Authentic Mini Cooper Cup Holder Installation

[Hecka]

I'm fed up with not having a reliable cup holder in my festiva. I've tried many different methods, including, but not limited to:

Placing the cup on the passenger seat and putting the seat belt around it. - Didn't work
Keeping the cup between my legs while driving. -Painfully didn't work
Getting one of those fast food cup trays and keeping it on the passenger side floor -Didn't work with only one full cup in it
Wedging the cup between the driver's seat and the driver's door. -Worked until I forgot it was there and opened up my door to get out

So today I just remembered that I had an old cup holder from the 2006 Mini Cooper S that I had a few years back(still regretting to this day that I traded it in), and I thought, heck, why don't I try to see if I could adapt it to fit in the festiva!

Here's the cup holder:


Proof of authenticity..


Those two mounting holes look like they could be put somewhere.... how about here!


I mocked up the cup holder to where I wanted it on the center console, and marked where I needed to put the screws.


I had a bag of black screws and black screw backs for something I forget what for. That's the beauty of just collecting screws when you don't need all of them for one project.


I used my cordless drill to make holes with the screws where my marks were. Those screws were quite a bit longer than they needed to be.


So I took my dikes and cut the screws to what I believed would be a good enough length for the screws to connect with the back plate.


And there it is! All screwed in and sturdy. I needed those back plates because the weight of any cup might have stripped the screws out of the plastic and then the cup holder would have been all wobbly or would have fallen out while driving.. That wouldn't have been so great. Here's the rest of the pictures on how it fits.









I'm really satisfied with the way that it turned out. I'll get to test it out officially tomorrow morning on my way to work.

It's silly how little things like this can make me feel better about my car... Last week I replaced the old shocks with KYB GR-2's all around and that added much better ride quality, but the cup holder.. that's just a whole new level of happy, to me.

Hope you all enjoyed this pictorial mod, and maybe it'll inspire you to do something similar. Let me know what your thoughts are on this mod!

[Advancedynamix]

That's a cool idea. I just remove the rear ash tray and shove my cup in the hole where it used to be. It's worked for me, even on the race track. Lol.

[Hecka]

You know what... that's probably the only thing I haven't tried.. Why didn't I think of that!!??

[Advancedynamix]

Haha. I stumbled on the idea by accident. Beware with Styrofoam cups. Sometimes they don't like conforming to that shape and can crack.

[Hecka]

I mainly use rigid plastic cups like the one pictured above. I have another larger in diameter cup that has a lid and straw that I use the most. It doesn't fit the ash tray, but fits the new cup holder location. I suppose anybody riding with me gets to use the 'gimp' cup holder. ;-D

[monkeykiller1996]

i've always just shoved my cups in between the parking brake and passenger side seat works great for me but things get sketchy with more than one cup

[bravekozak]

Patience Heck. Rocketman will cast an adapter braclet, so that it pivots on the right hand side, just like the Mini. I'm getting thirsty.

[navdoc101]

It works & looks good.
But I still love my '94 Protege console.

[bhazard]

Yup escort or protege console. I like the protege better I think.

[drddan]

Escort console:

festiva%20ll%20008[1].jpgfestiva%20ll%20010[1].jpg

The black insert is removable for a bigger cup holder. Grab it, and take it out.

Protégé console:

2863[1].jpg

The door opens to reveal slide out cupholders (Yes Doc, I "borrowed" your pic! Good blend into the Festiva dash, BTW!)

[Hecka]

Those cup holders look pretty shallow on the escort console. I'd be worried about taking corners with that. This mini cooper one is pretty grippy and I'll be testing it out to the fullest on my way to work this morning

[Eaglefreek]

That's a cool idea. I just remove the rear ash tray and shove my cup in the hole where it used to be. It's worked for me, even on the race track. Lol.

That's what I did, also. It also cut down on my soda consumption since a large cup won't fit in there. And the I will concur with the styrofoam cups not working too great.

[jaketlong11]

what about those chincy cheap ones. that you get at advanced or dollar general. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...hiA&ajaxhist=0

[drddan]

Those cup holders look pretty shallow on the escort console. I'd be worried about taking corners with that. This mini cooper one is pretty grippy and I'll be testing it out to the fullest on my way to work this morning

Shallow, yes, but most drinks fit tight in the holders, and stay in place. I have to twist the drink remove from the holder.

what about those chincy cheap ones. that you get at advanced or dollar general. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...hiA&ajaxhist=0

Well ... they are chincy!

[Gomez]

Any new word on the mount Daniel? I'm getting anxious too.