1969 Hybrid Pinto Vega

The Pinto/Vega bodystyle wouldn’t be my first choice for style and maybe that’s why hybrids didn’t catch on in 1969! Click through to read the old Pop Sci article. - Link
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Will it run? Tulsa to dig up car buried for 50 years

What do you think makers, will it run?
“Organizers of a coming-out party for a buried 1957 Plymouth Belvedere could use some help.
The car, which was buried in brand-new condition under the lawn of the Tulsa County Courthouse in 1957, is scheduled to be unearthed June 15 as part of the Oklahoma Centennial.
Promoters are looking for people who helped lower the car into its crypt in 1957 to perhaps shed some light on what to expect when the car is unearthed.
There’s speculation the car may have turned into a pile of rust. Or that it’s in pristine condition and worth thousands of dollars.
Sharon King Davis, who has chaired Tulsa’s centennial efforts, looked at photos of the people responsible for burying the car in 1957 and found her grandfather.” - Link.

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Aero cars and motos mods

Here’s a cool collection of cars, scooters and motor bikes modded to squeeze out more miles per gallon by reducing drag - Link.

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Cafe Pique Nique - Mobile Barrista

Dan writes -
“This is a maker’s maker’s maker. As found outside the cafeteria of a national lab in Tsukuba, Japan, this is a 60’s VW Van converted into a mobile barrista. Note the homey details on the inside (wooden decks, tiled counters) and the generally comfortable feeling that it evokes. A fantastically clever mixture of japanese efficiency and european design. And it makes excellent coffee! Good coffee is still tricky to find in Japan, so I’m doubly in love with it. “ - Link.

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Scooter hack

My friend I-Wei sent this one in - wow!
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Open Source at 90 MPH

BusinessWeek asks, can we build an open source car?
“Inspired by Linux, the OScar project aims to build a car by tapping the knowledge of a volunteer team. It won’t be an easy ride, but their journey is important…
So here’s a question: Can open-source practices and approaches be applied to make hardware, to create tangible and physical objects, including complex ones? Say, to build a car?” - Link.
There are hundreds of open source hardware projects going on - just as complex or more so than cars. But cars go on roads, require approvals, it’s a little more than making an open source hardware arduino project. The hot-rod culture shared everything and it was completely common to build a car from scratch in many enthusiast communities in the 50s, that is still going on today.
Here’s a DIY Fuel Injection Conversion using open source engine management - Megasquirt is an affordable, open-source, DIY […]

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Neuroti-Kart - Homemade electric cart

Wires99 writes -
“This is the Neuroti-Kart. (PsychoKart was taken) Homemade electric go-Kart. Design goals: electric powered, quiet, fast, capable of doing donuts in my street. Home run! “ Thanks Gnomic! - Link.
Powered by 4 12 volt car batteries and the frame was made from Home Depot gas pipes… Nice work.
Related:

Build your own street legal kart - Link.
HOW TO - Make your own go kart - Link.

From the pages of MAKE:

Made on Earth. Reports from the world of backyard technology, including a shopping cart go-kart, the “Solar Death Ray,” a demolished house sculpture, a gas tank bass instrument, and some seriously big speakers. MAKE 03 - Page 16. Subscribers–read this article now in your digital edition!

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3 speed chainsaw belt driven scooter

GadgetmanKen writes -
“I built a gas powered inverted push scooter using a chainsaw for a motor, two customized pulleys, and v-belt. I later added patios instead of the foot pegs and an aluminum cover for the rear end. It worked great and my son would go about thiry miles an hour, and me being almost three times his weight went about 10-15 mph…” - Link.

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Strange 4-legged Scooter

This 4 legged scooter is one of the strangest transportation devices I’ve ever seen. I wish I knew what this is about exactly-it looks like maybe a Japanese funny videos or candid camera show.
If you look closely, it appears that each leg is guided by two wheels. I’m guessing the front wheel controls the leg’s up/down motion, and the rear wheel controls the angle. If they are slightly out of phase, it should make the relatively smooth stride that you see. I don’t know for sure if that’s how it works, but it’s my best guess from a quick napkin sketch (and it seems like I’ve seen something similar before in a lego robot).
Anyone have a better idea of how this thing works or a link to a robot that walks in this manner? [via] - Link.
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Mystery solar powered-mobile spotted

Chris writes -
“I just took this pic as I was walking down the street here in Palo Alto. This Maker has built an electric 3-wheel transport device, and he/she is charging it as it sits parked in the street! I don’t know who it is….”
This thing is awesome. Ok, Makers - let’s see if we can figure this out — any ideas?
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Nifty Parallel Parking Device

Here’s a really intuitive parallel parking system designed by 5 seniors at the University of Toledo.
“Our project is to build a parallel parking that is to attach a device to the rear underbody of a car. The concept is to first park only the nose of the car into a parking spot, then having hydraulics lift the rear end of the car into the air, then slide the rear sideways into the parking spot, and then lowering the rear of the car.”
They’ve shared pictures and comments about the progression of the project on their blog. The prototype took about 6 weeks to put together and it appears to work really well. I like it because it’s a much simpler solution than the fancy autopilot systems that are creeping into luxury cars now. [via] - Link.
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Origami Boat

“Origami boat is a light folding dinghy for sailing fun.
Almost three meters long, Origami boat carries one adult and its extreme lightweight structure makes it exciting to sail. Afterwards it folds up into a flat pack to the same size as a windsurf board…”
It’s pretty short on details, but the imagination is tall. Matteo Signorini designed the Origami Boat as part of his industrial design engineering course. What’s pretty cool is that he was able to model different designs with paper first, before building out the full-sized prototypes with sheet plastic. [via] - Link.
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Modded Model-T

MAKE Flickr photo pool member citifiedplainsman writes - “My father and his two brothers traded a .22 cal pistol for a Ford Model T and commenced to modify it into a prairie “dune buggy”. It originally had an old baler motor and two transmissions. It was a lot of fun when I was growing up. “ - Link.

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Mysterious boat - Update: Solved

A MAKE reader sent in this interesting boat, it seems to be a bit of a mystery, anyone know more? Just…eD writes - “Here is a boat photographed by someone near Ilwaco, WA. The crew was dressed as civilians but would not say a word about the boat or where they were from.” - Link.
Update: That was fast, MAKE reader Waykohler points to this page that has all the details - Link.
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