CONTINUED,...
I like how the paint job turned out, but I do wish I would have put some Bondo in a couple of spots. Everyone who sees it is amazed, but all I see are the extremely obvious and hard to miss flaws. I did need to get this one done in time for Christmas, but the difference a little Bondo would have made in the final results would have been worth a few more hours of missed sleep (a lesson learned, and a warning to those who think they are in a really big hurry -- slow down and do it right).
F E A T U R E S :
1. Working DVD Player, USB and Audio in jack
2. A pair of 4-way 6x9 speakers
3. Headlights, Fog Lights and Rear Lights (thanks again Kev)
4. Working Dash Board Lights and Sounds
5. Of Course 18 volts for the car, with a 12 volt tap.
How did I get the Dash lights and sounds to work without the original radio? Well I purchased a second Mustang after I started this build and while the stock radio worked fine it was a cosmetic disaster. So since I had the spare radio from the project car I just switched the two and mounted the ugly duck radio under the hood. So now I can connect the dash LED’s to it and keep all of the cool engine sounds, while still having a real fully working car radio (sweet!!).
Another big thanks to HotWheels for the inspiration to add a radio. Laughs – No I did not loose my mind in regards to cost of putting in a DVD player into a toy car. Wal-Mart had two different models that were on clearance. Both were under $100 and the one I got only cost $80. The radio I was originally going to put in was a store display/box opened/demo unit for $60 at Best Buy, so I figured for another $20 I could add a DVD player and really make the system stand out (I am pretty sure no other kid in our town will have a DVD player for some time) . I am very glad I went that route (big smile). My grandson’s all loved it (it was a big hit on Christmas day), but more importantly my wife loved it. It’s moments like this that are really starting to get her on board with the entire “Ride-On Thing” (which is good for our marriage – smile).
Words of warning for anyone looking to mount a real radio: Get round speakers, keep them under 6 inches and if they have a slim profile model in a decent price range they are worth paying a little more for. I know it is hard to see but there is a black ring between the silver grill covers of the speakers and the car. The black rings are spacers that I had to add in order to move the speakers far enough out so the magnets would fit inside the fire wall.
Using a slim line speaker smaller than 6x9 would have saved me hours of work easily (cutting, sanding and painting and lining up the screw holes in the space). Also the 6x9’s barely fit (a really tight squeeze – trust me, just go smaller). The antenna also from Wal-Mart and I think it is perfect for our applications. It is a black (goes with any color scheme) rubber (bends and does not break) antenna and is only about 8 inches long. It looks like it was designed to be on the car (check out one of the photo’s from the rear to get a good look at it --- it’s on the left/driver side).
It gets good reception, but my grandkids where always listening to MP3 files from the SD card (yes, a SD and USB drive come on the radio) or a DVD so I doubt they will every notice or care that there is a working radio in the car.
Overall I like the finished product and I learned a ton that I will use on my next build (this is the first time I have touched the original electrical system or added any additional electronics’). Another word of advice to a newbie,…. Don’t try to do everything on your first build. First learn how to use Bondo, then just paint a car or two. Next add more speed or reverse the process and do speed first. The point is you will do a better job if you take your time, tackle one or two things and really understand what you are doing instead of trying to do it all at once and getting in over your head.
Happy Holiday’s
Racer X
