Console....

Yea or Nay


  • Total voters
    25
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I have always liked the look of the factory console. Functionality, not so much. I love the shifter itself, they are super reliable and work great. My biggest gripe is there is nowhere to put a damn soda can in an A body.
Soda?
I was the center console as young kid in the 60s. On road trips, I would sit in the middle, hold the beer can and push in the cigarette lighter for the driver, my grandfather, without messing up the neatly folded seatbelts.
Lol. Criminal acts today.
Fond memories.
 
Yeah, I really never understood the design of the A body console. Skinny at the back and wide at the front. Plus, no raised area for an arm rest. If they were flipped around they would make more sense. Wide between the seats, narrowing at the shifter.
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I guess MOPAR was just worried about going fast!!!

The A body console was designed probably in 1964-65 and first appeared during the 1966 model year. The basic design carried through until the end. Chrysler never had money to spend on redesigns like GM and Ford. And frankly, I think GM dashes look cheap. They built a lot of cars with just a speedo and gas gauge and a lot of blank space.

Back in the day I removed the console from my 1967 4 speed cuda. My GF brought a little pillow that she put on top of the long floor bracket so she could sit there. It stayed forever.

Neither of my current driver cars have consoles. The 68 still has the brackets and floor shift minus the console. My 64 never had one. Just unnecessary weight and limited functionality so out it goes. Any mods I do have to earn their weight. Gotta be more positive than negative. But I use a little cheap mini console for drink holder and cell phone use for convenirnce but they don't even weigh a pound each. Easy to take out for judging. Like that will ever happen! I never weighed a complete console with brackets but they're hefty.
 
These are slick if you have a bench seat. Dodge Consoles & Cup Holders w/ Storage | CupHoldersPlus

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I suppose you figured out that front bracket is upside down.

Yeah, it was pointed out to me a few years ago when I was working through the build. Honestly, I never bothered to flip it back over. In that picture, it was already tack welded in place and it was much later in the project before I ever realized the problem. Console still rests on it the way it is supposed to.
 
What's not to like ? great place to stow my wallet, insurance certificate and registration for easy access.
Store change in the ash tray.
and the best part too uncomfortable for anyone to sit on.
That is why my wife is with me today, she was secure in the passenger bucket. That bucket has a permanent backward lean to it.
 
Yeah, maybe it doesn't function as well as some of the other consoles as an armrest or a cup holder, but it serves its purpose , it looks cool, and it fits the a body perfectly.
 
I like the A body console! I keep a fire extinguisher mounted inside mine. Looks right for the car IMO. They are definitely better looking with a 4 speed.

Cley
 
They are certainly built like a tank, especially compared to the E body plastic console. Can you still buy those plastic cup holders that hang on your door?
 
Something like this is what I planned for my 67 vert project. Back to original column shift? Shift lever from dash of a Corvair? Electric with knob like many of todays vehicles? Something besides what it came with. The floor shifter from this 67 has been on a shelf for a lot of years. It peeked out just enough that every time I walked by it I thought, "A shower head with my car parts? Oh wait... thats not a plumbing part. Now what was I looking for?" LOL
I have the OEM console in my red 67 but that shower head sticking up from it had to go!

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Kept the stock shape but modified for cup holders and a open cubby for some things, plus didn't want to cut a opening in my dash so made a place to mount a stereo head unit.

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They are certainly built like a tank, especially compared to the E body plastic console. Can you still buy those plastic cup holders that hang on your door?
I made this cup holder pretty quick and cheap. Bought the cupholder for $12 at our canadian tire store( so 4 bucks US ?) Hot glued ridgid packing foam on the back and it slides in and out between the seat real easy. Haven't had a spill yet.
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Kept the stock shape but modified for cup holders and a open cubby for some things, plus didn't want to cut a opening in my dash so made a place to mount a stereo head unit.

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That is a nice as any other mod of original I have seen. Cup holders where the storage compartment is puts cups behind the hand/elbow.
I really like the center console in a Dodge Caliber but... it's a bit too tall and wont fit between the buckets :( If I could get one for free I would sure try to chop it down to size.
 
That is a nice as any other mod of original I have seen. Cup holders where the storage compartment is puts cups behind the hand/elbow.
I really like the center console in a Dodge Caliber but... it's a bit too tall and wont fit between the buckets :( If I could get one for free I would sure try to chop it down to size.

Yeah I looked at other models too and measurements were all off. So found a base and had the top plate made, plus a little new age to it the cup holder light up, the dial you see is to dim the led lights under the cup holders which were cheap too :) here's a pic of straight batt. power.

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Yeah thats what I need, something that slides between the console and the passenger seat to hold a soda/coffee. I dont want to hard mount anything since this car is staying all original.
I need to bite the bullet and buy or build a vaccu-forming machine so I can make stuff like this.
 
Yeah I looked at other models too and measurements were all off. So found a base and had the top plate made, plus a little new age to it the cup holder light up, the dial you see is to dim the led lights under the cup holders which were cheap too :) here's a pic of straight batt. power.

View attachment 1715555991
Very nice.
Hey, if Yellow and Blue make Green,
If I put my Bud Light Lime bottle in there, would it light up Green?
 
I like the factory consol so much that I passed up a 70 Road Runner because it was auto on the column with bench seat. I wouldn’t do that today. Buckets and consol make the car. Sportier. Kim
 
I know this is n older post but anyone ever put a b body console in your a body?
 
my 67 "decoy" came with buckets and column shift without console and no place to store anything or place a drink. I had an extra console so I took shifter plate out and made a stainless plate with two stainless cup holders from Academy Sports. Console just sits in there without moving and I can take it out if I need to do anything under dash
 
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