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I wanted to try something new and something that demonstrated a more positive impact to the environment. Our story starts with the German made Kettler peddle car (Kettcar). I had previously purchased one for $20 or so and restored when the grandkids were no older than 4 or 5. When they approached 7 or so the need for speed took over (them or me, not sure which!) I liked the size of it and felt it would be easier to modify the frame rather than build from scratch. So I purchased a second Kettcar and the grandkids and I went to work on the disassembly.
With the parts off the frame we started sanding and cleaning with the wire wheel on the drill. You can see our first pedal car in the background of the picture on the right -- used for reference. I am placing a 3/4" pipe along side the frame to build strength and allow for a floor pan. This project was early in the development of my shop as you can only see a jointer and some wood stacked in the back.
The next step after deciding on the power setup (in this case 36 volt, was to orient the parts for frame placement and required fabrication. I figured that the projected 17-19 MPH (27-30 kph) was fast enough for a 7 to 8 year old. The parts bin on the right has the brushless motor and the control unit I picked up online. And on the left we can see the general placement of the motor (under the future seat). The wheels are el-cheapo $10 wheels with an el-cheapo bearing. But they are holding up (speeds are relatively slow, after all).
Here you see the floor pan installed using two new side pipes welded into the Kettcar frame along with the axle assembly consisting of the main sprocket, disc brake hub (from a bicycle), axle bearing pillow blocks, and keepers. I found some round 12 gauge steel that I used to mount the sprockets and make wheel hubs from the steel supply store in Minneapolis.
Making the parts was a family affair -- especially cutting steel, making the axle and painting the vehicle.
The kids even got their hands dirty with the welder.
Lots of steps completed from the last photos -- you can see a 1" seat riser pipe required to get the motor to fit, the batteries installed (front battery is in a battery box made from a finger (box) brake in the right picture. We used the brake to bend the center cover which also contains the starter switch, battery meter, and forward/reverse controls as seen in base steel and in completed Papi livery. Not entirely clear but the seat has about 6"/150mm of fore/aft adjustment.
Here we are with the completed product. Here you can see the brake and accelerator pedals. The brake pedal (grabbed from a go kart company somewhere) is connected to the bicycle cable and to the disc brake assembly under the seat. The accelerator pedal came along with the control unit which is housed in the center console. On the right you can see the center console controls and the sprocket cover plate (don't want pig tails to get caught in anything!). The yellow handle is an emergency brake in case the disc unit fails -- it simply forces the steel rod on the left rear axle to rub on the tire. Old skool, but functional. The last thing I added was a seat belt off my '67 Chevelle. Safety first. The go kart does decent donuts too!
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