I've decided to retrofit a backup camera to my 2004 Mazda RX-8. After running the camera wire from the dashboard receiver into the trunk, I had to install the camera somewhere and plug into that wire. I decided to put the camera near my rear license plate, which meant I had to remove many old brittle plastic fasteners before I could remove my rear bumper cover. I was happy to find I didn't need to drill any holes in either the body or the bumper cover. There's a slot already in the bumper cover to accommodate a license plate light, and it's much wider than it had to be. The metal body had several existing holes I could repurpose for my project. I removed an existing plastic-and-rubber plug to run my camera wire, followed by a dab of hot glue to plug it up so rain water does not enter.

That leaves the problem of exactly where to mount the camera. The bundle came with a license plate bracket that would mount it centered above the license plate, but that would block my license plate light and I doubt law enforcement would be happy about that. It also came with a small bracket and double-sided foam tape but I didn't trust tape under SoCal summer sun. I had a metal frame around my license plate purely for aesthetics, so I drilled and tapped two M3 holes in the frame corner for the small bracket.

I was so focused on the camera that I didn't notice what I had done until I took a step back and looked at the situation: the camera now obscures my license plate registration sticker, and that's going to make local law enforcement even grumpier than if I had blocked the light.

I have a stack of small thin aluminum sheets waiting for a project, and I decided to fashion a mounting bracket from one of them. I don't have real sheet metal cutters (it's on my tool shopping list) but this aluminum is barely thicker than kitchen foil and easily cut with diagonal cutters.

A test fit looks good, tucking the camera into the existing slot adjacent to the license plate light so I don't block the light.

Now the camera draws less attention and it doesn't block my registration sticker either. Looks great, I'll keep an eye to see how well it holds up long term. Onward to the next project.