Center arm rest

I met this gent at last years Vintage in Saratoga, He had a very nice center arm rest and storage solution, He will use your substrate and make you a custom unit. He had one in his coupe and it looked like a very high quality job and install. From Google:

For BMW interior and seat repairs in Richmond, Vermont, Richmond Upholstery (located at 157 E Main St) specializes in custom automotive interiors and convertible tops. Run by experienced interior specialist Michael Lemire, you can reach them at (802) 434-3888 to discuss project specifics for your BMW. [1, 2, 3]

Local Shop Details
    • Name: Richmond Upholstery (Richmond Auto Upholstery)
    • Address: 157 E Main St, Richmond, VT 05477
    • Phone: (802) 434-3888
 
I messaged Eric and am going to meet up with him in Seattle to see if we can revitalize his model, just without him having to do all of the work. Stay tuned
 
e9Leveque said:
I messaged Eric and am going to meet up with him in Seattle to see if we can revitalize his model, just without him having to do all of the work. Stay tuned
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Good idea. That was a fairly nice design. The shape and size were quite good, as was the armrest itself. I suggest, however, that the frame be made more robust in a new version. Also, for me the cup holder was not very useful.
 
Drew Gregg said:
Has anyone built an arm rest that mounts between the seats and over the E-Brake boot? Are they for sale using a vinyl/leather that matches the seats?
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This is very similar to the one I saw from Mike Richmond at the Vintage.
 
It broke at the hinge attachment point. I started down the path of making a replacement but didn't finish the project.
 
Eric made the center armrest for me about 5 years ago. He told me it was the last one he was going to make for anyone, and his last one was for himself. The piano hinge opens the lid from the driver to the passenger. I had a passenger pull the cover off from front to back. Then another passenger had his elbow resting on the cover when I went around a right turn corner and that pushed the hinge off. I finally found a glue that has held the hinge in place in the grooved verticle passenger side. And passengers are now asked to not use it as an arm rest... The slide out cup holder was removed since it was too close to the hand brake& shifter. There is a much better cup holder made out of billet aluminum that mounts to the seat rail. The black lid can be covered in matching seat leather by a good upholsterer.
Eric's design is a good one that can now be improved by feedback from those of us that have it in our cars.
I also installed a 12 VDC power port and a USB power port in the front of the console, next to the hand brake.
 

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Yes my hope was to meet with Eric and to get some plans and to use his know-how to get me started, then as a group hopefully we can find a source for making the panels. Questions will be solid wood painted vs vinyl covered on the sides, also then the details of piano hinge and foam for the top. All do-able I think especially if a few of us are interested
 
JC, i have one ... i will try to measure and create some drawings for the armrest. i might use that to develop an even better one for my coupe. might be a few weeks, but i will have some down time due to carpet issues.
 
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