Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Dash Cam. / Rear View Mirror

I have never been a big fan of Dash Cams but am starting to think they may be a necessary evil.After much searching I came across what I think is one of the smallest - the Garmin Mini -

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/621281

This has no in-built screen ,rather you view the footage first on your ‘phone via the Garmin App and then transfer to computer if required.Small as it is ,I still couldn’t find space to fit it centrally to the Aero with the current rear view mirror in place.

As standard ( I understand) my S1 was fitted with the ginormous BMW black plastic, rearview mirror which jarred with the rest of the interior IMHO.

I purchased a neater,Stainless Steel version from ‘Heart of England’ but was not keen on the black plastic fitting which covered the windscreen mount.I did make an alloy cover for this but wasn’t entirely pleased with the result.

At the MOG event at the Malvern show ground a couple of years back,I bought the latest Morgan Aero Racing factory version which has a circular, brushed Stainless Steel fitting and looks much better I feel.

Unfortunately ,I have never been able to tighten the mirror up sufficiently to stop it ‘wobbling’ at different speeds/revs (plus, it fell off couple of times and had to be re-glued ) .I tried padding it out with various bits of packing but was never entirely happy with the result.

So the search was on to come up with an alternative method of fitting a suitable rear view mirror.A fellow TM’er made up a bracket from the windscreen frame and affixed a mirror to this (sorry,I can’t now find the link….) but I thought it looked the part.

I sorted through my bits box to see if a suitable bit of SS or aluminium bar was fit for making a similar bracket but any pieces I had looked too thin and would (I suspect) have vibrated too much.

A trawl of Amazon resulted in these -



which are ‘cheap and cheerful’ replacement motorcycle brake and clutch levers .They are billet aluminium which is then anodised.

A lot of measurement and head scratching plus the mini angle grinder and a few deft file strokes resulted in this -



I didn’t like the anodised finish on the original lever much so removed it (with some soda solution) then machine polished it all to a mirror finish.The original mirror I bought was fitted to the end ,complete with ball and socket adjustment and secured with a cap head ,polished bolt.



Fitting has involved a drilled hole to the top of the windscreen surround (stainless steel and very, very hard!) and a countersunk ,button head s/s bolt.The shape of the bracket holds it firmly in place even with only one bolt and the resultant mirror is rock solid….result!

I quite like the look of the three drilled holes in the bracket as I think they compliment the steering wheel



Interior view ^

The Garmin Dash Cam. now fits neatly behind the new mirror arrangement and seems to record well .It is wired via the ignition switched Live and has a seperate on/off switch so it can be disabled if/when necessary.It works very well and is ,I think, as discrete as these things can be…….




Front view ^

Too much time on my hands methinks - blame lockdown.........

James

Very neat indeed. I have been using a dash cam in the Plus 4 on occasions as an action cam more than anything else but a year back I fitted one to the Jag after hearing of a couple of faked accidents that had been set up by people throwing themselves across the bonnet when a car was stopped at a pedestrian crossing.

I was pleased to be able to use a film clip to show that I had been stopped for several seconds when I was hit from behind and pushed into the car in front. It stopped any discussion that I had run into the car in front before being hit from behind.

James....creative and stunning execution of your rear view mirror....it looks like it was designed, and manufactured, professionally....(that is intended as a compliment!)

Well done!

Tom

Very innovative and impressive.

+1 Flippin' excellent job, well done!

Nice work James!

Very impressive James..beautiful detail !!!

Love the Smart car..I had a Smart Brabus 10 year ago..loved it..flappy paddle gear box..childish but fun dump valve...every trip felt like 100 mph !!!

I love your interior. Very tastefully done.

- thanks for the kind comments chaps



Smart car is a hoot Kev.

It 'may' have a dump valve and been breathed on......

The electric roof is a work of art compared to another well known marque

James