Prior to wine making, my main hobby was restoring '60's era cars. Mostly Fords and British sports cars. When we bought some property 2 years ago, I sold my 3/4 finished project car (Sunbeam Alpine with Ford V6) so I could focus on getting the property and the vineyard back in shape. With 4 grandchildren, I wanted something that we could putt around the property in, so I made a mini-jeep out of a riding lawn mower. To say that it has been a hit with the grandchildren is an understatement. They love riding in it, but the pedals make it so they won't be able to drive it for quite a while.
I want to do a follow-up project, one that the kids could easily drive by themselves. I've decided to make a mini Army tank. This is what I am using as the basis for this project, which I picked up 2 days ago. Some definite hurdles to overcome to use the drivetrain for this project; traction, ground clearance, uneven terrain, enough torque?
The unit is fully operational and I can tell has little use. It was a bargain @ $100. I stripped it down and wanted to convince myself that this was a good idea, before spending more time and money. While I would love to have it a track driven machine, I don't think I will go through that level of effort as the time/cost vs fun ratio probably isn't there, unless I have to do it to make the whole project useable.
The stripped down buggy is pretty fun to drive, I think the grandkids will have a blast. Plans are to get the mechanical squared away first. It will need new batteries and off road drive tires. I'm hoping I can get away with the front/rear tires as they are. If not, I am prepared to re-engineer it so is can navigate flat grass.
I've learned more about wheelchairs in the last few days than I thought I ever would. I was looking for a chair with a big wheel (14") because I knew it would be needed for traction. This had the unintended benefit of a chair that had bigger motors and batteries and this model in particular has coil-over suspension that will allow me to do some ride height adjusting. Besides a very expensive 4x4 wheelchair or one with tracks, this Quantum Q6 model ended up being the perfect choice...assuming it all works in the end.
I want to do a follow-up project, one that the kids could easily drive by themselves. I've decided to make a mini Army tank. This is what I am using as the basis for this project, which I picked up 2 days ago. Some definite hurdles to overcome to use the drivetrain for this project; traction, ground clearance, uneven terrain, enough torque?
The unit is fully operational and I can tell has little use. It was a bargain @ $100. I stripped it down and wanted to convince myself that this was a good idea, before spending more time and money. While I would love to have it a track driven machine, I don't think I will go through that level of effort as the time/cost vs fun ratio probably isn't there, unless I have to do it to make the whole project useable.
The stripped down buggy is pretty fun to drive, I think the grandkids will have a blast. Plans are to get the mechanical squared away first. It will need new batteries and off road drive tires. I'm hoping I can get away with the front/rear tires as they are. If not, I am prepared to re-engineer it so is can navigate flat grass.
I've learned more about wheelchairs in the last few days than I thought I ever would. I was looking for a chair with a big wheel (14") because I knew it would be needed for traction. This had the unintended benefit of a chair that had bigger motors and batteries and this model in particular has coil-over suspension that will allow me to do some ride height adjusting. Besides a very expensive 4x4 wheelchair or one with tracks, this Quantum Q6 model ended up being the perfect choice...assuming it all works in the end.
