Center Console for a Bench Seat (Part 1)

I've been working on a center console design for the Mustang.  The goal is to have a convenient place to store some items within hands reach and a cup holder or two for longer road trips.  The largest difficulty with the project is the fact my Mustang has a bench seat.  This requires some creative thinking to make a console as the center hump is covered by the seat.

The current bench seat has a center arm rest which folds up.  My plan is to remove the arm rest completely.  I'll then use the mounting point for the current arm rest to mount the new center console.

I started last Monday evening by making a few cardboard templates.  There were numerous attempts to come up with a shape which suited my needs but did not look out of place with the stock interior.

I then transferred all the templates to 5/8" MDF on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.  On Thursday evening and Saturday morning, I finished shaping the wood and fastening together the console.

The front sloped area is where I intend to add cup holders.  When making the templates, I drew out this slope such that the cup holders would be perfectly level.  Since the seat bottom leans back slightly, that means that it slopes forward.  However, in the end, it is not exactly level and is leaned forwarded about 1/2" more than it should but I think it will work out fine.

The arm rest portion is roughly the same height as the original arm rest.  I worked it out to fit me perfectly and I really like this part of the console.  Additionally, the compartment inside gives me a considerable amount of room to store plenty of things at an arms reach.  It will be much more convenient than the glove box.  

In this picture you see one of two furniture nut which is installed but not yet recessed in the interior side of the storage box.  This will allow me to line the inside with carpet or vinyl and bolt it in without an exposed nut on the inside.  This is a first for me but it is looking like it is going to work out well.

I used a six inch piano hinge to attach the top of the console.  I expect to wrap the whole piece in vinyl.  Most of the exposed vinyl edges will be hidden but I was concerned about how to hide the edge on the underside of the lid.  I recessed two furniture nuts in the lid for an idea I have to hide the seams on the bottom.  We will see how that part turns out.

Overall, I'm very happy with the design.  I already had the piano hinge, the wood to build it, and the screws.  Since I had all the supplies, I spent essentially nothing to make what you see here.  At this point, I have about six hours in the project.  While I have some vinyl already, I'm going to go look for something which matches the seats a little better.