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A dash shelf for mounting a radar detector and GPS receiver is a popular farkle for ST owners. There are a couple of problems with it, though. One, your expensive gadgets are exposed to theft, so it's prudent to remove them when stopping for fuel or a bite to eat. Secondly, not all of these gadgets are weatherproof.
Someone mentioned having an enclosure to conceal things, and it got me to thinking. So I devised one to fit my needs. It is constructed from acrylic sheet plastic, with metal grilles to simulate a speaker enclosure for small speakers.
I formed the top, front and bottom from one piece heated with a heat gun and bent over a wooden form. The two sides were cut to fit and glued in place with Devcon Plastic Welder. I purchased a metal speaker grille and cut it to fit the cutouts on the face plate. A piano hinge, some black vinyl door edge molding, and some SEM® Color Coat Flexible Coating #15303 Graphite spray paint was used to finish the enclosure. It is mounted to a cross strap made of aluminum, and some 3-M Dual Lock® attaches the front to the top of the ST's dash.
I made up an extension cable to remote mount the Garmin antenna to the windshield. A small latch made from plastic secures the door in the down position, and a simple prop bar holds it open. You may notice I left an unpainted "window" in the nose for the Valentine laser detector to read through, but I don't know how well that functions.
The enclosure works well. It keeps the gadgets away from prying eyes and it shelters the radar detector, which isn't weatherproof.
The pictures give you an idea of what things look like. I removed the windshield for clarity in some of them.
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