Thread: Grandkids Coaster Car build.

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Here’s the build thread for my grandkids Tot Rod. I figured this would be a good project for my oldest grandson and me and with any luck we will end up with something all three of the grandkids can enjoy for quite a while and it should let me spend some quality time working with my grandson.

I recently came across a few pictures of wheelbarrow based coaster car and that got the gears spinning. Looking at all the stuff I had laying around in the iron pile, I figured we should be able to do this for very little out of pocket so I raised the idea with my grandson and we got started on it last weekend.

The first order of business was to settle on a design and getting the raw materials together. At first it was going to be a basic T Bucket design, but it has kind of evolved into a roadster pickup. The plan is to do the basic body first which will dictate how the frame and suspension will be laid out. The plan is to initially use it as a coaster car but build it so that at some point it can be motorized (either with a gas engine or possible electric).



We laid out the wheelbarrow and gas tank to get an idea of proportions last week. I had Cade do most of the measuring and math to figure centerlines etc. He’s still a little young yet to turn him loose with the cutoff tools and welder so during the week I spent a few hours making the cuts bending and welding.







I had originally wanted to make a rounded nose for the front of the hood (using a curved section from the galvanized blower housing) but that didn’t work out too well. For now I just built a flat plate and may leave it like that.

That left what to do for the pickup bed, so another trip to the iron pile where I pulled the case off an old air conditioned.





After trimming the case down, both in height and width, it was set up next to the rest of the body. We ended up with the open side down and the closed side up and it being a little taller than the seat area for a couple of reasons. The height was dictated by the engine we may use, and if I’d turned it over the louvers would have been upside down and funneled water into the bed rather than keeping it out.


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I’ve had this old 2 cycle engine sitting on the shelf for several years always figuring it would make a good project to start teaching Cade about engines. At some point we will try to get it running (it has good compression and spark) and see if it has enough steam to move the car under its own power.

This Sunday we spent drilling some holes and installing nutserts on a few parts we will want to make removable. Cade got to use the hand-drill and drill press for the first time (under some close supervision) and see how a few more things work.






And then we cut some cardboard templates for the sides and the seat area that I’ll cut out and weld in sometime this week.

Then of course there was some more test fitting to be done LOL.




It’s a bit crude looking, but we’re getting there and having a lot of fun in the process. The real payoff for today was Cades comment that “I’m learing a bunch of stuff”.



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Looks good. Only thing I ever got to do at that age which my father helped on was a bicycle. Me and my brother had cut the support for the rear tire to attempt to set a 24" tire in the 20" frame.. My dad gave us some guidance and welded the support back on for us. we ended up hanging a set of 26" road bike forks on it, and running a 12" front wheel for a cheap mini chopper. orig forks cut down and welded behind the seat serving as a sissy bar.. I still have it, and I do ride it from time to time.

Super cool, Mike!! I've found that my grandson's are quiet when we're doing something, but when their Grandma comes home she says our "projects" are the first thing they talk about. Good memories last a lifetime, and lessons learned on gettin' it done are priceless! Great job, Grandpa!

That looks awesome,Mike..You have great vision..And it's good to see your grandson getting into the build,too..He's a lucky young man..Looking forward to seeing the finished article..

This is great, Mike!!! I love the creativity involved in taking stuff from the junk pile and turning into something really cool!! That's art!! Great fun for you & the grandson, plus all the rest of us who get to watch the process!
They say, "One man's junk is another man's treasure." I say, "A creative guy can turn his own junk into treasure with a little innovative thinking...."

Thanks for sharing!!
Randy

Good on ya Mike!
I never had that sort of mentoring; one of my Grand-dads died many years before I was born, and the other died soon after I was born, so I never knew them.
And my Dad's toolbox contained a screwdriver, hand-saw, hammer, and an eight-inch crescent spanner.
It was he who taught me "Turn to the right, screw me tight," 'cos he had to say it to himself whenever he picked the crescent up.

Your grandson's going to learn heaps of practical things that will stay with him all his life...and that's a HUGE legacy you're leaving him.
Something no money could ever buy.

Will you be my Grand-dad?
Please?



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Somehow those pics of you and Cade working together just get to me................

These are great pics and a cool project! A good lesson in repurposing of materials. That is why I find it hard to throw anything away!

Mike thanks for sharing this thread. I too think it's a great project. It will teach him all sorts of stuff from repurposing to mechanical skills and engineering. But best of all you'll have some great times working together, and leave a legacy of memories for him. Using a gas can ac case and wheel barrel was very clever too! Will enjoy watching this build.

To have a man of your talent instructing a youngster is just about as good as it gets.

I think the best pic is of you guys at the drill press, if you look close you can see his safety glasses are waaaayyy behind his ears... priceless!!!

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for all the positive responses guys. I don’t know who is enjoying this more, me or Cade (my Granddaughter Elise still just wants to drive it LOL).

Nice catch on the glasses 34_40. He’s so small I couldn’t find any new safety glasses that really fit him well. Those are actually my very first pair of safety glasses from High School shop class that somehow survived all these years. The lenses are a bit scratched up but they fit snug on his face and he’s very good about wearing them. I’m generally pretty good about wearing mine too but even more so when he’s around.

I like it just as good as a hot rod build and as said grandson will remember this for ever .

That one picture is just so Norman Rockwell (ish)... for me. The glasses say it all!

Too Cool.