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center wood drink cooler

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In the process of making a center Oak drink cooler that has the arm rest mounted to it. . had one on my old 2001 . This will also have a rear extra storage spot behind the cooler. . pics to come. . im not a very good woodwright but it will work good. If asked or pleaded nicely I might make a few more. I have a 09 auto.
 
Looking forward to seeing pics of your project Eric. I exchanged my jump seat for a center console in my 2006, 6-speed, and have yet to install the part of the center console that goes over the shifter, have to make a custom top for it.





CD
 
here's a couple of pics so far. . haven't mounted the armrest yet. . plastic bin is just sitting in it. . it will be recessed and a lid on it. . the rear opening is a storage catch-all. . still haven't decided if it will have a lid. . armrest will come almost to the front of the box..... 19" long, 8" high, and about 14" wide... Made of red oak.
 
The armrest will be used. . just not the seat... and it is easier to reach a drink from the center. . had one of these in my 01. . just making my own
 
Well here it is. . all done and it works great!! Used Red Oak wood and Golden Oak stain. 4 days of work, lots of sanding. . a few mistakes but it looks good and is functional. .

there is expano foam insulation under and around the bin, used a clear food storage bin from wal-mart and then painted the outside of it white. . the box is mounted right on the seat mounts and I had to recess the arms of the armrest to mount to the box. . that is how my last one was. . The rear open bay is a catch all for cel phones or whatever. . my armrest box is full!! lol. .

The cooler bin is 10" long x 8"wide x 7" deep. . Enough for a 6 or 8 sodas or whatever. . even long enough for a 20 ounce bottle sideways. .

Don't know if I want to do another one. . had to use the armrest for fitment several times...

The overall dimensions are ... 19" long, 14" wide, 8" high plus the lid 3/4".

I did this box style and the bolt dimensions for mounting is 10 1/4" exact x 14" exact. The bolts for the box, since the front and rear were not to be accessed to tighten, I... JB-Weld the bolts in place. then I could do the insulation and I did a false floor for the rear bay. . used some small blocks to raise a couple of panels of wood above the bolts for the lower box. . still see bolts for armrest but that is OK. . . . there is a separator wall behind the cooler for the junk bay. .

I'm no wood-wright but it looks good. . take my design cues if you want to tackle this... The front nuts under the seat is easiest to get to from between the seats with a ratcheting box-end. . the rear nuts are easier.
 
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Hmm,



Get's me to thinking - :rolleyes:



Wife can never seem to pass a rest area. Wonder if a PortaPotty would work in that location?



No, thats just too close to the driver! :-laf
 
Now I am thinking of replacing the front console. took out the plastic drink cup holder and front part. . looks like I will have to make this in 2 pieces. I am looking at making the catch place near the shifter be bigger so stuff don't fall off and the drink cup holders higher. . will probably attach to the drink cooler. . mock it up in presswood first to see if it will work. .

BTW, some wonder how the cover gets removed. . pull out the rubber insert for the cup holder, there are 2 bolts on the right. . one is down a deep well. then pull up the cover for the 4x4 shifter from the near side. . (rear). . there are 2 bolts there. . that gets the rear section up then there are 2 bolts holding the front section on... After that I see the 2 screws for the lower panel on the dash. . man I miss my 2nd gen where the hole panel pulled off in one shot...
 
Fantastic job, Eric! Let me give you a pearl of wisdom though. If it was me I'd buy 2 or 3 spare plastic containers. With my luck, after all that work, the plastic would break & I'd never find another one close to the same size! Spares might save you some major headaches in the futher after doing all the work!:{
 
Back a few years ago, there was a member on this site that was making something similar, and selling them. They did have cup holders, and the workmanship looked as nice as this. Also, you can easily mount a CB radio to the front side. There were quite a few pictures, so I think if you did a search you locate them for more ideas. You did an awesome job on this.



Jim
 
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