A fully-functional miniature of the Jeep Willys was built in Kerala by Arunkumar for a 10-year old boy. The boy, a native of Anchal town in the district of Kollam, Kerala, was gifted this miniature Willys which takes inspiration from the SUV used in the Mohanlal starrer – Lucifer.
Powering the miniature Jeep is a 24V DC batteries that power an electric motor. It also gets a forward, neutral and reverse gear. The electric motor powers the rear axle of the car through a chain and sprocket system.
There is a leaf spring suspension mechanism that he has used from an original Jeep. The attention of the details is so much that the Arunkumar has also used a proper rack and pinion steering system that is widely used in mass-segment cars.
The miniature car also gets LED headlamps, LED fog lamps, indicators, adjustable rear-view mirrors, operational wipers, horn, USB mobile charging, a dedicated first-aid box, USB/memory card slot and many more such features. There is also an analogue meter from Royal Enfield motorcycle to show the speed.
The toy is fitted with a rack and pinion steering system, as steering systems of that small a size are not produced and hence he designed it himself. Giving the toy an original Jeep Willys look, he has used a fabric roof which can be folded just like in the real SUV.
A special toolkit has also been designed for the toy, which is placed under the driving seat. He has used two 24v DC batteries for charging the electric motor, fitted in the miniature car. It gets forward, neutral and a reverse gear.
Additional highlights of the toy car are interior lights, headlights, fog lamps, indicators, adjustable rear-view mirrors, operational wipers, horn, USB mobile charger, a dedicated first-aid box, USB/memory card slot and more.
Arunkumar is a COVID-19 warrior and is currently employed in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The video uploaded on a social platform not only highlights the main features of the toy but also underlines the efforts and dedication that has put in, to complete the entire project.
Sources – carandbike.com, cartoq.