When I was a kid, the toy I wanted most in the world was my own Power Wheels car. I wanted one so bad that at one point I tried to sell everything I owned, which consisted of a few stuffed animals and random toys. I was willing to give up everything I had to get one of those Power Wheels. Sadly, my dream was never realized. I went through my child hood without ever knowing the thrill that comes with driving your own plastic car. Well a dad in England decided he wanted to give his two daughters a vehicle of their own to drive around. Only he didn’t go out and buy a Power Wheels car. Instead, he bought an old mobility scooter and turned it into an old United States Army Jeep!
He bought this Pride Victory VL8 off eBay for $50. It will serve as the base platform for the car he is building.
This Willy’s Jeep is what he used for inspiration for the design of the vehicle.
He used 12mm Marine Plywood to build the shell. He started with the floor.
Then he started adding a box to the back, and building the seat.
The front wheel arches and sides were next.
To make the sides, he cut 1 piece of plywood the entire length of the scooter, and to the maximum height that would be required. He then removed the wheels and attached it into position. He then used a series of dining plates, a dog bowl, and dumbbell weights to make the curves.
He made a hinged flat-bed for the Jeep as well. It will allow both his children to utilize the vehicle. He left an opening for access to the charging port.
Next it was time to deal with the steering. His goal was to use as many of the original scooter parts are possible so if he ever wanted to convert it back into a scooter it would be fairly simple.
He was actually able to rig it so a 30mm socket fit tight onto the original scooter steering stem.
This might actually work.
He was even able to snag a BMW steering wheel from a scrap yard for super cheap!
He even added a dashboard with buttons for the horn and directional indicators.
He added a manual break, but later he decided to take it out because it was too hard to press. He wants to add a better one in the future.
A simple piece of cardboard was used to the make the hood of the Jeep.
Another piece of a plywood was cut into the shape of the front end.
It was then time to paint the whole thing pink, per his children’s request.
This thing turned out great! His kids should be super happy!
More info: Instructables
This was an awesome project for this father. I’m sure getting his creative juices flowing was something he enjoyed. His daughters are definitely going to enjoy their new pink Jeep! A scooter seems to be the perfect base to build something like this on. They are pretty reliable, and can’t go fast enough for anyone to be any real danger. I’d be interested to see if he decided to make another one so each child has one.