MuddyBuddy
Well-known member
I thought I'd post a write-up on building an overhead CB mount.? All I used was a length of 1/4" thick x 4" wide aluminum and two pieces of 2x2x1/4" aluminum angle cut to about 1.5" long.?
I bolted mine to the factory windshield frame supports using one 1/4" bolt on each end.? Clamp the piece in place and drill through the alum bar and round windshield supports at one time with a 1/4" drill bit.? Otherwise it's difficult to drill through a round, thin tube without the drill bit walking on you.
Mock up the placement of the CB radio and mark where to attach the alum angle pieces.? Remove all the pieces and drill and countersink the long alum bar for a 1/4" flat head screw.? Drill and tap the alum angle for the same screw.? You could drill through both pieces and use a nut, but I wanted a cleaner look.? Drill a clearance hole for the screws that mount to the side of the CB.? Mine were 6mm, so a 1/4" clearance hole was perfect.?
Mount the angle pieces to the main alum bar.? Mount the CB to the alum angle pieces.? Mount the whole assembly to the windshield supports and run your wiring.? One thing that was a must for me was to be able to quickly remove the entire CB radio, so all my wiring is plug and go, rather than hard wired.? I mounted the radio as close to the windshield as I could and used a 90? adapter for the antenna wire to help reduce the amount of clearance needed.
One thing to do before mounting is deburr all the mounting pieces completely.? I used an angle grinder with sanding disc's to round off all the edges of the long alum bar.? This prevents it from rubbing through the soft top and it doesn't show through the top as much when looking from the outside.? You can also use a wood router to radius all the edges, I just don't have one.
I also made this nice antenna mount from aluminum to bolt to the factory spare tire mounting holes.? It's also removable with just two screws or just remove the antenna only.
I like the clean and simple aspect of this mount.? It only took about two hours to build and it was free (scrap material from work).? You could do the same setup with steel or even wood.? It was even strong enough to survive a full sideways roll unharmed and even unscratched (can't say that about my windshield and frame).
Dave
I bolted mine to the factory windshield frame supports using one 1/4" bolt on each end.? Clamp the piece in place and drill through the alum bar and round windshield supports at one time with a 1/4" drill bit.? Otherwise it's difficult to drill through a round, thin tube without the drill bit walking on you.
Mock up the placement of the CB radio and mark where to attach the alum angle pieces.? Remove all the pieces and drill and countersink the long alum bar for a 1/4" flat head screw.? Drill and tap the alum angle for the same screw.? You could drill through both pieces and use a nut, but I wanted a cleaner look.? Drill a clearance hole for the screws that mount to the side of the CB.? Mine were 6mm, so a 1/4" clearance hole was perfect.?
Mount the angle pieces to the main alum bar.? Mount the CB to the alum angle pieces.? Mount the whole assembly to the windshield supports and run your wiring.? One thing that was a must for me was to be able to quickly remove the entire CB radio, so all my wiring is plug and go, rather than hard wired.? I mounted the radio as close to the windshield as I could and used a 90? adapter for the antenna wire to help reduce the amount of clearance needed.
One thing to do before mounting is deburr all the mounting pieces completely.? I used an angle grinder with sanding disc's to round off all the edges of the long alum bar.? This prevents it from rubbing through the soft top and it doesn't show through the top as much when looking from the outside.? You can also use a wood router to radius all the edges, I just don't have one.
I also made this nice antenna mount from aluminum to bolt to the factory spare tire mounting holes.? It's also removable with just two screws or just remove the antenna only.
I like the clean and simple aspect of this mount.? It only took about two hours to build and it was free (scrap material from work).? You could do the same setup with steel or even wood.? It was even strong enough to survive a full sideways roll unharmed and even unscratched (can't say that about my windshield and frame).
Dave
