I need pictures of the latch mechanism of the cup holder, top and bottom, as close as you can get. I want to see if it's something I can fabricate.

 

I thought of fabbing something up myself(which is what I usually do), but I got one on eBay with the OEM tape deck for $10.

I dont thinks it's possible....... the latch itself moves and works into the hole and there is a side-loaded spring pin on it......
The design is completely retarded if you ask me.... and even with a working cup holder, I have hard time getting it to "catch"........ and opening it can be tricky at times as well.

My advice is to look for one on eBay or better yet, spend a few bucks and buy a JDM one, they are 100,000,000,000,000,000 times better!