Well like virtually every Fiero owner, I was pretty frustrated with the lack of cupholders. So I came up with this, let me know what you think.

I took the collapsible cupholders out of the center arm rest of a '97 LeSabre, added a piece of flat steel, drilled a centered hole and then bolted it to the underside of the dash. If any of you are familiar with these, they are actuated when they are folded out of the armrest, by a small tab on the underside that makes contact with the case of the armrest. Instead of this, I cut a cam lobe that remains stationary, and when you pull the cupholder assembly out from under the dash, it opens them up.

So fully open:


And retracted under the dash:


I wraped the steel/bolt/cam portion of the assembly with a black carpet and some spray adhesive to hide it and give it a cleaner look. Its not perfect, the plastic they used in it is a bit weak, so i wouldnt necessarily trust it with a big big cup (yet) but I think that I can reinforce it a bit. I also have red LED accent lights in my dash vents, and was planning to add one on the underside of this to illuminate it at night. Best part is its simple and cheap. So what do you think?

Good location. I never thought of that spot.

It works well on many levels, Im a taller guy, so I can reach over easily and open it, but it also is mounted where if I am in the passenger seat, I have plenty of leg room. Originally I was looking at the drawer type cupholders on some of the newer vehicles, but ultimately i had these readily available.

Thats a great idea. Love RC too!

Thank you, and no if any of you are wondering, do not have a financial interest in RC cola. Im curious now as to what any of you have come up with?

wow, looks better than the box covered in black duct tape with 2 diferant size holes in it. one fits my starbucks coffee cup in and the other a water bottle. fits on the pasenger seat.i even built a duct tape covered cassette tape box for the music.

Very nice! I'm building a similar contraption into my center console.

I considered a center console location but utimately decided I didn't have the skills to make it look clean enough.

I`m working on a design for a center console mounted armpad/cup holder.
Next week I will be getting an upholstery sewing machine so I can put stitching on the vinyl.
As well, I can finally get back to work on my dash project too.
I have decided it`s just too hard to do without sewing capabilities so I`m taking the plunge for a machine.
Mike

That's awesome! when are you going to start producing them?

I was thinkin of the same spot in the center console since it has a big enough area you could put 2 in the middle and still have enough room for your arms id imagine

Id like to see your arm pad/ cupholder, have any pics? As far as if anyone was interested in my setup, I can take some pics, its really pretty simple, I just did it with some flat steel, a bench grinder (with cut off wheel), and a pop rivet gun. The most complicated piece is the cam which opens the cupholder as you rotate it out.

This is it:

This is a very rough sketch of what it will look like.
My plan is to make it a stock grey color with stitching up the sides and about a 1" pad.
I have already obtained the plastic cup holders, I will hopefully be making the framework this weekend.
Then, I just have to find a sewing machine because the upholstery shouldn`t take too long.
It will have a tab that will slide up under the shifter cover and I think I will have elastic straps in the back, so that if you need to get to the port under there you can. The only thing that won`t be readily available will be the cigarette lighter, but I don`t think that`s a big problem for most people.

[This message has been edited by TXGOOD (edited 06-10-2010).]

Wow, I love that, looks pretty clean when retracted and under the dash too! Looks like I "need" to schedule a junk yard run... and soon.

quote Originally posted by TXGOOD: This is a very rough sketch of what it will look like. My plan is to make it a stock grey color with stitching up the sides and about a 1" pad. I have already obtained the plastic cup holders, I will hopefully be making the framework this weekend. Then, I just have to find a sewing machine because the upholstery shouldn`t take too long. It will have a tab that will slide up under the shifter cover and I think I will have elastic straps in the back, so that if you need to get to the port under there you can. The only thing that won`t be readily available will be the cigarette lighter, but I don`t think that`s a big problem for most people.

Now wouldn't those cups get in the way of shifting?

I`m not sure if it would get into the way of shifting or not.
I guess if you are on a spirited run and are shifting quite frequently you probably won`t have a drink in your car anyway.
Maybe they will be a hit with the "auto" crowd.
I have a 5-speed, so when I get a frame made I will try it out.
I`m usually by myself, so if I was only using the holder on the passenger side, I don`t think it would get in the way of shifting.
I will post pics once I get one made.

quote Originally posted by TXGOOD: I`m not sure if it would get into the way of shifting or not. I guess if you are on a spirited run and are shifting quite frequently you probably won`t have a drink in your car anyway. Maybe they will be a hit with the "auto" crowd. I have a 5-speed, so when I get a frame made I will try it out. I`m usually by myself, so if I was only using the holder on the passenger side, I don`t think it would get in the way of shifting. I will post pics once I get one made.

It could just be me - I generally drive with my arm taking up the entire center console area. Either way, these cars NEED cup holders. I can't tell you how many times I've ended up with coffee all over my lap. I'd love to see pics or a build thread for these!

I like it!

For me, I haven't driven my Fiero in 5 years anyway... but when I used to drive it regularly in my early 20s... I typically just put my drink in a bottle. When I'm sitting in the seat and I have the seatbelt on, a drink would fit PERFECTLY in the little area between the seat belt and the seat bolster. It fits perfectly in there. I'm 6'3", about 205lbs... normal sized waist, so I guess I have a little room there on the side. But my drink always fit perfectly there, whether it was a cup with a straw, or a water bottle.

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Todd,
2008 Jeep Patriot Limited 4x2
2002 Ford Explorer Sport 2dr 4x2
2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6
1973 Volkswagen Type-2 Transporter

The fiero has a factory cup holder. I will tell you for a dollar.

Your armrest cup holders look good. Hope to see a picture of the completed project on the forum someday.

Btw, I too have found that the spot between your hip, console, and seat belt buckle works great for bottles, but I never trusted it with cans or paper fast food cups (and yes I do eat in my Fiero, its my summer time daily driver).

Down the road, what I would really like to do is re-engineer the center console by basically moving the wiring harness lower along the center tunnel to free up some space under the shift plate, and build a cuphold that folds up, and out of the ashtray doors. It may affect shifting a little bit but it would be very clean (not to mention pretty cool). I dont smoke, so I would never miss the ashtrays.

I have cupholders where power window switches would be if I had those. PO did it, and I need to clean it up, but it has potential to look good, and it works awesomely.

...Because of high outrageous price of cup holders ($2 & up)..I use a large cereal box for a temp drink holder ,Fiero owners are known for thier wise financial choices(super skinflint cheap).just make the correct size hole and lay it on passenger side floor..I strongly concidered the custom type that has a part that gowith between the seat & console(over$5,gasp)
..I glued the open top shut for increased strength..Fancy NO! recycleble yes.
..make the hole smaller than the drink container ,,this is so when you fold the cardbord down for proper fit the downward cardboard gives additional hold.
For fast drivers ..lay an old T shirt or rag around the box to keep it from moving
for a coffee cup you can make a slot for the handle ..
COST= 1 cent worth of elmers glue..time 2 minutes..priceless tacky 3 stooges upgrade

[This message has been edited by uhlanstan (edited 06-10-2010).]

It does kinda look like it'll get in the way of shifting, I was gonna say take the dual holders that you have in your sketch and turn them front and back so that way they go in the middle of the armrest and you still have at least 3-4inches on each side of the holders for driver and passenger arms

I will probably finish the one I have and then design another one.
I was also thinking about one in front of the other, but I still think they would have to be more on the passenger side to clear.
Here is a pic from my other thread of the material just laying on the frame.

I always put mine in the "map packet" lol . Im tall so I can just reach over and grab it.

"Big-Gulp" cup nests between gauge cluster and radio pod quite nicely, just rinse and re-use.

Sorry Tuzz ;^)

Norm

[This message has been edited by gt88norm (edited 06-14-2010).]

Any new updates/design ideas?

Here is my latest.



//www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/081392.html

[This message has been edited by TXGOOD (edited 06-27-2010).]

A while back I remember seeing a fabricated cup holder that fit over the console (as the picture above show) but it was 100% hard plastic.

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" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, 3.4" Pulley, N* TB, LS1 MAF, Flotech Exhaust Autolite 104's Custom CAI 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
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