A Mobile Phone Holder to suit the MGF

If you have had a full mobile phone system fitted to your car then it probably came with a suitable mounting bracket, but if you simply want to have somewhere to mount and adapt your existing hand-held mobile so as to comply with the law, then finding a suitable holder and bracket can be a problem.

There is not a lot of space on the dashboard to fit a 'hands-free' mobile phone, and clipping one into the air vents is not very satisfactory. The position of the cigarette lighter next to the gearshift rules out using many of the simple 'hands-free' kits.

Fitting brackets to the centre console generally means drilling holes, which can be extremely visible and untidy, if at a later date you remove the mobile prior to selling your car.

However, it is possible to purchase a purpose designed bracket for the MGF that fits to the centre console and leaves no visible marks.


You will need to at least loosen off the lower half of the centre facia, from around the gear shift lever and up to at least the heater controls. If access is still not enough, then I suggest you remove the radio and then loosen the whole of centre facia. It is not necessary to disconnect any of the switches, etc. Details for this are on a separate page. See Removing the Centre Console

The bracket is designed to be fitted without making any modifications to the centre console or facia. Simply insert the bracket into the lower part of the gap and slide it upwards into position.

I discovered that a slot (not suggested in the fitting instructions) had already been cut into the inner edge of the centre console by the previous owner, and simply required elongating slightly so that the bracket fitted squarely and evenly. I therefore cannot vouch as to how well it fits without the slot, but I suspect that since the bracket's design in this area includes numerous steps, it will probably be okay. If anyone fits one without such a slot, I'd be grateful to hear from them.

Be aware that depending upon the type of mobile and holder you have, you may find that once these have been fitted to the bracket, they may foul slightly with the little drop down tray. The bracket has numerous holes and slots to allow for varying the holder position, but if these still do not allow sufficient clearance, then it may be necessary to remove the bracket and adjust the angle of the front face to the rear mounting section.

Once you are satisfied with it's position, simply push the centre facia back into place, working from the top down.



Update
After several 1000 miles the bracket started to vibrate when driving at motorway speeds and it was obvious that simply gripping it between the console body and facia was not sufficient support.

I drilled two holes as far back on the bracket as possible, that allowed me to use 2 self-tapping screws to fasten it to inner face of the console body. Note that these screws must be relatively short to avoid breaking through the outer face of the console, and not to over tighten them, since the inner face of the console is of a foam structure.


You can find details for this and other brackets, etc at www.dashmount.co.uk and specifically for this bracket at MGF Bracket