We've heard of dads helping their Cub Scouts build a pinewood derby car, but adding .6 HP motor, 10" rims, and a reinforced steel assembly to Power Wheels is a whole other matter. Burgess' 5-year-old son Evan loved his Lightning McQueen racer so much, he drove it until the wheels fell off -- literally. Instead of kicking the car to the curb, Burgess used the opportunity to teach Evan some skills, giving it upgrades worthy of an episode of Overhaulin'.
Wired Design spoke with Sean Burgess to hear more about the project.
__Wired Design: What inspired you to take this on? __
__Sean Burgess: __There are a few things that kicked off the modification process. Evan always wanted to help work on the cars at the shop. Sometimes he would help me work on my own car. After three years of use the plastic wheels had holes worn in them.
Wired Design: By the shop, we assume you mean "FFTEC Motorsports" from the titles of the video. What do you do there?
Burgess: FFTEC Motorsports modifies high-performance vehicles for competition use. Our focus is primarily BMW, Mitsubishi, and Porsche. We also have our own product lines for these cars and we manufacture them in-house.
Wired Design: How much of the mechanics did you let Evan do?
__Burgess: __Evan was heavily involved.... During the project he learned how to use many of the tools around the shop under close supervision.
Wired Design: What was the most challenging part of the build?
__Burgess: __The new front subframe is quite elaborate. The original front assembly was very flimsy and didn't take well to the higher speeds and the extra grip of the new rubber tires. The new front subframe and steering assembly was fabricated from steel and incorporates racing go-kart components.
__Wired Design: Evan must be the Dale Earnhardt Jr. of his playground. Were you concerned about the safety of building a car that could go that fast? __
__Burgess: __Evan is an extremely well-behaved and eager-to-learn child. He has been driving since he was two years old, giving him three years of driving experience. He is also not allowed to drive his car without my supervision. I live in a court, so oncoming cars aren't an issue. The car isn't as fast as many people would believe and is only marginally faster than him riding his bike.
Wired Design: What will Evan's next project be?
__Burgess: __We are going to continue adding features to his current car. Some of his friends are pretty jealous and it looks like we are going to have to build a few more of these shortly. You should see how jealous my friends are!
