This weekend we are going in-car camera crazy!!!!

[GuidoThePenguin]

Friend of mine has finally got an in-car camera mount that will work with mine and a bunch of friends cars. Its not much more than a length of pipe that extends between the B-pillars.

But when mounted right, its as sturdy as anything, and gives up options for where to point the camera, out front window, out rear window, pointed at driver, pointed at driver and front window, etc.

And with 6 runs for each car, and the fact this weekends course will be over a mile long, with a long series of sloloms, a 1 cone tight hairpin, and the fact its probably gonna rain, we should be able to get LOTS of good shots! :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::bigg rin:

When I get them captured, I'll try to find a place to host. Maybe MercMobile wont mind hosting them to show everyone here.

[ssix]

Way to go! I am looking forward to seeing the footage. I know that I have had alot of fun playing around with mine at autocross events.

[Draxas]

go into a little more detail on the design of the bar. I want to duplicate it so I can setup something like it up in my car.



Nikolas

[GuidoThePenguin]

Well, that plan kinda went to the crapper. One guy's car (94 Must Cobra) had a fuel pump go bad and mine picked up a large nail between saturday night when I checked the tires and sunday morning when I was being teched. :cry:

We did however get 8 good runs with the last guy and his 98 GT. Most facing out front window in different directions. Then we had one pointing out back window (which can make you seasick :biggrin: ), one pointing at his dash showing speed and tach (he got up to 74 MPH!), and another showing the steering wheel and shifter.


The camera mount is kinda simular to shower curtain hangers. Its two 1/2 inch pvc pipes joined with a couple of C clamps and can extend and retract between the B-pillars along with a verticle pie that held it vertically to basically be wedged into the back. On the ends are large rubbery pads that are real sticky. There is also a small hole on the end peices where you can screw in a small bolt that helps hold it in place, but that we found really wasn't necessary. Once we put the mounts in place and wedged it out against the insides of the B-pillars, it was as steady as a rock.

Thee screw that holds camera goes in between the two horizontal pipes and can be moved back and forth along the two pipes inbetween the c-clamps, plus the hole mount can be rotated up and down.

Thee best thing about it is that with some quick loosening, it can be taken out of a car in under 30 seconds, and put into another car just as quickly.

The camera we used was a real light Digital 8 camera. All together, mount and camera, it weighed maybe 10 lbs.

I'll try to draw up a small diagram or get a couple of pictures of it, along with a pic of it in the car.

[Draxas]

Please get those pics, as I was thinking of doing something like that as well.... Basically getting some kind of bar or tube for the camera to mount to, and then on the ends of the bar/tube having some kind of strong suction cup that would attach to my rear windows.... I think the industrial type suction cups would work very well to keep the bar steady.


Nikolas

[EricF]

The easiest camera mount for our cars would be the style that uses the head rest posts.
Basically box aluminum(some people use wood, Two holes in the aluminum,(that the headrest posts fit into)
box aluminum extends to the center of the car, and camera mount is on end..
Although my plan is different since I have a harness bar in the rear, I plan on using that..of course
I need a camcorder before it even becomes a project.

[GuidoThePenguin]

Whats great about this camera mount is that you can adjust it to fit into other cars, especially ones that dont have detachable head rests.

Plus I've noticed during my runs that the passenger seats tends to bounce around alot, so that could make for a dizzying view.

[GuidoThePenguin]

Ok, here come the videos.

This is facing out rear window. Can make you a wee bit dizzy. (http://www.mdneco.com/autox/Tom3.mpg)
This was a fun run. Has a nice spin toward the end. :) (http://www.mdneco.com/autox/Tom7.mpg)
Good view of Tom working hard on the steering wheel and pedals. (http://www.mdneco.com/autox/Tom6.mpg)
Basic shot out front window. Gives a great idea of how course was setup, and how rough the airstrip can be. (http://www.mdneco.com/autox/Tom5.mpg)
This shows the tach and speedometer. Yes he really does hit 74 mph. (http://www.mdneco.com/autox/Tom4.mpg)

Thanks to MercMobile for hosting these. :):) :beer::smoke-t::smoke-g:

[ssix]

Nice videos, I love the sound of that engine. What kind of car is that?

[GuidoThePenguin]

98 Mustang GT 4.6l with extensive intake and exhaust mods. The exhaust doesn't have any catalytic converters on it, and it doesn't really have mufflers on it unless you count Flowmaster as a muffler.....

Basically, everything before the intake valves and after the exhaust valves has been modified.