furryPixels

So I bought a Garmin nuvi 350 about 3 weeks ago with the intention of getting the ProClip mounts, but couldn't really convince myself to pull the trigger on what I thought was a really bad design. Actually, not so much the design, but where they chose to have it mounted in the car, option 1 was the hand rail thing by the shifter, which left the nuvi too low to be really usefull. Second option was right in front the the vents, that's just stupid.

Well, fortunately I found GadegTT in the TT section and saw the brillant design he used to mount a GPS and various other gadgets. It's the perfect design, it fits right behind the circular vents and in the middle is the mounting surface.

From there I was inspired to make my own version of the bracket. I used a vernier calliper to measure out all the dimensions, with tolerances of about .25mm. Used Adobe Illustrator to design the template, printed and then cut out. Traced it out on a piece of aluminum, then basically just cut and grind with a rotatry tool.

He used ball joints, which was also my original plan, but they looked like crap. There just isn't anything out there right now that matches or even beats the stock arm that comes with the nuvi.

Luckily, the stock arm can be easily reused. All I did was take off the suction cup, which left a perfect sized hole to put a screw through, which I than bolted to the bracket.

The bracket is still a bit rough, needs a bit more grinding and a coat of flat black paint. However, because my original idea was to use a ball joint and arm, the stock nuvi arm doesn't fit the bracket to well. I'm going to redesign the the bracket, so the center part is the same size as the stock circle base.

<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/161/350162101_5964743dc6.jpg">

<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/133/350162104_c74708d4cc.jpg">

<img src="http://images16.fotki.com/v289/photos/7/7305/1460783/DSC04905-vi.jpg">

Buddah

a casset deck in an A3?

clockwork

Yes, thats the bose deck.

danny2.0t

Yep. Mine looks just like that

furryPixels

Yeah, still use it to listen to my old mix tapes....

Nah, actually using using it as a temp. solution to hook up my iPod. Been waiting for a Canadian reseller to carry the Dice adaptor.

RyanS3

sweet.

furryPixels

Oh yeah, a few more details. The vents are easily removed, just pull and tug on around the edges, it's held in place by little plastic barbs that grabs around the soft inner plastic.

Basically, you can use the same bracket and attach either a cellphone holder and iPod craddle or even a digital camera/video camera. All depends on what type of joint you want to use. www.gpscity.com has all sorts of Ram Mounts accessories that can be used to hold just about everything.

Pretty cool.... =P

wvr32740

Nice work! I had the same idea for my ipod but haven't gotten that far. Any chance of sharing the template?

raduga

...what exactly is going on with the power cord there? My Nuvi 360 has the USB/power going into the right-hand side of the device with an annoying L-shaped mini plug. Does the garmin socket mount also connect power to the device?

I've been driving around since xmas using the nuvi in my change drawer behind the shifter. It's definitely not safe; I spend way to much time looking down and hunting for buttons. I think I'll try to reproduce your design

furryPixels

Yup, the stock Garmin mount has the plug right behind it. Keeps it looking stealth. I had it in the ash tray too when I first got it =P

I hid the wiring of the stock charger in the heater vent then down the entire center counsel. It's fairly easy to do, Audi made pulling off the plastic parts pretty pain free. I started from the back, which is the center arm rest, then up to the front.

The arm rest is held in place by a single bolt; so just pull out the rear ash tray and door look switch. Remove the arm rest and you have complete access. Next, I pulled out the sliding cover for the two power sockets and pulled the power adaptor through.

Other things you need to remove is the little plastic cover by the hand brake, shifter boot, ash tray(ash tray is bolted down; remove two bolts) and the plastic liner behind the ash tray and lastly the large plastic panel under the steering wheel. You'll than have all the room you need to pull the mini USB end of the cable all the way up through the heater vent.

To help pull the mini USB end through the vents easier, you can remove the faux aluminum ring by simply pulling it off and pull out one of the vent blade thingys...