If there’s anything true about kids, they love driving around in go-karts and those little battery-run cars, so one father decided to turn his son’s boring old pedal go-kart into a small electric car that might even outpace a real one.
Indeed, remembering his childhood dream of having a vehicle that he could drive himself, Matto Godoy took his kid’s go-kart and transformed it into a ‘deathtrap’ as he called it (“powerful and dangerous, and therefore, super fun electric car”), sharing the entire process on his website.
Tools and requirements for the kid’s electric car
To begin, Godoy first assembled the list of basic requirements, which covered an electric motor and enough power to run it, small proportions (to suit a child), a speed limiter, support for two driving modes – manual and radio-controlled, all-terrain endurance, and inflatable tires.
The necessary equipment included a go-kart for a child between three and six years old, a 16mm thick MDF wood base cut to a specific size and shape to fit the kart and support the motors, pedals, battery, and electronic box on top, a and a Hoverboard (for the motors).
Also, he needed motor controllers (such as this one), a 36v 10Ah battery with a discharge protection system, two voltage converters, wheels (can be the regular wheelbarrow wheels for the front ones and 4.10/3.50-5 for the rear wheels), and a rubber mallet to attach the wheels.
Godoy also used a HotRC CT-6A radio control, lights (powerful front white light and a rear red position light), pedals that allow progressive acceleration and braking, a potentiometer for the manual mode, and a three-position switch for the radio control mode.
Finally, he employed direction control (a switch behind the steering wheel for the manual mode and a button on the remote in the radio-controlled mode), an Arduino Nano (for the ‘brain’), a diagram, and the source code based on Arduino using PlatformIO for development, which has a debugging function allowing you to see the inputs and outputs on the computer screen.
Making the children’s electric supercar
After the preparations, it was time to begin building the car, the process of which the author shared in a series of photographs and videos (in Spanish).
He placed all the electric components in a waterproof box, which “fits perfectly under the seat.”
Then, it was time to install the rear motors for which he used the Hoverboard’s original supports because of their robustness and ease of use.
Next, Godoy installed the pedal go-kart structure on the wooden floor and the front wheels.
Finally, he added the seat, and his kid’s electric car was ready to go.
All things considered, this project is a fun way to make a cool present for your kid, which they’ll love to drive around (under supervision, of course). If you’d like to build another nice thing for the little ones, you may want to try making a modern version of Etch-A-Sketch, while the slightly older ones might appreciate the plasma tube made from a kombucha bottle.
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