Made a cupholder insert for my 348 center console

As I'm a stupid American, who needs lots of coffee all the time and can't subscribe to the Italian tradition of sucking down shots of espresso at roadside rest stops, I needed to come up with a way to take some with me.

Luckily there is a big open bin in the center console that is perfect for a cupholder insert, but I wanted to make sure it matched the aesthetic of the rest of the car. No cheap looking plastic from autozone.

So I got to work. The bin measures 9.25" x 5.5" x 3" deep the angle at the front is 77 degrees. So I cut some 1/2" plywood (what I had on hand) to fit.

Cut holes with a 3.5" hole saw, this should be big enough for most containers.

I found these cupholder inserts at West Marine, as it turned out they were too deep, but I decided I could use the top lip to finish off the tops of the holes.

Unfortunately I had to place the holes too close for each ring to sit separately, I I decided to cut and join the two rings with a little plastic welding (soldering iron).

Went to the craft store, and got some leather. As the rest of the center console is black, and there wasn't any leather to match the tan, I got black leather.

Test Fit

Cutting out the holes

Installed (also notice a little bit of 1/4" foam at the bottom of the tray to protect the leather from spills/condensation. )

I think it turned out nice! Fits the interior well, and now I can go on longer drives without dying of thirst!

I am, however making some changes to the top bezel. Doing a better job of sanding it, and giving it a better coat of paint.

I'll update with the finished product soon.

 

Painted the bezel with a few coats of satin black last night and put it on this morning.

 

Odd. Maybe it's because of the privacy settings I had on the album? I made it public now. Can you see them?

 

I had thought to maybe try making it out of plastic that would match the center console, but the plywood is nice and sturdy, and I think the leather has a nice look/feel to it.

Not a huge fan of CF dash parts personally (at least not aftermarket add on CF bits), but it could definitely work if the rest of the center console was also CF

 

It really is a conundrum.

1. Don't have cupholders, be severely undercaffeinated on long trips, end up not taking the Ferrari on many long trips as a result.

2. Have cupholders, be properly caffeinated, drive the **** out of it as Enzo intended, even on long trips, risk angering the gods.....


What to do?

 

It's not glued in at all. It's completely removable. The only thing holding it in is a tight fit from taking good precise measurements.