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At a glance you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a science project − it looks like a makeshift vehicle consisting of a few metal boards welded together over four bicycle wheels. But with just a litre of petrol, this makeshift car can get its owner around the neighbourhood pretty comfortably.
The creation is the brainchild of Liberty Ndlovu from Roodekop in Germiston, Ekurhuleni, who built it using material he bought at scrapyards and auctions. It's little wonder then that this one-of-a-kind car turns heads wherever it goes.
“I chose to give it an extraordinary look by using bicycle wheels because I wanted it to be more fun to look at,” Liberty tells YOU.
The car runs on a 13 horse-power engine. This type of motor is frequently used in light-engine machines such as grass mowers and compressors, uses little fuel, and releases few gases into the atmosphere.
Most cars have an average horsepower of between 130hp and 300hp, depending on the size of the vehicle.
“This engine wasn't meant for a car, so I had to remove the piston [a part of the engine that produces more heat], alter it and then replace it in the engine. I also had to alter the generator by removing parts of the alternator [the part of the generator that produces electrical power] because it was too powerful for my little car,” Liberty says.
It took the 25-year-old six months to build his vehicle. “I don’t have matric, I’m unemployed, I’ve never studied anything related to engineering but to me this comes naturally,” he says proudly.
“I mostly used a grinder, drill and welding machine to create all the parts. I made everything from the brake pedals to the gear box and the gear teeth, which transfer power from the engine to the gear box."
The car runs on two batteries connected in a parallel circuit to form 17ohms. Ohm is the electrical resistance between two points on a conductor. A common AA alkaline battery, for instance, has between 0.1 and 0.9 ohms. The car also has an ignition and a key to start the engine.
Should the batteries run low, they can be repowered with a pull-start cord which is connected to the generator. The vehicle has four gears in addition to reverse gear.
READ MORE| This self-taught innovator from Germiston uses recycled materials to build robots
Liberty spent R15 000 to buy all the material and tools needed for his passion project, raising the money doing part-time jobs at construction sites.
“People think you’re crazy when you go out looking for a certain material to build your own car,” he says.
Liberty loves working with his hands. He shows YOU some of his inventions, which include a peanut-butter maker, a sheet roller and a metal-bending machine.
“I just wish people can support me so I can raise enough money to open a warehouse and get all the required tools to start my next project, which is an airplane,” he says.
Liberty believes his blue bike-wheel car could reach 120 km/h "like most four-gear cars" one day but it needs a bit more work on the brakes before he tries to get to that speed.
It's a work in progress but he'll get here, he says. The power is in the mind, he says. All you need is support.
