Just installed a portable GPS into my dash.

[technicolorskies]

Well, sort of. I hate suction cup window mounts because A) I hate having my view blocked and B) they never stay on. I also am not a fan of the vent mounts for obvious reasons. I've always wanted to do something with that storage space above the radio and, well, this gave me the chance.

I removed the hinge and the door. There's a spring on the right side that you have to unhook, and then you can remove the door by pulling on one side, and then on the other. Pretty easy. I used the suction cup mount for my GPS and "folded" the suction cup so the entire mount would slide into the storage space. The cup also held it in there well enough until I secured it permanently.

I found a small bracket (even something like a handle to a cabinet would work) laying around the house, so I put the bracked over the top of the base of the GPS mount and screwed it into the bottom of the storage space. This kept the mount from moving up or down. I then put some super glue lightly around the base to keep it from moving side to side. I made sure that the piece that the GPS attaches to was far away just enough so it wouldn't rub against the main faceplate of the radio area, and just high enough so CDs could insert and eject with ease.

Now, if you look to the right of the storage space, you'll see a big hole where the door used to be. This hole extends all the way down behind the glovebox and down to the floor. Perfect spot for the power adapter! I took a wire hanger with some tape on the end, and pulled the power cord up through the hole.

Now with everything just about finished, there are still empty spaces on each side of the GPS. I struggled with this part as I wasn't sure what to use to cover up the holes. I ended up trying some black poster board. If you feel around the inside of the storage space near the opening, you'll feel a groove all the way around the rectangle. I trimmed the poster board down to size, and it fit nicely in that groove.

Sorry I didn't take step by step pictures. I totally spaced it out. Here's the end result!

(the camera angle makes it look off-centered)



Now I did run into a problem. The power cord originally wasn't long enough to reach the jack in the console area. That's probably one of the only things I hate about the Versa...only one place to plug accessories into. I killed two birds with one stone and bought a power port extension. Problem solved.





Overall, it was a fun project. That power extension port was only $12 on Amazon. The GPS gets a great signal and now I don't have to get pissed at it when it decides to let go of the windshield.
Modified by technicolorskies at 8:14 PM 8/22/2009

[iluvmyVersa08]

I like it! Looks great.

[VersaMG08]

I like that install, looks really clean. The Garmin nuvi250w is the model I'm using, didn't care for the window suction cup either. I just put some velcro strips on the center of the dash and mounted in there. Seems to hold pretty well.

You already have 10k miles?!?! Must drive alot, I have a little above 12k miles and had my car for 16 months.

[dee_tymz_sl]

Nicely done

[Codelicious]

I like that a lot. Very clean looking install.

I also had an idea for something almost similar to this. I have an "iPod Player" that displays what your iPod would on a little screen and I want to get rid of that storage place because I don't need it. I want to put it in there and I think that it is the perfect size.

Maybe now I will just have to try it out!

Does anyone think that this would fit inside the storage area if it was removed and a little din kit was installed..?http://www.lightinthebox.com/5...erral

[technicolorskies]

Thanks! Glad you all like it.

You already have 10k miles?!?! Must drive alot, I have a little above 12k miles and had my car for 16 months.

Haha yeah I've only had my car since early April and it had 7 miles on it. I drive 68 miles round trip for work 5 days a week. I also have about 4k miles worth of vacations on there. I've noticed a slight improvement on gas mileage now that I'm getting past the new car stages.

Does anyone think that this would fit inside the storage area if it was removed and a little din kit was installed..?http://www.lightinthebox.com/5...erral

While I haven't measured the storage area, it looks like that'll be a pretty close fit! Even if it hangs out the front a bit it'll still look sharp. The storage bin comes out easily as well so it shouldn't take long to punch some holes in the back to route the cables if needed.