5/31/2007: Marianne Has Completed "Homemade Auto"

Today I started out shopping for my supplies and calling friends and family for the things on the list that couldn’t be bought. Not one of my friends had a shrunken voodoo head though. So I was stuck not knowing what I was going to hang from the rearview mirror. I needed to get into MacGyver mode if I wanted to finish this task so I started rummaging around my house and garage and surprisingly came up with a good bit of things from the list.

Here’s what I used:

An action figure (1)
A Frisbee (4)
A shoe (2)
A banana peel (1)
A kitchen chair (1)
A rug (1)
A used syringe (10)
An umbrella (1)
A vase (1)
A potted plant (1)
A roll of electrical tape (6)
A length of rope (1 foot)
A printed copy of this task (1)
An 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper (2)
A leprechaun (1)
A box of Lucky Charms (1)
A pack of firecrackers (1)
A wagon (1)
A cardboard box (1)
A package of markers (1)


Here I am eating the banana so I can use the peel:




























I was pretty naive when I started this task. Did you know that the axles aren’t directly fastened to the base of an auto? I wish I would have known this before I wasted the 2x4’s. I decided that I would ask my father, who’s a mechanic, for some tips. I felt as though I was more than prepared to do this task.



Here are some things I learned today:
The planning and construction of an auto may be approached in many ways. The experienced wood craftsman will find the experience a great project and people who know nothing about autos (like me), may find it just a little challenging.

When I started out I had a good plan, however, cutting the pieces was a pain and just plain wrong for anyone to ever have to do. Had I thought of using a pencil to draw an outline, I might have had this one.

It’s been discovered over the years that autos with a longer wheelbase can be faster than shorter wheelbase autos. Had people not kept this a secret from me my auto would be faster.
Here’s a picture of me putting the tailpipe on:

It’s a delicate balance to keep your auto upright and through trial and error I have discovered that a helmet is an important element when test driving your auto.

The wheels are an important element in the auto. The biggest problem is that you must insure that the wheels roll smoothly, in a straight line and roll very easily. There isn’t much you can do to correct a bad wheel when there’s a time constraint. I have given up all hope and settled for roundish.
It is necessary to have a way to stop your auto something I did not think about until I was rolling.
Having used all newly acquired auto-making skills, this is what I came up with in this video clip:

Homemade Auto (Very High: 105.6 MB)