Past Projects from the Ace Design Laboratory
Using the Honda motor from the Scooter, I created this oddball with pieces from a totally worn-out go-kart I bought in Santa Cruz. I designed the layout and frame, and a friend did the welding. On a dry lakebed, it was balanced enough to allow 4-wheel drifts and was a lot of fun. In 2004 the engine was pulled and the frame sold. I still have the little engine sitting on a shelf in the design lab. Who knows what it will power in it's next life.
After seeing kids on skateboards with chainsaw motors, I decided to see what I could do instead. I bought a little kids bike, built a frame from muffler tubing, and added a Honda CT-70 motor. Top speed was just under 60 mph! For more details, click on the picture.
I bought a '64 Beetle in the summer of 1978, and dad & I restored it in the backyard. In 1984, dented and primered and getting tired, it was transformed into a distinctive Baja Bug during a nine-day, one-man rebuild. For more details, click on the picture.
I was about 10 when I built this. A family friend held a weekend-long party every year out in the country. Faced with little to do, I started with a riding sulky (from a mowing tractor), added a scrap piece of 2x4 pine to hold plastic wheels from old lawn furniture, and used a length of clothesline for steering. The dirt road behind me went up a hill that was steep enough to give this dangerous toy some real speed. It was a hit with the other kids and the envy of the beer-drinking dads watching from the sidelines.