Tools

Before starting work, you will need to prepare the necessary tools so that you do not have to be distracted during the process. Despite the fact that the work of removing the device in question is quite labor-intensive, to implement it you will need a small set of tools, including:

1. Phillips and slotted screwdriver.
2. Electrical tape to indicate chips that are disconnected from the device.
3. Work gloves for unscrewing the speedometer cable.

When all the tools are prepared, it remains to make sure that the parts and elements that are planned to be installed or replaced on the dismantled device are available. After this, we proceed to perform the main part of the work.

How to remove the instrument panel of a VAZ 2107

Instructions for removing the dashboard on a VAZ 2107

Initially, it should be noted that the process of dismantling the tidy on VAZ 2107 cars, the injector and carburetor are identical, therefore the instructions described below are appropriate for sevens of all years of manufacture. Having prepared to carry out the work, you can proceed by following the following sequence:

1. First you need to turn off the power to the car, for which you remove the negative terminal from the battery. This must be done, since the work will be carried out in the electrical part, and the likelihood of a short circuit occurring is quite high.
2. Next, we move into the interior, and using a slotted screwdriver, we remove three caps from the levers responsible for the operation of the heater.
3. Using a slotted screwdriver, remove the plastic plug on which the heating sign is depicted. This plug is on the right, and under it there is a Phillips screw that needs to be unscrewed. (There are 2 screws under the plug, but only one needs to be unscrewed - the top one, which secures the right side of the dashboard).
4. Next to the hazard warning button, there is an odometer reset button, which is secured with a plastic nut. The nut must be unscrewed and removed with the washer located behind it. The button is recessed inside the panel.
5. The right side of the tidy is weakened at this stage, and it remains to perform several additional manipulations in order to completely dismantle the device. To do this, pull out the right side of the device, thereby freeing access to its rear part. Here you need to disconnect all the chips and wires to perform dismantling.
6. Initially, the power chips for the stove button are disconnected. Be sure to remember the location of the wires. It is recommended to take photos so as not to be confused when assembly is carried out.
7. Next you need to disconnect the speedometer cable. It is secured with a special nut, which can be unscrewed by hand.
8. All chips connected to the dashboard are disconnected. It is almost impossible to confuse their locations, since they have different fastenings and differ in size.
9. The supply hose is removed from the economizer fitting. This cable is located on the left side of the device.
10. After all the chips, cables and wires are disconnected from the device, you can dismantle it.

Making a beard VAZ 2107

Depending on your skills, imagination and personal preferences, you can develop an individual console (beard) design or implement a ready-made solution by copying the product you like. A beard is a complex spatial structure made from flat parts. To make it, you need patterns, which are best made from hard cardboard. Solid material allows for high precision manufacturing of console parts. If you are not entirely confident in your skills, you can first make a cardboard mock-up of the console. This will ensure the drawings are correct and check how well the new beard fits into the installation location.

The design of a do-it-yourself center console can be very diverse. Typically, the design includes a spacious box placed between the driver and front passenger seats (where the gear shift and handbrake levers are located). It can accommodate compartments for small items, appliances, switches or just coasters for glasses.

After the patterns are made and the console parts are marked, they are cut out of plywood with a jigsaw. It is better to connect parts using self-tapping screws and glue. The first will allow you to fix the elements motionlessly while the glue sets. This is the easiest and most reliable way to connect console parts.

Let's go to the car interior

First you need to remove the shelf under the glove compartment; to do this, unscrew the screws in the places shown in the figure. The picture shows the glove box shelf of the VAZ 2106; the VAZ 2104 still has a central fastening screw (its approximate position is shown by the green arrow).

Next, remove the radio receiver mounting panel (beard) in the following sequence (operations 1-7 are indicated for the VAZ 2107).

1. Using a screwdriver, bend the latches and pull out the additional panel.

1. We disconnect the power wires of the devices; before removing, be sure to mark the wires with a marker or notches.

1. Use a screwdriver to bend around the antennae of the switches and carefully remove them.

1. Unfold the front cover latches and remove it.

1. Unscrew the two screws securing the console.

1. Just above the radio shaft, use a 10mm wrench to unscrew the 2 nuts securing the “beard”.

1. Once again we carefully inspect the attachment points of the console to see if anything is preventing us from removing it, and carefully dismantle it.

When the front console is removed, we disconnect the right and left air ducts, they are also secured with latches.

In order to get to the screws securing the VAZ 2104 stove tubes, the right air duct and glove compartment must be removed, as shown in the figure below.

The figure below shows the same heater radiator pipes.

Use a 10mm wrench to tighten the 4th mounting screws (red arrows).

Remove the latches on the left and right sides (green arrow) of the bottom of the stove.

If your heater valve is controlled using a cable, then disconnect its fastening.

To remove the lower part of the stove, you still need to unscrew two fasteners, their location is shown in the figure below.

To get to these screws you need to remove the stove control panel, shown in the figure below.

After everything is unscrewed and disconnected, the lower part of the stove with the motor is carefully pulled out by hand. If necessary, we inspect and replace the fan and motor of the VAZ stove. At a minimum, the stove motor needs to be disassembled, cleaned and lubricated.

We removed the lower part of the stove, now you can remove the stove radiator from the upper part, shown in the figure below.

That's all, now you need to diagnose the heater radiator and decide to buy a new one or repair the old one, the first option is of course better.

A beard is more than just facial hair. This is a device in the car interior in which the radio and other adjacent systems are located. In the VAZ 2107, unfortunately, the center console is located at the bottom, so reaching the radio in a relaxed state is very problematic.

Owners of this car model can use one of two ways to create tuning:

• seeking help from a specialized tuning company (usually a car repair shop), which can create a console for the interior;
• DIY beard making.

Self-production: frame

Creating a VAZ beard entirely with your own hands may seem like a difficult task, but in reality this is not entirely true. It is enough to select special drawings on the Internet, stock up on materials for work and read the tuning instructions. Initially, the driver must work on the frame, choosing the optimal model as a template. Practice shows that birch plywood is the most popular. Its thickness should be seven millimeters. It has won positive feedback from owners largely due to its quality and increased level of strength as part of the tuning parts.

To do the work yourself, you will also need vinyl leather, wooden blocks with a cross-section of 2x2.5 centimeters and one tube of epoxy glue. Before you start processing plywood, you must first create a cardboard template. For this, cardboard material with good strength is used. Each mark must be transferred to the plywood. You can make adjustments before cutting the holes and shaping them into the desired shape. The phrase “measure twice, cut once” perfectly fits the description of this stage. After perfectly copying the applied dimensions, you can pick up a jigsaw and begin to carefully cut out the console structure along the contours.

How to create a beard: step-by-step instructions

Creating a beard with your own hands is a rather difficult task that must be performed with extreme precision. After making the frame, you can create bars and then insert them into the designated place. Once their installation is completed, you can begin tightening the frame using self-tapping screws. Since we are creating a VAZ beard with an armrest, it is recommended to steam the plywood in hot boiled water before starting work. This will allow you to achieve better ductility of the material during processing. Steaming the plywood will also make it possible to solve the problem associated with the transition to a narrower part between the front seats and a wider one where the radio is located. As soon as the entire tuning structure is ready, it must be dried. This process usually takes about two days.

Next, the owner must create a bent plywood insert with his own hands, in which there is a small hole. It is used to create free space for placing a lever. The workpiece will have to be boiled to give it the desired shape. Some VAZ owners use a simple kitchen sink wall. Once the part is processed, the element will have to be completely dried.

conclusions

The beard of VAZ cars makes it possible to significantly simplify driving comfort. Both the driver and the passenger will not have to reach for the radio. Depending on the design, you can also place additional cells here to store parts or small personal items. It usually takes several days to create a part. You need to be prepared for this right away. Under no circumstances should you start by cutting plywood, as there is a high chance that you will not be able to install it. A cardboard blank will allow you to modernize the design taking into account individual needs. Of course, in addition to creating a beard with your own hands, you can also seek help from a specialized car service. But why, if this method will save a lot of money? Therefore, feel free to take on interior tuning, starting with the console!

Additional Helpful Tips

The owner of a VAZ car has the opportunity to make a beard himself from scratch. But before starting work, it is highly recommended to study the drawings on the Internet. A large number of other drivers of VAZ 2107, 2106 and 2105 have published their options for creating a beard with an individual appearance and corresponding drawings.

Be responsible in determining the optimal sizes. In addition to the dimensions of the radio, the amount of usable space in the cabin is also taken into account. The console should not create any discomfort for the legs of the driver and passenger. Under no circumstances should you proceed straight to cutting out the plywood. A do-it-yourself cardboard blank will allow you to accurately assess the degree of comfort. A custom console for a VAZ is created to simplify access to the radio, taking into account the location of the gear lever. But here you can also make convenient compartments for storing small personal items. Again, a pre-created blank made of hard cardboard will help with this.