Garmin nuvi > mounting & wiring for the Camaro

[67 GTO]

First post here, please be gentle. The one year OnStar is cool and I'm sure I'll use the Turn-by-Turn Nav at some point. Since I had a Garmin nuvi 255W that came out of the vehicle I traded, I thought I'd try and make it work in the Camaro. After using a portable nav for a number of years I kinda missed the Aussie girl talking at me. The challenge was to find a good mounting location and wiring options.

I dislike the window suction and dash beanbag mount with dangling cables. After visually trying every location on the dash I found the area in front of the driver side left vent to be the most promising. I found this vent clip that does the job although not the way it was intended. The plastic aligator jaws are meant to secure on horizontal directional fins and it has a adjustable padded foot brace that rests on the bottom of the vent opening for support. Unfortunately it just wouldn't secure well enough on the vent.

I played around with it for what seemed like an hour before finally turning it upside down, turning the adjustable aligator clips 90 degrees and now the clips put enough outward pressure on the inside wall of the vent that it now was securely held in place.

The footprint of the base is small enough that it doesn't restrict air flow from the vent.

Well pictures tell the story. I'll answer this post with how I ran the wiring.
I need a beer.

[Camaro_Corvette]

Very cool!

[67 GTO]

Originally Posted by camaro_corvette

Very cool!

Thanks,

I wanted to hide the power cord as much as possible and the front console jack was out of the question. Didn't want to spoil the view of them pretty 4 pack gauges. The power outlet in the storage bin had promise but the supplied power cable was not long enough to get there with the route I wanted to take.

So I bought another Garmin power cable, cut off the ends that weren't needed and was able to fish the wire thru and under the dash. I fished the other end out of the storage bin using the opening alongside the lid hinge arm. The wire doesn't interfere with the operation of the lid.

I ran the wires along the console skirt and spliced the ends together. Done deal. You could make an extention by cutting the power cord in half and use any 18 ga speaker wire to make the extention, although 2 splice points would be needed.








Almost forgot the car

[Eighty-Six Z]

First of all, welcome to the site!!

That is very creative what you did with your Garmin. I also have one, but have the 750. I will be using my in my new Camaro once it gets here and was wondering where I would place it. Would it not work in the center air vents? By doing that you would have to plug in every so often and the cord would be everywhere probably. Also, I think they now make a cupholder base for the Garmin, did you try that one?

Again, thanks!! This is really cool.

[OUR72GTO]

WOW .....very cool.

[The_Blur]

That's brilliant!

[67 GTO]

Originally Posted by Eighty-Six Z

First of all, welcome to the site!!

That is very creative what you did with your Garmin. I also have one, but have the 750. I will be using my in my new Camaro once it gets here and was wondering where I would place it. Would it not work in the center air vents? By doing that you would have to plug in every so often and the cord would be everywhere probably. Also, I think they now make a cupholder base for the Garmin, did you try that one?

Again, thanks!! This is really cool.

Thanks,

I tried this clip on the center vents with not much luck, just to flimsy. The cupholder base I'm sure is good for making it more of a portable device. In my case, it's gonna be more of a permament fixture. I wanted something out of the way with good site lines. Cool thing about the vent mount is I can unplug it and pull the whole thing out of the vent, base and all with little struggle. You can also tuck the the mini plug into the vent, close the vent fins and noboby would know the difference.

Thanks for the welcome.

[rolnslo]

Looks good!

I've got a similar vent clip in my Expedition to hold my Magellan GPS. I didn't hide the wiring as well as you did but now I know how to get my Camaro set up right.

[Nova65]

ghetto fabulous! Just don't use your ac or heater!

[Xmicro_SS]

I bean bag mine, so I can use it in my other cars. Easy In, Easy out.

Here are some pics from the internet of the BEAN BAG...PS THESE ARE NOT MY CARS.

[HTWLSS]

I use a similar clip for my TomTom in our '98 Camaro, but it's lower on the vent and the air doesn't affect it. I used a small, black zip-tie to secure it, as the clips don't quite do the job to hold it. Watch the direct air flow on the back of the GPS unit. Too much direct cold can make it seize.

[OUR72GTO]

We don't use the cold A/C much up here.

[HTWLSS]

Originally Posted by OUR72GTO

We don't use the cold A/C much up here.

I've been to B.C. when it's been 95 degrees, so I know you have a few hot days. I use the a/c here in Oregon to cool the car down after it's been sitting in the direct sun, even on 70 degree days. Having lived in Alaska, I know it's not all igloos and Eskimos up north.

[OUR72GTO]

Thanks ..........we just got the 24 hour clock and the Internet.