Topic: The cupholder problem has been solved!!!!

[jackie]

Ok, here is the finished product that cost about 50 bucks and about 30 hours of time.  I will follow with the details as to how I got to this point.  I will include lots of pictures. This is my first post so here we go....

[jackie]

The first thing I did was to put a bunch of fiberglass on a cup like the one I will typically be placing in the cupholder.....that way it should be an exact fit.  I think those with a solstice would want to place about 4 oz resin w/hardener into a cup the place what you see in this picture inside of that cup. You would be essentially using one cup for the inside mold and one for the outside mold.....that way the outside of what is seen would have a slick finish.  I have a sky and it has a wider console which allows the cupholder to go down inside the console whereas the solstice console in pictures seems to be skinnier and you would end up having the lateral portions of the cupholder as part of the external part of the console. 

[jackie]

then I removed the console as well as the plastic and metal supports below the console then put the console back in placed without the supports and marked where it needed to be cut.  I then used a dremel with one of those chain sharpening stones to cut out the holes.  This site says my photos are too large so I will try just loading one side but the other side is very similar.  Now it doesnt even give me the attach photo option...lets try posting then see if I can modify it...

[jackie]

left side cut out...note how I beveled the edges so the panel bond could adhere as well as level out with the existing surface.

[jackie]

This is where the old POS cupholder was.  I ended up using some panel bond adhesive to attach some of that fiberglass tape used for sheetrock repairs to the inside of the console, then I covered the fiberglass tape with more panel bond and it covered up the opening where the old cup holder was.  Then I ground it down smooth and used some bondo type material called body glaze to smooth it out.

[jackie]

then I glued em in with panel bond

[jackie]

I had to cut up the metal support as well as the plastic support.  Note that the left side was no longer continuous.  I used a 1/2 inch metal strip to support it back to a stud that is posterior to the console.  I believe the stud I am talking about was used as a grounding point for some wires.

[jackie]

Lots of sanding and grinding got me to this point...

[jackie]

more sanding and body glaze then it went to the painter who found an exact match for the exterior.  He went ahead and painted the eyelids for the headlights and the tail light covers while he was at it.

[jackie]

I used some felt to line the inside of the holders. The back peels off and it is very sticky.  It came from wally world and one sheet will do both sides if you don't mind splicing the bottom.

Oh look...it is sitting on the next project I did....a custom fiberglass subwoofer box that holds a 10 inch subwoofer in the center part of the back of the trunk.  I'm not impressed with the amount of bass it puts out so I won't brag about it yet.  I'm not accepting defeat yet as far as getting earth shaking bass in my car.

[jackie]

I apologize for an lack of clarity with this post.  I really understated the amount of sanding, grinding and adding fiberglass and body glaze where it was needed.  I'm not very computer savvy so I kept it to a minimum. This site doesn't like large files for photos and I didn't know how to shrink them down.  I'm sure I could figure it out if I really wanted to but I am just lazy I guess.   I do have a bunch of extra photos I intended to post and the thread would have been much longer.  Anyway...if you have any questions, I am happy to answer them.

[Gentleman Jack]

This is one of the most amazing second posts any kpf member has ever posted.

127 kpf points for Jackie!!!!!

[2kwk4u]

Nice work! 

Regarding the subwoofer, physics is working against you trying to get heavy bass in a convertible.  A soft top won't really hold the sound pressure, so you have no cabin gain to help you out.  To scale things up, think about concerts at indoor venues vs. outdoor venues.  The only way to "feel" the music at an outdoor concert is to be in the first few rows near the speakers.  Inside a club, you'll get blown away - and they're pushing half as much power indoors (and two orders of magnitude more than you'll ever want to use in car audio).

[jackie]

Thanks. What are kpf points? I guess I might need to go with a hard top. I really want a functional rollbar with rhe rear braces. I have been considering  a conversion where the front 1/2 of the top is one of those currently available and the back half is my trunk lid with a 1980 corvette glass and the part under the glass open. That way I could have rollbar and bass!
 

[Gentleman Jack]

Kpf points are a figment of my imagination. I alone can award them or take them away. They have absolutely no real value and are the most coveted points on the internet.

[Steelmesh]

Great job!!  What else you got planned?

[jackie]

Maybe custom hard top and rollbar as mentioned above THEN increase horsepower with turbo upgrade or increase the number of cylinders to 8

[jackie]

The extra 4 cylinders and the wider tires really helped the Miata I built to become the car Mazda should have released in the first place.

[ChopTop]

I'm wondering if Smoothline Lemans hardtop would work w/the type of rollbar that bracing goes into the rear truck area.  Plus it helps w/sound insulation, of course the trade-off is weight, but removing the vert hardware would offset the weight. 

BTW, back in the day GM offered a carbon fiber hardtop for SCCA racers.  I've seen them come up for sale a few times, but they have no seals, and plexi rear window, so they aren't really ideal for a driver.

http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/f46/new-smooth-line-solstice-hardtop-34887/

http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/f46/smooth-line-solstice-hardtop-42049/

[jackie]

That might work. I would have to cut some notches in the trunk lid for the bars to go thru. I have not studied the car enough at this point to know if there is an attachment point (for the rollbar brace) in front of the gas tank.  Imagine that top with the 80 corvette back window made to fit between that top and the trunk lid. I think it would look cool, increase visibility and allow the bass from my speaker box into the front. The downside is that it would probably weigh 150#.

[Sky Pilot]

Very creative and a darn nice job. Now, paint it yellow and ship it out to me   

[redlinedude]

First class prep work and paint work!! With that being said I am 6 feet tall. How much knee room did the drivers side cup holder take up for this mod?

[jackie]

I don't think you would have a problem with it. The bottom part of the console doesn't stick out any more than stock.