Made my own phone mount

[MuNkY6913]

So I made a phone holder for my car today. First time trying to do this. It worked out pretty well, but it's a little higher than I thought it would turn out to be. I just got a piece of aluminum and started bending it to the form I wanted. I took out the instrument cluster and then took off the piece above it. I have the piece of aluminum screwed in behind the instrument cluster and it extends out behind it and holds my phone in place. I have an OtterBox on the phone iPhone 5c, and I use the belt clip for it. This is my first go at it and I plan to reposition it a little bit and get it further down towards the start button. But right now it looks good and it works well. Just wanted to share this. I'm going to be using dash command so I wanted it to be right there in my field of view in between the gauges and my radar detector. Well this is how it turned out.

[livewire85]

Nice phone mount. What really caught my attention are your gauges. Where do you get them at? Or did you just replace stock bulbs with blue leds? Let me know cuz I've been looking for cheaper mods to dress up the interior.

[JimD]

Your mount looks good and looks similar to a GPS mount that BMW sold. If you look in the DIY section and search "BMW Portable Pro" and possibly "nuvi" you will find some pieces. The instructions for the BMW have been posted and explain how to tap power - in case you want to also charge you phone while it's mounted. I wired in an accessory plug inside the dash for my GPS and just plugged in a normal power cord (zip tying it in place and electrical tapping the connection together). Works great. I now have my nuvi on the left (and posted about that also). I made that mount by making cardboard templates and then cutting it out of 16 gauge zinc plated steel (which I later painted black).

[MuNkY6913]

Originally Posted by JimD

Your mount looks good and looks similar to a GPS mount that BMW sold. If you look in the DIY section and search "BMW Portable Pro" and possibly "nuvi" you will find some pieces. The instructions for the BMW have been posted and explain how to tap power - in case you want to also charge you phone while it's mounted. I wired in an accessory plug inside the dash for my GPS and just plugged in a normal power cord (zip tying it in place and electrical tapping the connection together). Works great. I now have my nuvi on the left (and posted about that also). I made that mount by making cardboard templates and then cutting it out of 16 gauge zinc plated steel (which I later painted black).

I didn't know anything was made that wasn't suction cup or vent mount. I'll have to look at that. Steel would work a lot better for what I did. The aluminum just isn't strong enough to hold the weight of the phone. I'm not worried about charging it. If I ever get all the performance mods done and worked out I might end up getting an adapter for the iPhone 5 to use so it plays on the radio. I just wanted the mount there for when I use dash command. Still figuring that out. The clutch was first on the list and I put that in this weekend. Now it's the fuel pump and meth kit. After those ill mess with dash command more and depending on what time of year it is when all that's done I might do more with the mount. Thanks for the info!

[MuNkY6913]

Originally Posted by livewire85

Nice phone mount. What really caught my attention are your gauges. Where do you get them at? Or did you just replace stock bulbs with blue leds? Let me know cuz I've been looking for cheaper mods to dress up the interior.

If you search for blue LEDs instrument cluster I did a DIY and another thread on it. It's not very simple to do. I got a white face layover off eBay and changed the LEDs to blue. They are on the circuit board and need to soldered on. It's nerve racking the first time you do it. For the faces you have to take the needles off. Which is also scary because they feel like they are going to break. There is someone selling gauge faces that he makes. Search for that too. I think he already had the first ten spots fill up. He's making something similar to the 1M gauge faces. Mine are basically a piece of tint that has the white printed on. That's why the numbers are so much dimmer than the rest of the gauge. It's tint over top of the original faces. He's making the faces out of plastic with the image printed on them. I would go that route. He has a post in the cosmetic mods and for sale. The cosmetic mods post shows how he changed his LEDs to white. I think it has a link to my DIY too. Popping off the start button ring and painting it is really easy to do and adds a little touch of your own too. Mines painted the same color as my car.

[JimD]

McMaster Carr is a good source of a little metal (or when appropriate plastic) for small projects. They have lots of thicknesses and different types and sell in small quantities. I think I bought a 12 by 12 inch piece, for instance, for my mount.

[A_Squared]

If you don't use your CD drive, they have some that fit in there. I bought one from Amazon and I love it. It's pretty sturdy too.

http://www.amazon.com/Caseology-One-...cd+phone+mount

[MuNkY6913]

Originally Posted by A_Squared

If you don't use your CD drive, they have some that fit in there. I bought one from Amazon and I love it. It's pretty sturdy too.

http://www.amazon.com/Caseology-One-...cd+phone+mount

That's not a bad idea. Not very expensive either. I was trying to get something more in the view than that. Thanks for posting that.

[MuNkY6913]

Originally Posted by JimD

McMaster Carr is a good source of a little metal (or when appropriate plastic) for small projects. They have lots of thicknesses and different types and sell in small quantities. I think I bought a 12 by 12 inch piece, for instance, for my mount.

I use McMaster a lot at work. I don't have anything I would be able to bend anything very thick. The aluminum I got from Home Depot for $.89 had me struggling to bend that with just my hands and a pair of pliers.

[dorkdog]

I don't understand the preoccupation with blue lighting in the cockpit. Red preserves night vision.

[MuNkY6913]

Originally Posted by dorkdog

I don't understand the preoccupation with blue lighting in the cockpit. Red preserves night vision.

Blue doesn't hurt it either. I've had the gauges blue for a little over a year now and I can see just fine at night. My headlights help see at night the most. It's my personal taste. That's the color I want my interior to be. Preserving night vision isn't a problem with the blue. I hear people say that a lot. But I don't understand how it makes that much of a difference. I haven't noticed it. I've been able to avoid animals jumping out in front of me at night without a problem. Blue is working fine for me.

[nawt12]

Can you please take a picture of your start button - and sorry if you already have a DIY on this, but how do you pop it off and what did you use to repaint it?
Thanks.

[MuNkY6913]

Originally Posted by nawt12

Can you please take a picture of your start button - and sorry if you already have a DIY on this, but how do you pop it off and what did you use to repaint it?
Thanks.

I didn't paint the actual start button but the circle surrounding it. I have had the actual button apart to change the led in it to blue and have an idea of changing the actual button but I haven't done it yet. I just used the touch up paint kit for my car color. I think a little tube of paint and clear coat was $30 from the dealer. There's a couple pics at the end of my radar DIY. The button surround just pops up. If you get trim tools just get under it and pry up. Might even be able to get your fingers under it. I just put 3 coats of paint and 2 coats of clear.
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