Cheapest Camera mount ever and throttle linkage issue

[doublestuff]

So Sunday my friend Mike and I were to meet for breakfast and a little canyon-carving west of Boulder, CO in our Targas. I thought I would use the opportunity to test out my incredibly cheap camera mount (under $5!).



Just two pieces of L-bracket, using one of the existing trim screws in the targa bar to hold it in place. Maybe not a good permanent solution, and certainly not for a heavy camera, but I'm using a little Canon point-and-shoot (Powershot SD1000). The aim was a little off and will require some bending and/or re-positioning, but did I mention it was $5?

So I was waiting for Mike to get to the Original Pancake House, when he called and told me he had an issue. It seems that when he deactivated his cruise control the car went to idle and the accelerator pedal felt like there was no linkage anymore. Hm. After a few minutes of hunting highway 36, I found Mike and we scratched our heads collectively.



This was a problem that really required two people to analyze, as you can't see much of the throttle linkage from any one point on the car. My research later revealed the throttle linkage to be designed by a Mr. Rube Goldberg?

Anyway, we finally figured out that there is a loop of thick wire that attaches the linkage under the engine, and it popped off, probably on our bumpy Colorado roads. I guess the cruise control held the throttle open with it's separate linkage until Mike turned it off. Popped it back on and Mike bought pancakes (thanks Mike!).

So we were able to hit the canyons after all. It's a shame about the weather - not a cloud to be seen, low 80's in the mountains. Most of my pictures that were supposed to have Mike's car in the frame have my rear-view mirror instead (hey, give me a break, the mount was only $5!).





Jason