Watch that phone holder!

My phone holder came away from its mounting. Luckily, the phone was charging, so it remained hanging from the cable connected to the socket in the storage compartment. It came loose because, during assembly, the 2 knurled inserts (see Fig. 1), which should have been firmly seated in the mounting, had been pulled out as the two screws securing the phone holder were tightened. They held for as long as they could, then came out of their holes, releasing the holder. So I decided to make this modification.

Materials required

2 rounded-head 3 mm Allen screws, 4 nuts and a 1-cent coin!

The procedure

First I removed the part screwed to the C1’s pillar, which I’ll call the bracket. Then I drilled a hole in the phone holder, which I’ll call the holder, opposite the bracket screw (see Fig. 2), so that a 3 mm Allen key could pass through and tighten the bracket onto the C1 once everything was assembled. The two screws replace the originals: they must be long enough to secure the holder firmly to the bracket and also straighten it slightly. Be aware that one screw is beneath the strap that normally secures the phone, but it is easy to reach thanks to the Velcro joining the two parts (also Fig. 2 and Fig. 3).

Now screw 1 nut onto the upper screw and 1 onto the lower screw, tightening both against the holder. Add 1 more nut to the lower screw, leaving it a couple of millimetres from the other without tightening it. Take the 1-cent coin and drill a hole in it (yes, really: I used it because I didn’t have a washer of the right size, and because it won’t rust!). Insert the two screws protruding from the holder into the bracket’s holes. Make sure it is the right way up, with the opening at the top, and check that the screw attaching the bracket to the C1 is in place.

Get into a comfortable position and, using tweezers, fit the washer first, then the nut, as shown in Fig. 4 , then tighten firmly. You can now fit the whole assembly to the C1 by tightening the bracket screw through the hole in the holder. The second nut on the lower screw simply spaces the lower part out as far as you want (do not overdo it or you risk breaking the upper part), making the phone display easier to see. In Fig. 5 you can see the finished result. If you wish, paint the two screws and their nuts black to make them less conspicuous.