Hey guys, I recently purchased an Fj cruiser and as soon as soon as I took it home I realized there weren't many options for mounting my phone on the dash and I wanted to avoid taking up space on the windshield. I eventually came across a product that seemed like it would be my solution (pictures below) so instead of spending the $30 I decided to make one myself. I did this to my FJ but this same process can be applied on practically any vehicle.
Here are the tools and materials you will need-
Sheet metal. I had some laying around at home so unfortunately I don't know the thickness.
Tin Snips
Hammer
Drill
Vise
File and/or sand paper
Paint
Here's the product I found online. Basically you remove the trim by the radio using a philips head screw driver and by prying it from the bottom and working your way up. Remove the screw that hold the radio trim in place and that same screw will be used to mount this bracket. You then reinstall everything. Simple enough
First I used the snips to cut off a piece of metal about twice the size of what I would need incase I made any mistakes.
I then started making some measurement and drew out a rough outline. I made my bends by using my vise. By hammering the edge against the vise I was able to get a nice sharp edge on the metal.
Mocked up the rough shape and it seemed to work well
I trimmed it up and drilled the hole where the screw would go in and was able to install it
At this point I had realized that the hammer marks were going to be a pain to cover up so I would end up using plastic dip for paint to cover up as much as possible. I realized I wanted it to be as small as possible so it could have more rigidity so I trimmed some of the top section off. I finally rounded out the edges with a file and prepared to paint.
I used Rust-oleum Rust Reformer as a primer.
I installed it and put the trim back on. You can still see the surface is not perfectly smooth but I knew this would be covered by the actual phone holder so I wasn't too worried about it.
Here's the final product. I like using the magnetic phone mounts so that's what I chose to install by using 3M double stick tape. It worked out great and I'm still able to have access to the hazard lights and rear defroster.
Hope this helps some of you!
Here are the tools and materials you will need-
Sheet metal. I had some laying around at home so unfortunately I don't know the thickness.
Tin Snips
Hammer
Drill
Vise
File and/or sand paper
Paint
Here's the product I found online. Basically you remove the trim by the radio using a philips head screw driver and by prying it from the bottom and working your way up. Remove the screw that hold the radio trim in place and that same screw will be used to mount this bracket. You then reinstall everything. Simple enough
First I used the snips to cut off a piece of metal about twice the size of what I would need incase I made any mistakes.
I then started making some measurement and drew out a rough outline. I made my bends by using my vise. By hammering the edge against the vise I was able to get a nice sharp edge on the metal.
Mocked up the rough shape and it seemed to work well
I trimmed it up and drilled the hole where the screw would go in and was able to install it
At this point I had realized that the hammer marks were going to be a pain to cover up so I would end up using plastic dip for paint to cover up as much as possible. I realized I wanted it to be as small as possible so it could have more rigidity so I trimmed some of the top section off. I finally rounded out the edges with a file and prepared to paint.
I used Rust-oleum Rust Reformer as a primer.
I installed it and put the trim back on. You can still see the surface is not perfectly smooth but I knew this would be covered by the actual phone holder so I wasn't too worried about it.
Here's the final product. I like using the magnetic phone mounts so that's what I chose to install by using 3M double stick tape. It worked out great and I'm still able to have access to the hazard lights and rear defroster.
Hope this helps some of you!
