2turbotoys
Salaminizer
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2007
- Location
- Reading pa
I wanted to share this for anyone else attempting to do the same thing.
I bought a Husco armrest at a great price from one of our friends here, the price was excellent due to the condition of the vinyl armrest cover. It was worn and split open on every side, and missing some hardware. I had it for a while, thinking about the best way to get it in nice condition again.
After a couple searches, I found that the Volvo unit was really rare, but they sold a lot of them for E30 BMWs. I found a NOS armrest top on eBay for an E30, and the dimensions are the same, the only difference that matters is the small threaded hole in the front, the E30 part does not have that. The screw that goes in this hole stops the cupholder part from sliding out the front.
I bought the BMW part, and ran a M8x.8 tap through the mounting bracket where that small screw goes, providing about 1 1/2 threads. A couple of washers for a spacer and a lock washer got it secured really well.
I also bought a set of hardware for the E30 armrest, to have it all matching in a Volvo you need 2 sets of that hardware.
It now looks great, the only issue is that the cupholder slides in and out way too freely. I tried to squeeze the bracket to tighten it up, but that isn't working. Any ideas are welcome. Looks great now at least!
Cracked up vinyl cover, super ugly
BMW cover installed, perfect
Comparison of BMW E30 cover vs Volvo, you can see the threaded insert in the Volvo cover
Proper amount of washers plus a lock washer haha
I bought a Husco armrest at a great price from one of our friends here, the price was excellent due to the condition of the vinyl armrest cover. It was worn and split open on every side, and missing some hardware. I had it for a while, thinking about the best way to get it in nice condition again.
After a couple searches, I found that the Volvo unit was really rare, but they sold a lot of them for E30 BMWs. I found a NOS armrest top on eBay for an E30, and the dimensions are the same, the only difference that matters is the small threaded hole in the front, the E30 part does not have that. The screw that goes in this hole stops the cupholder part from sliding out the front.
I bought the BMW part, and ran a M8x.8 tap through the mounting bracket where that small screw goes, providing about 1 1/2 threads. A couple of washers for a spacer and a lock washer got it secured really well.
I also bought a set of hardware for the E30 armrest, to have it all matching in a Volvo you need 2 sets of that hardware.
It now looks great, the only issue is that the cupholder slides in and out way too freely. I tried to squeeze the bracket to tighten it up, but that isn't working. Any ideas are welcome. Looks great now at least!
Cracked up vinyl cover, super ugly
BMW cover installed, perfect
Comparison of BMW E30 cover vs Volvo, you can see the threaded insert in the Volvo cover
Proper amount of washers plus a lock washer haha
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