Ultimate 911 iPhone Mount / Homemade Clock Delete

[lfot]

Seeing as how there's all these great driving/performance Apps for the 3G iPhone, the question arose, "What would be the best way to mount said phone in a solid position that will still get satellite reception and won't block my field of view?"

1. I don't like the big suction cup thing mounted to the windshield. First off, it's fugly. Second, major visual block.
2. I'm not going to mount anything to the top of the dash or in the small crevices of the dash face.
3. Vent mount? Possibly, but the vents on these old cars tend to get a little brittle. Mine are perfect and working, so I don't want to risk it.

SOLUTION: Make my own Clock Delete and mount the iPhone to that somehow.

Instead of paying $50 for a replica Clock Delete (look on ebay), I figured I could probably make one on my own. Nothing perfect, mind you, but very close.

So I started by going to best buy and finding these.

This kit is a vent mount as I mentioned earlier, but also a versatile "stick-on" job. I'll just be using the stick-on parts from this $10 kit.


Next up, a case for the iPhone so I don't have to stick anything directly to the phone itself. I chose this case because of the hard plastic shell. Most of the cases are these rubbery sleeves that I don't think would stick very well and would be more prone to jiggling around once locked into place. It was around $20.


Next part is to make a mountable case with one of the pieces from the mounting kit.






The added bonus of having the stick-on piece on the case is that I can take the case off of the iPhone when I carry it around in my pocket. I won't have the bulky stick-on jabbing my hand whenever I reach for it.

Now to the Clock Delete. I went to Home Depot and bought a vinyl drain grate with a 3" lip and a slightly smaller recess that was almost the exact same size as the VDO clock. It cost me all of $2.00. Then I used an old DVD case to cut out a face for the grate (made sure to cut it out a little big to allow for sanding afterward). Glued it on the grate with some 3M spray adhesive.


Sanded down the edges with a Dremel and done!
This is the finished version after spacing out proper placement of the stick-on mount.


The question now is, "Does the factory gasket fit?" Sort of. To use the factory gasket I would have needed to evenly sand down grate to fit. Screw that. I'll keep the gasket on the clock to preserve the gasket and make for an easy swap when needed. Instead, just wrap the grate in gaffers tape until it's nice and snug in the dash.

[lfot]

...continued.

Pop it in the dash, and you've got a very solid, handily placed, hands free phone / GPS unit / lap counter (Track Day app), Dyno and g-force meter (Dynolicious App) / whatever else you can think of.









Google Maps GPS


Dynolicious app


Track Day app

[Wayne 962]

Neat idea!

-Wayne

[jasonlee]

Nice work. The best kind of upgrade, cheap and effective

[slodave]

It's a cool idea Derek. It's hard to tell from the pix, but can you see it OK when you are in the drivers seat? If so, I wonder if the same would apply with my steering wheel (stock).

[SpeedracerIndy]

Nice! I did something very similar in my Audi with my Blackberry. I used a magnet and had similar results.

[canamfan]

Neat, nice work!! If you ever miss the clock....just download a working pic. of actual clock & you're almost OE.

[lfot]

I can see it fine. Can't comment on your stock wheel though.

It's a cool idea Derek. It's hard to tell from the pix, but can you see it OK when you are in the drivers seat? If so, I wonder if the same would apply with my steering wheel (stock).

[nameisbauer]

Sweet!

[porcupine911]

nice job derek!

[darthracing]

Nice. I might try this, WITH the addition of running the ipod stereo connector through the "delete" so I can plug music/audio from the iPhone.

[chocolatelab]

Is your oil temp/ pressure guage and speedo rotated?

I think I may have seen that on ther pictures maybe your car or someone elses.

Any reason for it?

Nice!

[SCWDP911]

Originally Posted by chocolatelab

Is your oil temp/ pressure guage and speedo rotated?

I think I may have seen that on ther pictures maybe your car or someone elses.

Any reason for it?

To see the important numbers better while driving

[mondo74]

i thought it was to create the illusion that the oil pressure remains constant.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by chocolatelab

Is your oil temp/ pressure guage and speedo rotated?

I think I may have seen that on ther pictures maybe your car or someone elses.

Any reason for it?

The main reason people rotate their gauges in their 911 is because they can.

But also as stated earlier it helps see the important numbers...
For instance, you can rotate your taco so when the needle is at "red line" it's pointing straight up >>> Easier and faster to see at a glance during the stress of racing.

Just one of the many things I like about our cars....

[darthracing]

Seeing through the smaller than stock steering wheel will be my excuse - I use my tach already to estimate
speed because I can't see 60-90mph, I'll be trying a little rotation myself.

-T

[layzee]

Doesn't dynolicious have to be on a flat surface to work?

[johndglynn]

Sweet little mod - top work!

[lfot]

Originally Posted by chocolatelab

Is your oil temp/ pressure guage and speedo rotated?

I think I may have seen that on ther pictures maybe your car or someone elses.

Any reason for it?

It's the smaller than stock steering wheel. With the gauges tilted the way they are, I can see everything at a glance without moving my head over to see the temp, or pressure, or mph.