I was able to get all the parts at my local Home Depot 24-Hour SuperCenter, Lowe’s also carries the parts, but they were out of the tubing.
For this mod you will need:
- 3x ¼”x2 ½” Bolts
- 1x ¼”x1 ½” Bolt (Or whatever size bolt your Camera
Ball Mount takes, mine took a different size, but many take ¼”)
- 3x ¼” Hex or Lock nuts
- 7x ¼” Lock Washers
- Several inches of ½” Plastic Hosing
- 1x 1”x48” Aluminum Square Tubing (or Box Aluminum depending
on what store)
- 4x 1”x1” Plastic Square End Caps
- Compact Camera Ball Head (You can get one from B&H Photo) or your local
camera shop (a film store will not carry this item).
- Electrical tape
- You will also need a drill with various bits ( ¼”, 3/8”, ½” are
all necessary), something to cut the aluminum with (a hacksaw or a rotary
cutter will work fine), and something to clean up the cuts (I used a Dremel).
1. Cut the aluminum to the proper lengths (will vary from car to car, for
a Pathfinder/QX4 the short piece is 11” and the long piece is 22”,
an Integra takes 8” and 16”). It varies depending on the width
of the seat, how far the headrest posts are apart and how much space there
is between the seats. You want the camera to sit about halfway between the
seats, just slightly to the passenger side. You can cut the lengths to suit.
Tape the two pieces together using electrical tape. Mark the locations of
the headrest post holes (will be on the wide side, and should be right in
the center halfway on each piece of aluminum) and the holes for the ¼” bolts
(should be on the narrow side (to hold the two pieces together). Also mark
a place for a ¼” (or whatever size the ball mount takes) where
you want the camera to sit on the long piece.
2. Drill the 3 ¼” holes with a ¼” drill bit, and
the hole at the end (if ¼”). Bolt the two pieces together using
the three 2 ½” long bolts and nuts. Use lock washers. If you
have not already drilled the hole in the end, now is a good time to do it.
3. Drill the holes for the headrest now, assuming you were careful where
you marked them that you will not be drilling through a bolt. If you are
in danger of drilling through a bolt, shift the headrest one direction or
the other. There should be only one bolt between the two posts, the other
two bolts should be on the outside. Be VERY careful when drilling these holes
as the bit has a tendency to bite into the aluminum, since you will be drilling
between the two tubes. I strongly recommend that you start with a smaller
bit (1/4” or smaller and drill all the way through and then step up
slowly to the final ½” size (or whatever the diameter of your
headrest posts, most are ½”).
4. Once you have drilled the holes, you should go back and clean up the holes
to remove any excess aluminum that may still be stuck there. I used a Dremel
with the round sanding block, however regular sand paper will work fine.
5. Take the rubber hose and cut it into 3 pieces slightly longer than 1”.
Cut each piece up one side, and cut it so it makes a ½” semicircle.
(Note: ½” hosing, when cut it half, makes smaller than a ½” semicircle,
so it will not fill the hole fully. Home Depot does not sell this size hose
in less than 10’ increments, so if you mess up, you’ll have plenty
extra, don’t worry about overpaying its only $1.98.)
6. Next you’ll want to put the hoses into the holes and wrap the aluminum
around the headrest loosely. Then bolt it all together. Screw on the ball
mount. Mount your camera, and go get some kick ass footage!
Note: You can get a SLIK ball mount online for less than $30. My Home Depot tab came out to be about $15 because I did not have the proper drill bits available, however, the bits added up to more than $5. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
You have just created an in-car camera mount for less than $40, if you shopped wisely.
