W123 cup holders
 

Hey everyone,

I've been toying around with this idea for a while, made a prototype a while back, and now I am curious as to if anyone would be interested to see if anyone would buy these if I made them.

Cupholder door pockets. I designed it to utilize the spot at the front of the door pocket. The "bulge" from the cup does not intrude into the footwell enough to cause any interference with legs, and the location of it also allows you to keep your eyes on the road while grabbing your drink. It also eliminates the weak clip on the door pocket that seems to break as soon as the check strap fails, replacing it with a screw (which should prevent it from future failure also). These do not replace the entire door pocket (even though that's how I designed my prototype), it would be a "cupholder" insert with a cutting template to modify your original door pocket.

I know there have been other cupholders done before, mostly in the center console (which I did not like).

I'm not sure how the pricing would be currently. I have a few choices as to how to produce these, and I'm not sure what the most cost efficient way would be yet (depends on quantity). I don't have the pocket with me currently, as
I sent the prototype to get a 3D model made and a prototype 2.0 3D printed.

https://i.ibb.co/c6YvzX4/IMAG0317.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/LRZwxpc/IMAG0316.jpg

Open to thoughts, comments, and constructive criticism.

Max.

Door Pocket Cup Holders
 

I wish you'd done this fifteen or twenty years ago when Diesels were a hot item to the clueless wealthy hipsters .

I didn't have the same skill set when I was 10 years old :o

Yeah, that's pretty cool. The center console is the stupidest place to put a cup ever, especially if you have a manual trans.

-Rog

Age & Ability
 

Yeah well ;

I'm getting so creaky my skills are hard to do these dayze, no whining and GET OFFA MY LAWN ! :rolleyes: .

:P .

Just to - day my accident prone 12YO Foster boy tried to sneak a quart sized cup of root beer into my car, no way Jose ! .

If anyone was interested, I made a kick starter campaign for these.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maximepetrov/a-cupholder-solution-for-w123-mercedes

Have you considered injection molding for these? You might be able to get the entire pocket redone rather than an adapter piece.

I know many who have broken pockets, so a full replacement might be nice.

I have, problem is that most people that own diesel Mercedes are cheap - that is why many OEM parts are being discontinued. I do not have the $5000+ required to make the tooling for an injection molded pocket, and if I did have that money and invested it into these door pockets, I don't think I would make it back. There's just not enough demand for this kind of thing.

Plus, this design eliminates the front clip on the pocket that's commonly broken. It is replaced by an M6 screw and fender washer. The cup holder supports itself mainly through the M6 screw. It also supports the entire door pocket. If you have a door pocket with the broken front tab, this cupholder fixes it.

Yea any sleek cupholder solution will sell like hot cakes. looks like it would be a lot of labor tho. I wouldn't take less than $100 for that if I were u. can

Nailed it. Cheap customers demand cheap products. The only way to deliver on that is to produce things cheaply. Hopefully your markup is high enough to make it worth your time. Expect lots of whining and your name dragged through the mud when someone does a DIY job and makes a total hash of it.

Yup. I already got berated because I didn't post the file on thingiverse for everyone to be able to print these put at home. Apparently it's a super simple design, and my attitude will just cause everyone else to design their own :rolleyes:

I'm used to dealing with this kind of BS at work though - no sweat off my back.

Max - your design for a cup holder on the door pocket looks great. About 2 years ago I bought the console cup holder from a fellow in Orange County. I actually bought two of these. While they did the job it was a little awkward reaching for a drink while driving.

Thanks Bill. It's easy to reach whilst driving, and also does not intrude into the footwell enough to hinder clutch operation.

I don't like the center console for drinks because it's awkward to reach and obstructs the arm rest.

Rumor has it, Daimler bought Chrysler so they could learn how to design cup holders.

W123 Cup Holder
 

I think this is a terrific product and I hope you sell a bunch of them .

I'm always kicking the door pocket when getting in and out of my W123's so it's not for me .

Agreed, the pikers will cry alligator tears, screw 'em ~ I have quite a few low production accessories and tools that were tried out and few bought them, I don't regret the purchase of a single one and forty + years on once in a while I'll get : "where the heck did you get THAT ?! ;) .