Introduction: Crafting a Balloon Powered Toy Car for Your Kid

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About: Hello! My nickname here is Alexdo and I come from the US. I have several hobbies, but the one I can talk about for hours is cars. I have worked for almost 4 years in South Africa in one of the car renting comp…

Do you really intend to surprise your son or even daughter with a DIY balloon powered toy car? Does your child have a birthday soon and you are looking for the best present for him/her? Or, maybe, you have desire and time to invent or make something interesting with your kid, but lack ideas to do that? Regardless the reason you are driven by, this Instructable may be of great help to you! Why? Just follow the instructions below and you will find the answer to this question!

Step 1: Supplies

To get your balloon powered toy car ready, you will need the following items:

  • Several balloons of any colors you prefer
  • A piece of corrugated cardboard or a foam core
  • A standard cardboard
  • A few straws
  • Tape
  • Ordinary barbeque skewers made of wood (if you have any at home)
  • Durable wire cutters
  • Scissors
  • Glue

Step 2: Cut the Chassis and the Axles

It makes sense to start cutting your magic toy car with the chassis. Take the scissors and a piece of corrugated cardboard or foam core you have prepared in advance. Cut a piece that will be of the following parameters: 6x3 inches with your scissors. Then, you can get the axles ready by means of using barbeque skewers made of wood. Take wire cutters and cut 2 pieces of skewers that equal 4 inches each.

Having made both elements, you can now attach them to each other, but make sure the axles can roll without any hindrances. To get mounts, take the scissors and cut two pieces of straw 3 inches each . Fix them with the tape to the front and back parts of the chassis. Now, you can mount the axles. To do that, just slide the skewers made of wood through the mid part of the straws.

Step 3: Cut and Attach the Wheels

Having mounted the axles, it is high time to cut the wheels. There is no car without the wheels, isn’t that? The balloon powered toy car is not an exception and it needs wheels as well. So, take the scissors and cut 4 quarter-sized pieces of standard cardboard. You can use additional circular tools or items to make the wheels look like they have to.

Place the wheels you have made out of a cardboard onto the skewers in such a way that they should make two pairs. You see, you can do that without any compression wrench or lug nuts at all! That’s amazing!

Step 4: What About the Engine?

Just like any other vehicle, your balloon powered car should have the engine. So, cut off the mouth ring of the balloon (the one you blow into). Use a straw as a toy exhaust pipe and insert it into the balloon about 1 inch long. Fix the straw and the balloon with the tape. The more effort you apply, the better the engine will be and the longer your car will function!

Step 5: Attach the Exhaust Pipe to the Chassis

Use the tap to attach the exhaust pipe to the chassis of your car, approximately 1 inch from the place where the chassis end.

Step 6: Inflate the Balloon

Now, your toy car is ready for a drive! Just inflate the balloon and insert the straw to prevent air from leaving the balloon! Then put the car on the ground and take the straw away!

Step 7: Enjoy the Toy Car!

Having worked as a professional mechanic at one of the car rental services mCars for over 4 years, I always dreamt of creating something unusual, so I decided to give this idea a try. But then we had to move to the USA, so I have finally managed to make this idea a reality a few weeks ago. And this is what I’ve got – a balloon powered toy car, which is activated and then driven by the power of air pressure from the balloon! Well, this car will not drive for a long distance, of course, but it can easily cross the room, which is enough to bring joy to your kid!

Actually, you can customize your balloon powered toy car as you like. You can draw exclusive designs, modify the design or use your imagination to make your toy car unique!