Cup Holder Question: Is there room?

[Jim Doak]

I've got an old Mark 1.5 - a transitional model with the dropped driver foot box but no transmission tunnel bracing - and I'm currently in the middle of some winter mods and have a question regarding cup holders.

I'd like to add a couple of cup holders toward the front of the transmission tunnel; however, I'm concerned about available space between the aluminum mounting surface and the top of the transmission.

The reason that I'm asking is because I climbed under my car yesterday and attempted to measure how much space there is between the top of the trans tunnel and the transmission itself (it's a T-5). It looks to me that the available space is something less than 3".

Hence my question: Is there enough room to install cup holders?

Worst case is I order a couple of 3" to 4" deep cup holders and see if they'll fit. (Try to see if they'll fit under the aluminum - between the underside of the trans tunnel and the top of the transmission - before I start actually cutting holes in the tunnel itself.)

Any of you guys have experience adding cup holders to an older model like mine with a T-5?

Thanks.

[Derald Rice]

I was at the same quandry on my car until Keysergogo posted about the magnetic cup idea. No intrusion below the trans cover, and it works great.

[PG_Cobra]

I have the same Mk1.5. I fitted collapsible cup holders on the doors from EnglishParts.com. They work well. With a T5 with S10 tailhousimg, Viper shifter and a Lokar parking brake on the tunnel and a 2:1 brake cable lever mounted under the tunnel cover I had no space left

https://www.englishparts.com/products/MG/CUP-HOLDER--Plastic--Collapsible/9975458/P1057.html

[65 Cobra Dude]

Another option is to put them back further towards the rear of the tunnel. Much more room there.

Henry

[mburger]

I had mine installed towards the back. Mainly because it seemed my hand would hit anything that was in the holders shifting into 1st 3rd 5th. I’ve since changed them to black. Ignore the mess in the car... 99154

[phileas_fogg]

The trick is to get the right depth cup holders. On my MKIV, I ordered three pair before I found these (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00911UX6A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). They were the only cup holders I could find that were large enough for my phone case to fit in AND shallow enough to fit at the front of my transmission tunnel. I located them 6” from the forward cockpit wall and 3” to either side of the center line of the transmission tunnel cover. More information is in Post #352 of my build log (https://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-factory-five-roadsters/508121-phileas_fogg-s-mk-4-roadster-build.html).


John

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4335/36359182582_d18c523f2f_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/XoWjfj)IMG_4002 (https://flic.kr/p/XoWjfj) by jhsitton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/91016165@N07/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1769/42543336525_7a55fd400d_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27PpHLa)IMG_4752 (https://flic.kr/p/27PpHLa) by jhsitton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/91016165@N07/), on Flickr

[DadofThree]

I too used the Cup Holder Idea taken from Keysergogo:

I have a T-5 also, and used the steel bar / magnet combo. Been using it for 6 months now and it works good. I put 2 rivets in the center of the 6" bar so that I know there is 3" of bar on each side that I can use for the cupholder. DS and PS cupholders sit side by side with enough room. I found that I can't put tall drinks in them because when I accelerate the higher level fluid is enough to push it off the magnet. But regular cans / water bottles work. Most often, I just use the cup itself to hold the coffee. They're wide enough of a diameter to hold a different cup in place, or use the lid for a beverage. Album of photos
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/annabellerose/albums/72157669848179448/with/41290200284/)
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/979/41290200284_34635ce872_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25UF51U)20180509_223816 (https://flic.kr/p/25UF51U) by D. R. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/annabellerose/), on Flickr

[Avalanche325]

I have a MKIV, so have the bracing to deal with. You should have room to do what Phileas shows. You can't to deep jumbo double super extra sized big gulp cup holders.

You actually don't want them too big. You can accelerate or turn fast, and dump your drink. Or worse, get a drink bottle under the pedals. Figure out what size cup, bottle or can you typically use and get cup holders that fit as close as possible.

What worked for me was "poker table cup holders" that I found on ebay. They look like what Phileas and jhsitton show.

[steno]

I used folding cup holders that you’d see on a boat and installed them on the tunnel near the floor. No holes other than screws. And I like the tunnel top uncluttered.