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Pimp Your Powerwheels™ ...

Ok, so I love making my kid's toys more cool than mine EVER were. So I've decided to "Pimp" my son's Powerwheels Jeep. Below are some notes, pictures, and general silliness so you can follow along with our progress and failures, in no particular order...

The Jeep Safari 4x4 - All Tricked out... (UPDATED 19May2005)

UPDATE: Ok, the Jeep is as finished as I care to make it. We've got a working product, and it's cool looking as needed, but I've decided to drop some of the features from the list as being unneccesary, and for expediency.

#1 - No more brake lights. Not only was this hard to work, the kids had a tendancy to leave the switch on after they were done driving. Hard to keep batteries that way.

#2 - No more Off-road lamps. Again, kids leaving this on was a pain in the a$$.

#3 - No more kids. I finally got fed up with them leaving these lights on and sold them on the black market... j/k

#4 - I promise to put the other pictures up for everyone by the end of the week. I'm going to make a seperate photos page so this page doesn't take an hour to load.

#5 - Sign the guestbook or meet your maker. I want to see where everyone is coming from, and I've created a section in the forums for the powerwheels projects that everyone else is working on. Feel free to visit and post your thoughts and comments. Still taking bids for my children.....

ORIGINAL TEXT>>>

OK, So we started with this... Obviously it's screaming for some lovin' and attention...

Stock out of the box, this thing only does 2.5/5Mph, has non-gripping plastic wheels, a radio that is FAKE, a non-functional CB Radio, 12 Fake lights and non-functioning Key ignition. Also, it comes pre-equipped with (2) 6Volt DC 12 Amp Hour batteries to run it. (i.e. About 10 minutes of driving, and replacing the $60 batteries every year.

We're going to pimp-out the electrical system with a split 12V DC / 24V DC system. (For that added superiority when racing friends.)

Also, we're upgrading the batteries to (2) 12V 115 Amp-Hour Marine Trolling batteries, with Easy-Hookup Recharger built-in to the frame. No more of that lugging the batteries around to recharge them, and the kids can hook this thing back up to recharge simply by plugging the cord into the wall. No dangerous battery terminals, acid spills, or WOMD...

And here's the datasheet... Datasheet/specs

To view pictures, simply click on them, and it will open in full resolution on another page.

So far we've completely disassembled the Jeep, cleaned the various parts, and started the painting portion of the project. I'll try my best to describe each step / phase as we go along.

Here's a picture of the Body and frame separated. As you can see, most of the parts and accessories are still intact. We removed everything, scraped off the cheap decals, and cleaned everything with a secret mixture of soap and water.

Here's another picture of the frame and wheels & motors. As you can see, we're going to need to completely redo the entire electrical system. But seeing as how we are "pimping" our powerwheels, this is normal behavior. Say goodbye to these crappy 16 Gauge wires...

Now we begin the sanding / painting. We took the Roll-cage members off and sanded them down to remove any surface rust that was present. Then we applied chrome spray paint to the surface. Same for the front grille. We removed all the light covers and sanded everything smooth to accept paint. Then painted this chrome as well.

OK, here's a picture of the Body disassembled and ready for sanding and Base coat. We decided to mask off as much of the fake trim as we had the patience for to create a realistic vehicle look

TIME TO PAINT!!! Ok, we've got a picture here of the hood, already with a coat of the Base Paint. Duplicoat MetalCast Ground Coat. It's basically a light gray with metallic glitter in it. Anodized look? Who knows, but it's cool. Next we'll apply the final color coat.

And here's the final product. Here also is a picture of the Outside Doors. You'll need to remove them from the inside door panels to make this look good, as we're going to leave the interior black trim the same for the finished product.

Here's a picture of the back portion of the body and rear bumper all ready to go. They've been painted / chromed, and are ready for reassembly.

Here's a shot of the front section of the body and interior. Notice the 2-tone action going on there. I've managed to tape off most of the trim, and kept the interior Silver, while the outside is that Majestic Metallic Blue...

Of course, you'd want to see what was done with some of the accessories. I've cleaned and chromed the wheels, dash buttons, radio knobs, and rear antenna mounting bracket. You can also see a side view of the interior and doors.

OK, that's all I've got pictures of so far. More work left to be completed. It's time now to start modifying the electrical system. We're adding lights, brake-lights,(Cancelled - Too easy to be left on accidently by 5 year-olds) off-road lamps, (Still in the process, again, same problem with Brakes.) etc. I'll post the pictures as each section is completed. Hope this thing gets to take its maiden voyage sometime soon. Send me an e-amil with what you think. It only takes a moment or two, and it let's me get some more / better ideas for future projects.

Sign the guestbook! I like to see where everyone is coming from, so take 5 seconds and fill this out. (opens in a new page)

Also, feel free to discuss your powerwheels projects in the forums. There's a section completely dedicated to Powerwheels and modifcations there. (opens in a new page as well)

Comments? Questions? Feel Free to mail me... E-Mail Ryan

Remember, this service is provided to you for "free," so feel "free" to donate to support the project. Just click the donate button on the home page. If there's enough donations, my kids just might get to eat tonight...

NOTICE: I take no responsibility for anything you do or say, or the results thereof from this website. Don't try to do this at home. Don't hurt your kids. Seek professional help. Buy American.