Man Sticks Power Washer Engine In Barbie Power Wheels Car To Keep Gas Budget In Check
Many drivers are fuming about high gas prices these days, while others are getting creative. Mali Hightower picked a Power Wheels toy out of the trash and turned it into a fuel-efficient runabout for local errands, reports Reuters.
The donor "vehicle" is a bright pink Power Wheels Barbie Dream Camper. Hightower did a reverse EV conversion, grafting the body onto a go-kart frame and adding a small power washer engine to drive it. He is a man of taste who also owns a Mercedes-Benz convertible, but now has to spend $90 to fill it up with premium gas. His Barbie camper costs closer to $3 to fill.
This is no minimalist build, either. Most go-karts are built for speed, but Hightower designed this one to run local errands, so it has enough cargo space to for small grocery runs. I used to regularly fit at least a few days of groceries into my motorcycle's saddlebags, so that's not much of a stretch. He's equipped it with lights, the extremely important sound system, and a tablet to serve all his infotainment needs. It even has a four-point harness, because safety third. His Barbie camper is better equipped than our farm truck, and uses a lot less gas.
Desperate times call for desperate measures
Is it street legal? Probably not. Do we care? Definitely not. Everything's too expensive these days anyway, and this level of junkyard picking is a great way to keep tinkering with cars when even complete basketcases fetch four digits on Facebook Marketplace. They say one man's trash is another man's treasure, and Hightower embodies this way of thinking with creations like this.
If I was going to build a similar grocery getter, I'd forget about gas altogether and keep it electric. I'd certainly upgrade its batteries and motors for more speed and range, and possibly the gears to handle the extra power. I'd make some of the same upgrades as Hightower for storage, lights, and music, and put a "Knight Rider" scanner light on the front just for fun. Since I'm not living it these days, I'd recharge this creation using the 600 watts of solar panels on my camper van's roof. Not only would I skip paying for gas, but the electricity would be free, too.
If I'm honest, though, my favorite custom kart of all time is the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe hot rod by Cars and Cameras. These are the same people who stuffed a Harley-Davidson 1200 engine into a go-kart, but I prefer the Cozy Coupe because it's the classic hot rod formula of front engine, rear-wheel drive, utterly ludicrous, and the ultimate evolution of the little kid's toy.