Completed cup holder/arm rest

[rlux4]

As you may remember, I made a cup holder for the car and said I planned to pad it to use as an arm rest. Well, the pad took longer than the cup holder itself, mainly because work kept getting in the way. I had it in at BFI and the comments were all favorable. Which either means it looks OK in person, or the people who didn't like it kept it to themselves.
I've included a picture of the cup holder because the finish wasn't on when I first posted.
Cup holder:

Arm rest:

It works great in either mode.
Keep in mind, it's the first model. I'll probably do some tinkering with the design later.
Ron

[TulsaSpider]

I like it Ron! I tried one of those that you slide between the seat and the hump and it didn't work because of the hump angle... anyways I digress...

[pope]

Ron,
is that hole big enough for a super big gulp or large slurpee!

[mbouse]

that beats my arm rest that i created for my center console. cup holders was not part of my consideration.

and, i promise, on those really hot days that my vinyl covering will stick to my skin a lot more than your cloth cover.

is this design easy removable (wedged in place), or does it require a tool or two to tear down?

[rlux4]

Thanks guys. The arm rest got a 500 mile test on the run with the Bay area guys after BFI and it worked great.
Absolutely Mike! When you work in construction, in the desert, you have to have somewhere to put the 64oz. Big Gulp.
I make a 50/50 mix of Mountain Dew and pink lemonade. I call it the Hinky, Pinky, Dinky Dew.
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

is the pad just a piece that lays on top of the cup holder?

[ga.spyder]

Nice work ,Ron.It turned out well! I havent even started on mine(slacker!),but cold temps are adding up to more garage time. Are those covers ,or some type of aftermarket seats? They dont look like the ''stock'' units.
Craig

[ventura ace]

I saw it and tested it first-hand. It looks great, and feels great. I never saw any cups in it, so I can't comment on that. I gave Ron some feedback that I'd rather see it moved forward a little, to give better support to the forearm. Ron showed me that it's as forward as it can be without being hit by the parking brake handle. We were thinking that if the lower part was slotted for the brake handle, it could overhang more forward. Something more for Ron to do in his spare time!!

Sure does look nice, Ron.

Alvon

[rlux4]

Oops. My response about the big gulp capacity was for Pope.
Mike; It's sized to wedge in between the seat backs and has a leg that goes down and curves over the hump to keep it stable

Mark; The pad just rests on top. It wedges in also so it stays in place well. When I want to use it as a cup holder I just slide it back and it stays on the floor behind the front seat.
Ron

[mbouse]

Ron.... Looks absolutely fantastic.

you've figured out how to encorporate your skills to your hobby fantastically. When will you be mass marketing them for sale in the Spider community?

I want one with black padding. I'll pay the big bucks to get it to match my wood trim. AND, i am not kidding.

[rlux4]

Craig; My upholstery is pretty shot and when I got the car it had the gawd-awful red with white flowers Hawiaan covers on it. The wife got me these leather seat covers from Pep Boys to hold me off until she says I can get the seats reuphostered. (Hey, I'm not whipped, she's just better with money than me.)
Mike: What color is your wood trim? And do you want vinyl or cloth on the padding? I'll do a trade with you for the Michigan Shorter Shifter How does that sound?

[mbouse]

that works Ron. I believe some might call that horse trading, but without the horses.

I will send you a shifter and a photo of the trim, for a good match on the stain; it's stock, but darker than what i see on the other car. since i have vinyl here, i will make my own padded cover.

send me an email to mbouse at chartermi dot net with your snail mail address and i will get this stuff right over to you.

[Flyingthere]

Ron on your cup holder /arm rest, major kudos looks great and I'm guessing works well, I had to turn down free coffee the other day because I had no way to hold it. I did notice something in you last picture the rear ashtray slot looks like it is a tray of some type? Mine has another ashtray that looks really well used and I would like to make it a usable slot. Did yours come like that and wo you or anybody know if it is stock or a aftermarket addition? and or where I can get one in black for my '78?
I would like to be rid of the front ash tray as well if anybody has any suggestions.

[rlux4]

It's called a coin holder in most circles. It is stock on the later cars. I see you have a '78, so it may have been '79 when they changed to "Spider 2000" that the rear ash tray changed out to the coin holder. They come up all the time on Ebay, and I'd bet they fit the same slot as the ashtray.
Ron

[mbouse]

the slot is the same, however the fit may not be if the console has had a cap put over it. those glue on caps will make that opening smaller, and near impossible to fit on the factory trim ring around the hole.

fortunately, the console cap can be trimmed, if your are careful not to over do it.