My drive home from work takes me through some hilly roads. In order to ease their exit from their driveway, some people have mounted on poles the bullseye mirrors that I’m sure we’ve all seen before. This industrious homeowner apparently decided it wasn’t worth the investment, and just took a couple of truck mirrors and called it done.
I can’t imagine that the field of view is all that great, with a flat mirror mounted so far away, but hey it’s better than nothing.
So what it the best non-automotive use for auto parts that you have seen?
My favorite non-auto use for an auto part? An old inline 6 cylinder crankshaft for a mailbox post!
Works very well.
Tailgate as fold-down bench like this one I found a couple of years ago: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/curbside-ingenuity-when-is-a-tailgate-not-just-a-tailgate/
Car wheels repurposed as hose reels:
Here’s a compendium of wiper motors being used in robots, door openers, and even Halloween decorations. Window motors get used for robots too.
I recognize those older VEX Omni wheels. I’ve got to order up 5 Omni wheels for an “H” or slide drive, for the team to build in the summer, one for the fabricators to try some different construction methods, and two for the programmers to figure out how to program something other than skid steer.
I wonder if they are using two “right” or “left” motors because they found out that the model they choose is one where they are electrically equal. On some models the one that is intended for the driver’s side has a few more Watts of power.
Do electronic parts count?
I did a couple including Rambler hub cap clock and a Piston paper towel holder.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/tech/cc-mini-project-ramber-hub-cap-clock/
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/tech/cc-mini-project-piston-powered-shop-towel-holder/
Nice.
I have created the “wall of hubcaps” in my workshop/man cave. Every time I see a cool old chrome piece at the u-pull-it yard, I grab it.
Distributor caps make wonderful pencil holders.
Front clips, sans hood, make interesting flower beds. I’ve seen a few used as such, most notably one from an early 1950s Ford pickup.
Back in the day I saw more than a few distributor caps turned into ashtrays, just have to select one where the coil tower isn’t higher than the plug towers, or just cut down that coil tower.
I always thought that old, upside down pistons were the default makeshift automotive ashtray. At least that’s what I recall from working a Ford parts counter decades ago.
Back in the late 70s, my older brother regularly used what appeared to be the starter off some car from the 1930s/40s, as a replacement for a small dumbbell. He developed some hefty biceps thanks to that lump of dead weight.
You can make some pretty impressive art with car parts.
http://jamescorbettart.com/
A guy around the corner from me used Brake Rotors for a little Mailbox Landscaping.
Does the guy get bonus points for it being at “Curbside”?
I thought maybe the guy was into 1979 thru 1993 Mustangs considering his choice of a Fox in lieu of a Garden Gnome, but alas there was a 2007 to 2011 Camry in his driveway. Oh well….
Bonus points for the duct tape, for sure.
Tip a car hood over to make a sled to move large rocks.
Wheel rims can be shed
of their innards, stacked and welded and with some fabrication, made into a wood stove.
In snow country, a winter mail box can be mounted to a wheel rim so that it is movable. The plow can’t hit it if you bring it in off of the street.
I knew a guy years ago who lived off the power grid. He made a windmill generator from a generator off of an old Plymouth.
Big old style truck rims used for campfire rings.
I worked on a dairy farm when I was young. For the July 4th parade we made a float with a cow on it. It’s tail waiged back and forth because it was hooked up to a windsheild wiper motor assembly.
An old garage trick,if your cigarette lighter dies, squirt a LITTLE carburetor cleaner into a welding torch striker. One squeeze, and you’re blowing smoke.
I like the old trick of taking a tire that is still mounted on the wheel and then cut one of the sidewalls in a zig zag or curve that goes back and forth t just about 1″ from the rim and 1″ from the tread. Then pull the tire inside out and you end up with something that looks like a flower. Like this http://john.moisttowelettemuseum.com/tireplanter/
I recall seeing a restaurant using cut down front-end clips (sans hood, engine & components, radiator, front suspension, wheels) of vintage 1950s autos and installing seats inside the engine compartment. Also used wheel rims as the base for bar stools, wall clocks using hubcaps, desk fans from radiator fans, etc. Obviously the restaurant emphasized car themes.
I use a pair of 1958 Desoto fender mounted rear view mirrors as wall sconces.
There’s a place here in Sarasota called the Children’s Garden that’s pretty cool to walk around even for adults. They repurpose a lot of old junk to create art. There’s an early 70’s MGB that was apparently too far gone to restore that’s been repurposed as a planter with flowers growing out of the interior, engine bay, and trunk. Pretty cool looking.
Growing up in New York I would cut all the way through some tires then use them as weights for holding down things like tarps. When it rained the tire was easy to drain.
Currently I use a worthless license plate to rest my toilet plunger on.
I like the rear clip of classic cars being turned into a couch, complete with functional taillights. I’ve always wanted to do this with a 1970s Lincoln Town Car (My dad owned a 1977 for about 25 years). Never had the time or the shop space to actually attempt to do this myself.
Of course there are about a million ways that car parts have been repurposed… but the best?
Hmmm…
I’d vote for the ingenious way how in days of yore a differential was often modified into a gear-reduction angle-drive, sometimes with clutch.
Such repurposed differentials were often used as earth auger drives, drop-hammer mechanisms, winch drives, etc…
For a clutch mechanism, with input to the pinion one wheel end would be allowed to freewheel, when the freewheeling axle would be stopped by its brake that would engage the opposite axle (the working end) to spin.
Unlike it would be now with our access to a world of affordable throwaway power equipment, in its day such a repurposed differentials was a big deal.
A friend and I drove my Torino Wagon from Denver to Vermont last May. We stopped at a VW repair and restoration shop on Route 63 in Missouri. This sign and Kim spotting the line of VW buses behind the treeline caused me to hit the brakes. A really nice couple running the shop. They do stock restorations. Got a tour plus a look at a couple of restorations in progress. Very impressive. Along with the bus sign, they also used air cooled VW valve covers as pavers at the shop entrance.
I have seen a transmission housing being used as a mailbox.