IOPort Video Camera Mount

Thought I would post some detailed photos of the installation of the video camera mount that I got from Automotion and have used a couple of times now.

To install:

1. If you have the windstop, remove it.
2. If you have the rear zippered storage bag, unlatch it by twisting the knob 90 degrees and pushing the knob through the hold. This latch holds the bag flush against the roll bar. You need room for the camera mount bolts to slip between the bag and the roll bar. I'm not sure if anything is necessary if you have the rear storage box.
   <-- The zippered bag latch.
3. Remove the center piece of rollbar trim. Use a big flat-head screwdriver and pry it off. Avoid marring the leather or plastic. You may have to use quite a bit of force. Don't worry, there's nothing to break.
4. Well, I lied. There's something you have to break. See those tiny little plastic knobby plugs that look like they're threaded on the screws that stick out from the rollbar trim? They are part #986-580-751-00 "Plastic Clip". Go buy a handful of them at your Porsche dealer's parts counter. They're 50¢ each. You will need a new pair of these clips every time you reattach the rollbar trim. When you install the trim piece, the plastic clips deform to hold it in place; when you remove it, you can't get the deformed pieces back in the holes. I tried.
   <-- The center trim piece, removed.
   <-- Close-up of one of the plastic clips, deformed from removal.
   <-- The bare roll bar after the trim piece has been removed.
5. Get some padding to protect the rollbar. I used an old bicycle inner tube cut long enough to wrap around the bar a couple of times. Make sure it's thick enough to absorb some bolt threads against it. You need two pieces. Wrap them around the rollbar to bit the camera mount position, and tape them to complete the wrap.
   <-- Inner tube material wrapped around the roll bar.
6. Place the camera mount in position. The best orientation is with the two little brackets behind and slightly above horizontal, so that the bolts point forward and slightly down. [ Please Note: I figured out this improved orientation after I took these photos. In the improved orientation, the bright red bushing is facing forward and slightly downward, essentially rotated 90 degrees forward around the roll bar from what you see in the photos. Click on the bottom slide below to see the improved orientation. ] Put the main section in front of the rollbar and feed the bolts through. Screw on the locking nuts and tighten. Unfortunately, the bolt holes are square-slotted for the bolt heads, for the bolts to go in the other direction, so you'll have to grab the head end with your fingers or pliers while you tighten the nuts. If you feed the bolts in the reverse direction (towards the rear), which is how the brackets' square notches are positioned, then the bolts stick out a little too far and you will probably have trouble getting the Boxster's soft top to slide past them as you raise or lower it.
   <-- Camera mount installed. (Not best orientation.)
   <-- Camera mounted and ready to go.
   <-- Here is the better orientation (from BFII photos).

To remove:

1. Unscrew the nuts, remove the bolts, and remove the whole camera mount.
2. Take a pair of new plastic clips. Gently tap them into the two holes in the center of the rollbar.
3. Line up the threaded screws of the center rollbar trim piece with the plastic clips. Protect the piece with a cloth or towel, and tap it or whack it into each clip with a hammer to pop the rollbar trim back on. It may take some force; I couldn't do it by striking it with my bare hand. The threaded screws will push into the plastic clips, essentially grabbing them forever with the threads and deforming the plastic to spread out inside the rollbar (that's why removing the trim piece inevitably deforms the plastic clips).
4. Latch the zippered bag.