NTPOG 5th Gen Camera Mount
Author: Todd Marcucci
 


How Does This Work?
OK, the idea here is pretty simple; take some square steel stock, span the rear deck, then plop a camera mount on it. So simple, I was PO'd at myself for not thinking of it first (I saw a similar one at an autocross). This mount is kick-ass; it's *extremely* solid. This mount only shimmies over crap that you don't want to see yourself doing anyhow. It allows more access to the back seat- the tripod mount pretty much hogs it. It also looks pretty cool (huh-huh) and since it's steel, you can paint it any color you want.

What You Need
You should be able to crank this one out in about an hour. The parts you'll need are:

- 1" x 3' square steel stock (or at least 27")
- This is the thick stuff; your local home improvement store should have it for under $10.
- Approximately 5" (length) of 1.5" to 2" wide flat stock- the exact amount will depend on your camera (see below)
- Same as above, preferably 3/16"-1/4" thick, should be under $10 for a few feet.
- (2) 8mm x 2" bolts and matching lock-washers
- (2) .75" spacers (round) just big enough to pass the above bolts through (see below)
- (2) 10-24 x 1.5" screws and matching nuts/washers
- Drill and hacksaw, Dremel, or similar
- Camcorder (unless you just want to look like you have a camera)

OK, Now, How?
First, you want to take your 3' steel stock (or about 27" if you bought it in a longer section) and drill holes to match the child safety seat bolt mounts. These are under the felt caps in the rear deck, in front of the rear speakers. Just pop them out, line up the bar, and the holes should be on 25.75" centers:

Line these holes up on the bar, then drill them with a 5/16" bit. Take care to line the holes up right (on both sides of the bar) since it's easy to misalign them and end up with crooked holes. Check the bar for fit in the deck; you should be able to thread the 8mm bolts through the bar to the holes below.

Now, in order to avoid damaging the rear deck, you need to get/make some spacers. You need something about .75" long that the 8mm bolts will ride through; these go between the bar and the deck, to raise the bar up off of the deck's surface. You can probably find these at the store, or do what the author did and cut them from a piece of round stock.

Now you'll need to cut the flat stock you bought to fit your camera; A Sony TR-940 needs about 5", you'll have to measure yours. The idea is to make sure that your camera can sit far enough forward to not bump into the third brake light (if you have it) or the top of the glass.

If you're lucky, you'll find a piece just the right size. If you're normal, like the rest of us, you'll need to use a hacksaw or Dremel to cut off a piece of the right length. Once you do this, you can bolt it to the square stock in the middle. Kind of like in this crappy picture (viewed from the top):

You're pretty much done; you just need to drill a hole where your camera mount is located, and maybe even line the new platform with stick-on neoprene or rubber to help keep the camera from moving. Bolt it up to the rear deck and you're ready to rock!





This should do ya... if you have any comments, corrections, or gripes, please email the author.



This page last updated 4/3/01.