Camera Mount
You should be able to get all the parts at your local Home Depot, Lowes, OSH or other massive hardware store and the camera mount from can be found at any decent camera store.
Parts
List
3 - ¼ by
2½ inch bolts
1 - ¼ by 1½ inch bolts
3 - ¼ inch lock nuts
7 - ¼ inch washers
4 inches of plastic hose(sku#705230 at Home Depot)
1 - 1"x48" box aluminum
4 - Plastic end caps(Part #1189-6)*
SLIK Compact Ball Head**
*Here's a place
that you can purchase the plastic endcaps...
they cost 30 cents each plus shipping...
Drake & McDonald Company
4111
Aurora Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98103
1-800-562-6998
**If
you can't find the mount in your local store here's a link to a website
that sells it B&H Photo Website
Instructions
1. Cut the box aluminum to the proper lengths. The short piece
is 8 inches long and the long piece is 16 inches. At this point you can
decide on the position of the camera in the car. If you want it more towards
the center of the car just extend the length of the 16 inch piece. Then
temporarily tape the two pieces of box aluminum together with electric
tape. Mark the position for the three ¼ inch bolts, and drill the
holes with a ¼ inch drill bit.
2. Remove
the electrical tape and bolt the two pieces of box
aluminum together with the ¼ nuts, bolts and washers. After you have
bolted it together, take your headrest and mark the location for the holes
for the headrest posts to be drilled. Drill the holes first with a smaller
drill bit. Then step the holes up to the final ½ inch size. Be
careful while drilling these holes, since you are drilling in between
the two pieces
of box aluminum the drill bit will have tendency to bite into the aluminum.
3. The next
step is to drill the ¼ inch hole at the end of the longer box aluminum
piece for the camera head mount.
4. After
you have finished drilling all the pieces you will need to go back and
clean up all holes and cuts you made, especially the ½ inch holes for
the headrest posts. Make sure there are no sharp areas left on any of
the pieces. I used a dremel tool with a sander disk (it fits the ½ inch
holes perfectly). You can also use a file or just a sheet of plain old
sand paper. After you are finished sanding, cut a piece of the plastic
tubing just wider than the box aluminum.
5. The last
step is to assemble all the pieces and do a test fit on the headrests.
With all the bolts loose you should be able to slide the headrest posts
into the rubber sleeves (it should be a little snug). If you can't, go
back and sand a little off the ½ inch
post holes. Retry. If everything fits, tighten the bolts down and make
sure the mount is firmly attached to the headrest. That's it! You just
built yourself a $35 camera mount for you car. Now go out and get some
video!!!
If you need any more info feel free to email me
Update
I couldn’t find the Slik head the original author used, so I used the Bogen/Manfrotto 3009 ball head. It has since been replaced with the Bogen/Manfrotto 482. The official name of the NEW model is 482 Micro Ball Head.
If your camera is on the heavy side you may want to use the 484 Micro Ball Head, it’s slightly larger and can take a little more weight then the 482.
Link to Bogen website: http://tinyurl.com/dnlz
Links to purchase info at B& H Photo:
482 info: http://tinyurl.com/baup
484 info: http://tinyurl.com/bauf
E46
has a 5.5" distance and E39 is 6" apart for the two holes.
Video
Taken using the mount at Willow Springs Track on
a E46 M3.
http://www.bmwtips.com/gallery/EventsGallery/WillowSprings2/MugWillow.wmv
Design
layout in .pdf format
Here's
a few pictures of the Mount on a E46 M3 below.
