Car-bor Freight! A thought exercise.

So a while back I had an idea..  a thought question more precisely.  A profound one at that.  

Could you build an entire Car or Kart from the typical inventory of a local Harbor Freight?   

What parts would you use?  How much would it cost?  Could you make it electric?  How fast would it be?  

They have all kinds of wheels, bearings, structural (ish) steel spread out around their stores.   Obviously any tool you could need is available.  

Think junkyard wars but instead of the junkyard it's a Harbor Freight.  

I can figure out almost everything except brakes (a clutch would be complicated also).   I can't figure out a HF tool or equipment that would have a functional brake.  Old school friction brakes would probably be the name of the game using sand paper or other abrasives but maybe there is something I am not thinking of.  

Challenge subclass?

Discuss.  

Hand-brake? https://www.harborfreight.com/14-piece-hydraulic-punch-driver-kit-56411.html

Brakes can be an external band on a drum made of something.  Rental karts used to have brakes like that.  It can be steel on steel.  Make a C shape, anchor one end, pull with cable with the brake pedal.  Anchor it correctly and it will self energize.

More fancy, there was a concept for bicycle brakes along those lines about 30-40 years ago where the rim had a second channel and the brake cable pulled a Kevlar strip across it.  (This is not as crazy as it sounds, and I guess Kevlar has the added appeal of getting HIGHER friction when wet)  One could mimic this with a cable or a belt pulled by a cable.

Motor... you could use a generator to power an electric motor to get around the transmission issue.  Maybe raid a welder to get power level control.

Harbor Freight has a mill/drill and a lathe that could be used to make things from lumps of metal pulled from many of their other products... I'd think that could open up some possibilities for somebody who knows what they're doing with them.

Leather harvested from gloves might make adequate friction material. The English did it...wait, still do?

I think it would have to be a kart. I don't see cobbling together a powerplant with enough output for a car. 

In reply to Nockenwelle :

Leather could probably be used for some friction dampers also. 

They do sell 26hp Vtwins, and electric leaf blowers that move 600+cfm at some >atmospheric PSI.   I bet we could figure out something.  ..  with 2-4 of those.  

But a kart would be easier for sure.  I'm not sure how many Gs trailer tires can pull either.  

In reply to Driven5 :

They also sell things that make fire, and loose abrasives.  We probably could bake some ceramic brake pads.  I've seen that Tick Tok before.

I'm loving these ideas 

With this idea wearing out your brakes wouldn't be the safest thing you've ever done, but: there are plenty of disc shaped friction materials at harbor freight-and plenty of hydraulic items that could become calipers......

Having recently been given permission from the wife to build a predator powered vehicle, this thread is Relevant to my interests. 

A cart would be considerably easier to cobble together, but seeing how easily a 6.5hp predator can be adapted to a 5 speed transmission, it's definitely been getting my wheels spinning. 

Brakes... eh, just use the throttle on the motor? Or a digging bar, be a good substitute for a hydraulic e brake.

My plan is something with a bench seat, 5 speed, and bad motor. Strip it to the frame and firewall, buy the clutch adapter and a chain, and go to town. Leave the brakes from whatever gets sacrificed in place. 

Go cart I had as a kid used a lever and a spring to apply pressure to the belt which then drove the axle. No transmission needed.

In reply to lownslow :

The CVTs in side-by-sides today still have a belt that slips.

Part number 19665 is called a "brake assembly" for their 12,000 lb. Winch. Not sure exactly how those work, but maybe a few of those could stop your car?

A 4x8 trailer would be a suitable frame, and the predator V-twin is a perfect power plant.

I don't think you need to worry about a clutch or chain drive or any of the other go-kart parts they don't stock. It should be pretty easy to rig up a belt drive with a lever-actuated tensioner and a few pulleys. Steal those parts from a drill press. Pull the lever to tension the belt and go, then release it to disengage the drive and stop. 

re: electric cart w/ HF stuffs...

I feel like the 80v 4Ah / 40v 8Ah batteries have potential for powering something... particularly if wired in parallel?

doing a quick look... I wonder about deconstructing one (four? -- that'd be pretty expensive) of the Atlas Mowers and using the brushless motor from spinning the blade for motive force instead of 'beating diminutive green foliage into submission force'?

I don't think one of their 'agricultural'/'compressor' motors is the way to go.  but, there's not really enough info on the mower motor to know what it can handle.

Chainsaws come with engine, clutch, and chain... seems like a head start.

I'm surprised they sell these two items, but no clutch to go with it:

Tom Suddard said:

Part number 19665 is called a "brake assembly" for their 12,000 lb. Winch. Not sure exactly how those work, but maybe a few of those could stop your car?

A 4x8 trailer would be a suitable frame, and the predator V-twin is a perfect power plant.

I don't think you need to worry about a clutch or chain drive or any of the other go-kart parts they don't stock. It should be pretty easy to rig up a belt drive with a lever-actuated tensioner and a few pulleys. Steal those parts from a drill press. Pull the lever to tension the belt and go, then release it to disengage the drive and stop. 

4x8 trailer? I was thinking a hand truck laid on its back for the chassis.

Keith Tanner said:

Tom Suddard said:

Part number 19665 is called a "brake assembly" for their 12,000 lb. Winch. Not sure exactly how those work, but maybe a few of those could stop your car?

A 4x8 trailer would be a suitable frame, and the predator V-twin is a perfect power plant.

I don't think you need to worry about a clutch or chain drive or any of the other go-kart parts they don't stock. It should be pretty easy to rig up a belt drive with a lever-actuated tensioner and a few pulleys. Steal those parts from a drill press. Pull the lever to tension the belt and go, then release it to disengage the drive and stop. 

4x8 trailer? I was thinking a hand truck laid on its back for the chassis.

I went looking for a barstool cart, which I found:

But the funny part is that the stool they're using is apparently the same one HF sells, so you should be able to get pretty darn close:

HF should do a build like this during SEMA.