pappa_smurf

I was shopping around for accessories for my Kia and stumbled on this add-on center armrest for the Colbalt.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevr...Q5fAccessories
It would be nice to know if it would work. The seller is in Canada. Plus this thing folds back out of the way also.

solman98

Since the bungs are there to mount the regular arm rests to the seats, I'd just put those on IMO.

twistrman

man, i would love a small center console. I don't see why they didn't put one in like the previous version equinox. It acts as one armrest for both people which is fine, and has storage in it. I would love that so much.

pappa_smurf

Since the HHR seat backs can be folded forward, at least the passenger side. And, because the seats have the lugs there for the arm rest there may not be enough room. I'm driving a Colbalt LT now in San Antonio and it has the factory console much like this one. I hate driving my SS with nowhere to rest my right arm while cruising. And, it does flip back out of the way, just like the factory Colbalt console. I'm just not home right now to look at my center console to see how much of a hassle it would be. The Colbalt does not have the cup holders next to the emergency brake handle like the HHR, but it does have them on the back end of the console.

pappa_smurf

I did some initial measurements after I received this, and the console in the SS is 5 1/4" wide while the armrest/console is 5 3/4" wide where it would mount. Plus, the SS console angles down in the front by the hand brake. The front of the mount for the armrest angles up, so that when it is flush on the console it angles way down in the front. I've got some pics, just need to re-size and crop.









As you can see, this mod can be called a bust. Unless there is a way to heat-up and re-bend the sides of the armrest mount.

jeffs396

You're an aircraft mechanic, Mike! You can make it work!

pappa_smurf

My latest brain-storm is to trim the sides down to the 5 1/4" width of the console and use some strapping materiel like the earthquake straps that are on my home water heater. I would bolt the straps onto the inside of the arm-rest tower and then bolt the whole thing onto the car center console. I just have to find the time. Then, I could shim up the front of the arm-rest to get it to the height that would suit me. The big benefit of this arm-rest is that it folds back and upright, so it fills in the gap between the seats. It will cover up the little oblong depression next to the hand brake. I haven't figured out what to use that for, maybe to drop loose change into.

Canuck

Wow I was considering this mod, thinking with some slight changes/adjustments it would be pretty well plug and play. Glad you went first, will watch with interest.

mistermike

I think this has potential. A good fabricator should be able to whip up that bottom piece with the right width and profile, then we could see if it could be duplicated in small quantities.

pappa_smurf

After popping off the top of the console in the car I found that the spots where I needed to drill holes are not conducive for that purpose. It's a good thing I hadn't cut off the sides of the arm-rest base plate yet. So, I'm in limbo again.

Here are some pics of my current problem. Both seats are hitting on the mount bolts with the arm-rest still 3/4" wider than the console.








I only stuck the big ugly bolts in there because of all the gap difference, and they would keep the arm-rest centered. Now I probably have no choice but to trim off the mount ears on the tower and bolt the straps further up.