$5 Dollar Camera Mount for Race Car-Flip camcorder.

Here's various pictures of the camera mount that I made for the Flip camera in the Sprite. This cost less than $5 and was *supposed* to be temporary. Haha....you know how that goes. I still would like to make a nicer one when I get the time......this one is pretty cheesey but it *does* work well.

The mount attaches to my left front roll bar (in my cage) using a "U-bolt" (or muffler clamp). A piece of soft aluminum (about 1/8" thick) holds the body of the mount to the U-bolt. The body of the mount is made with an old, plastic, 15 oz shampoo bottle. I use VO5 (for "normal" hair), but you're free to use whatever you like. ;-)

The bottle is tall and skinny and the Flip camera will fit inside it (once the top is cut off). I cut a hole for the lens on the forward side and a more square hole in the rear to see the monitor (for aiming). Since the bottle is a bit too big for the Flip, I cut down one side and made a slight overlap so that the camera would fit more snug. The overlap is held together with black Gorilla "duct tape". The bottle is held to the aluminum with small screws and washers. Two holes in the aluminum are used to hold it to the U-bolt. I bend the aluminum to get the best aim. I've added a bit of foam to the bottom of the bottle, plus some foam around the top to hold the camera a bit better. You could also add a mini-bungy cord to the top, but the camera in mine fits tight so it's not really needed. I usually pull up ot False Grid and turn the camera on when the five minute whistle sounds. Then I slide it into the mount (it's easier to turn on when you're holding it). Batteries last at least three sessions.

I'd be the first to admit that it's ugly and primitive.......or maybe it's just elegantly simple :-)

For movie editing, I use Windows Moviemaker: a free program that's already in most newer Windows computers.

~Pictures from my early days in motorsports (late '60s / early '70s).