Since I've never smoked, or care to start, this is the one useless thing in the cockpit that has never been utilized. Having an extra kicking around allowed me to attempt to make something functional out of it, so here it is.
Click to view attachment
Sorry for the sideways post. Anyway, what I did was to first drill out the rivets that fasten both the flap and the front pipe / cigarette / cigar tray, unfortunately it has to be destroyed to be removed because it wasn't just enough to put two rivets into the unit, it was also spot-welded, so that had to be ground out. Next I ground back the release tab that is used to pull the unit out from the dash. I cut it back just to the point where when the ashtray is fully extended out, you can just get your finger in there to release the tray. After that, I installed a piece of quarter inch Azek that I had laying around to serve as a base, also to provide more surface area for the cup to rest against. Then I drilled a 3-inch hole from the bottom which is cut through the bottom of the tray, the Azek, and part of the plastic support at the front of the tray. Then I just sanded things up, slid it back into position, and placed my cup in there and it seems to work pretty well. I just got tired of my drink spilling if I wasn't able to hold it or really hadn't found a decent substitute at all
Here is the inside, with the drilled Azek
.Click to view attachment
That's all folks