Gen 1 console conversion to 2016+

[latin75]

Hello all,
I am wondering if anyone has done a conversion of gen 1 console to add the rear cup holder and USB but with minimal change.
What I mean:
Add some kind of metal bracket for the cupholders, replace rear trim to the volume one vs just a cover (to accommodate USB and cupholders), USB wiring, and side trims?
I saw few pictures on ebay and in epc.tesla.com and I think they are doable?
I also like the older console tower better because it's metal, vs plastic on the newer gen 2 (2016+) console tower.

 

[latin75]

To be clear, I already saw this thread: Model S Rear Cup Holder and USB Charger retrofit parts - $350 plus S&H

but this one is using the newer PLASTIC tower/support which comes with the console kit. I want to preserve the inside tower structure from my older MS because that is METAL, not plastic.
Has anyone done this retrofit? Looks like it can be done by getting some metal pieces from hardware store to create that bracket for the cupholder to screw on.

 

[TheFro]

As someone who has performed this swap, I noticed almost no difference in rigidity or noise switching out the metal tower for the plastic one.

And looking at the differences between the two, I understand why they switched to plastic - he cross bars are the only thing that really make the metal support so rigid and you would need to modify them to change the curvature of the tower and free up the additional space and the air vent would need to be thinned out more than it already is.

The plastic part is rigid while having the he additional space needed by the cupholder and USB ports. Also the air vent is integrated into this support and not a separate piece.

Of course, I'm not very imaginative so maybe there is some way to modify the old tower that I just don't see.