Mercury Man Rear Console

After fabricating a front console and cupholder from a 1966 Mercury Windshield Washer Reservoir, I decided to make a console for the rear passengers. I describe how to fabrcate the front console on a previous web page. This page details how to make a rear console. I decided not to include cupholders in the rear due to the lmited space, but there are cuphoders in the front.

1966 Mercury Windhield Washer Reservoir

These appear on eBay from time to time and list from 10-30 dollars. I got a good deal on one that was cracked, since it did not need to be watertight. Even if dirty they can be cleaned up nicely, then trimmed and painted. The metal bracket is often sold with the resevervoir but is not needed for the console conversion.

Console Modifications

In order to get the console to rest on the transmission hump and still face the rear passengers, I cut the bottom off the tank at an angle, using the seat front seat backs as a guide. I made a cardboard base and secured it to the base of the reservoir with black electrical tape. The console was painted black, except fot the Mercury Man emblem which was painted with silver modeling paint.

Rear Cupholder Mounting

The unit was secured using a 3.5 inch threaded bolt that I attached to the front of the console and then bolted to a hole in the rear section of the front seat center hinge. I used large fender washers to distribute the force and to avoid cracking the plastic on the tank. After I tightened the bolt to the tank and the rear seat hinge, I covered the steel rod with a scrap of black tubing to hide the metal and to make the unit appear entirely black. Now my rear passengers can store small items in the center console, but i is still small enough for a person in the middle seat to have leg room on either side of the console. To return to the previous page, click the back button on your browser.