1 Gig Flash Drive Mini Cooper

Flip plug USB flash drive keeps this Mini looking stock when not connected.

Step 1 Supplies!

I've made several Hot Wheels/ Matchbox Flash drives, and with all of them I've tried to keep the plug hidden when not in use. The wow effect is kind of spoiled when you've got a USB plug sticking out the back of the car that at scale would be the size of a bookcase. Fortunately companies keep coming up with smaller drives and ways to hide/ retract the plug.

When I saw this little dude, I knew it would fit nicely in something. The working parts are contained entirely in the plug.

So, you will need:

OCZ Roadster (appropriate, eh?) flash drive. I think these go up to 4 gig; this one's 1 gig.

Update: I was recently thinking of making another one, and found that this flash drive is no longer made! I couldn't find anything like it. Bummer!

Matchbox/ Hot Wheels car. I just took the drive to the store and held it up to various cars until I found one that fit. Turns out, the Mini's perfect.

Tools

Drill with a 3/16 bit
X-acto knife
Jeweler's saw, a cutoff wheel in a Dremel might work
A fine file, a set of needle files is a great investment for this sort of stuff
Hot Glue Gun, What else would hold this together?

Comments

[souza005]

In your other project "The maroon retractable", what is the model of this car?

Congratulations,

Marcio E de Souza
Sao Paulo, Brasil

[CementTruck]

Are there any lights on these drives at all? If so, you could get a couple of strands of fiber, and polish the ends on 1000 or 2000 grit sandpaper. Then you could superglue them to the light on the drive, and superglue the other end to a hole drilled in the car body to simulate driving, fog, or tuner lights. Great idea/hack/instructable. Cheers!

[skrod]

I've made a deloreAn that has the rear time machine components lights up.

[raykholo]

sounds like a great idea, although you would need more than a few strands of fiber.

[CementTruck]

Hey, I think I've seen Cement Truck Matchbox/Hotwheels vehicles! This could be a cool little project.

[altaria1993]

put in a little motor too and connect it to the usb part for power :p

[marinermcv]

Ahoy Captain!

Made one out of a GT-40, Retractable

Mike MarinerMcV

[preethiblossom]

wow....awesome....thank u so much...this is going to be the perfect valentine's gift for my "car loving" boy friend...

[TSC]

I have made a flash drive car to i will post pic of it later nice  job!

[batcher]

What scale (1:?) is the mini?

[Captain Pedantic]

According to wikipedia, roughly 1/64.

[batcher]

ok thanks

[invisiblebluerobot9]

What kind of flash drive is that?

[Capt. Fat]

This is awesome. I thought I was the only captian on instructables though. Oh well. Nice job. If you make another type of flash drive let me know

[GonzoCooper]

This was fun! I made one with rear wheel drive (1 GB USB Flash Drive on rear) and one with front wheel drive (1 GB USB Flash Drive on front). Cutting and fitting for the front variation seemed easier. See photos.

[raykholo]

good idea with the red one looks better

[senario 158]

i think if you have it out, it will look like a rocket car!

[Robin87]

Hi! I have had the same idea, but with a Bluetooth Dongle! Anyways, it's not as perfect as yours... great job!

[sincityrednek333]

here is the first accomplishment.....oops

[sincityrednek333]

all i gotta say is you inspired me to tear up my kids cars, but it looks damn good. here is my first accomplishment, hopefully there will be many more, thanks.....

[stkbgr2004]

I got a Chevy SSR truck that had 2 little screws on the bottom from Walmart for $2.97. I didn't to much to the stock SSR but knock out the plastic rear window, then installed my USB Drive. I added 2 dog eared popsicle sticks to make it look like a surf board sticking out the back.

[ultrauber]

how does that fit into your computer without the car blocking the plug. do you need an extension usb cord?

[Guitarpik14]

lol

[Frogzard101]

DUDE!!!! that is flippin sweet!!!

[ultrauber]

Wow its amazing how perfectly it fits. i would make one if i had the tools

[Crashmaxx]

Trying this today and a few things. First, I NEED my tools. If I had my dremel I would be done by now. I have already hacked up this Skyline, so I think I'll get something else and start over after getting at least a jeweler's saw, if not another dremel. But I found a great way to do the cruzer micro slider right-side up. Just crack it open, take the board off the slider piece and flip it over. Now it will be too big for the top to go back on and you need it still so it will slide. So just cut where the USB plug is when it is in. Normally, this would look aweful, but since it will be in the car anyway, its a great solution. I think I want to solder in some headlights too. I can see where the micro LED is soldered to the board and if I'm careful, wiring in a couple more lights will be no problem. So I'll get another car soon and try this again, perhaps with lights. I was very disappointed in the selection at Wal-Mart and Toys-R-Us. They only had maybe 10-20 cars each to choose from. I remember they used to have almost the whole aisle full, but maybe it is just this one.

[Captain Pedantic]

Great idea on flipping the cruzer drive... I'll have to try that.

[Fastchevyfan]

Great Stuff! Great customizing idea!!! Should make great gifts for everyone!!!

[Darkshot]

wicked cool

[kurtdaniel]

(removed by author or community request)

[Captain Pedantic]

Um, what's with the brake pad link...?

[Wiimote Master]

very nice tut.

[raykholo]

can you make this from a car where the doors open and with a flash drive where the usb connector is pushed out? that way, the usb can extend from the front bumper area, and you can open the door to access the slide swith to extend and retract the connector. rak

[Captain Pedantic]

I was pondering that, but there's some real engineering in that to make it all work right. Or how about a funny car where the USB plug extends when you lift the shell?

[raykholo]

cool point. you would need a set of gears to make your "funny" car. you would need a rack and pinion. when you lift the shell, a bevel gear turns, and the rack moves toward the front. attach the flash drive to the rack. as for my idea, you need a flash drive with retractable usb connector and a toy car where the doors open and you can fit the drive inside. simply make a hole in the front and open the door to access the switch that extends the connector.

[Mr. Smart Kid]

hey i have the same usb cable i got it from the $ store $1 b ut it broke todayb

[Captain Pedantic]

Broke in what way?, because I got this one at a dollar store.

[Bran]

Sorry about the trip-post, but what is the best way to cut my (not the skull car though) Hot-Wheel that has a metal body, plastic "chassis" or bottom part. I already opened up a car like it and figured that I would only need to do a bit of removing of some plastic. Dremel maybe? What type of blade, if so? I don't suppose a band or table saw would work, would it? Thanks again.

[Captain Pedantic]

If you're interested in this sort of thing you really should invest in a jeweler's saw. Don't let the name put you off; it's pretty much just a more rigid coping saw designed to hold really fine blades. Being a hand saw, you have excellent control of the cut and the kerf (the width of the saw cut) is tiny. I really can't think of another tool to make cuts like the one along the panel line on the skull car.

If you can't get one at your local hobby shop, I'm sure you can mail-order one. In addition to hacking up hot wheels, they're great for cutting coins.

[Captain Pedantic]

P.S. The plastic is easy to cut with an ex-acto knife.