To drop the seats flat to the floor in the new Jimny you need to remove the head restraints. I noticed people were using the headrests to fill the awkward dips in the front seat when they’re fully reclined. It’s ok but a bit clunky for my liking.
The idea for this project was to create somewhere to store the rear headrests that doubles up as a backrest to chill out reading a book.
We’ve got a roof tent ordered so the inside of the Jimny is free to be used as a lounge style, chill out zone. It needed to be simple to setup and like all the projects for the Jimny Micro Camper, we don’t want to make any permanent changes.
Designing the backrest bar
Keeping the design simple is the best approach for my DIY skills.
I decided to leave enough space either side so the left and right M6 bolt holes were still available for cargo hooks. This meant a full length of 400mm.
The rear headrest post diameter is 12mm so I bought a rectangle steel tube from B&Q that measured 27mm width. Leaving plenty of space for rubber grommets that I hoped would hold them snug without any wobble or damage caused inserting them. I ordered 12mm rubber grommets from eBay as I couldn’t find anything other than standard sizes from local hardware stores.
The plan was to mount the head rests flush with each other. They’re a fairly flat shape unlike the front headrests and this should provide a comfortable shape to lean up against.
The project was basically drilling a few holes… however my bench drill chuck is badly aligned so the holes were a total mess. After much filing and shaping the holes were ok to fit the grommets… just.
I planned to spray paint the metal tube but instead used some scrap carbon fibre wrap. This saved time and looks quite nice all things considered. I decided to use some contact cement to help stop the grommets popping out as I pushed the headrest into position. Added some plastic end caps and voila.
The fit is tight to say the least but with a bit persuasion the headrests slotted in lovely. Being camera shy, my wife volunteered to test the comfort and strength.
Amazingly it all worked out great. If you’d seen the state of the holes from the bench drill you’d appreciate why I was surprised it lined up.
Another project done and the first time I’ve done minor metalwork. I say minor, that’s overkill for what was involved. Waiting on some black M6 bolts to replace the silver ones but other than that it’s job done.
The bar sits quite happy with no squeaks or getting in the way as we’re using the car as our daily driver.
What’s next for this little bar? I’m thinking through other uses for it… perhaps a bushcraft equipment holder for day camps? Who knows.
