Tiny Tikes Tumbler Batmobile Out of a Cozy Coupe

I made this Tumbler Batmobile for my best friend Mike's son Mason. Batman plays a special role for his family. Mike's younger brother, Eric, passed away from cancer in 2012 and was a huge fan of the Caped Crusader. The spirit lives on through Mike and now his son too. I thought I would help the legacy and adventure continue. You can too via www.givetolife.org

I nabbed this Police Cozy Coupe (CC) off my local Craigslist for under ten dollars. I wanted this particular version of the CC because it has the lightbar and police siren.

The parts accessories I used specifically for this project were as follows (prices are approximate):

1) 12V rocker switch - Radio Shack ($3.50)

2) LED Light strips - ebay ($1.99)

3) Red Illuminated Voltmeter - ebay ($5)

4) 8x 1.5V AA battery pack w/ SCREW DOWN COVER (important) - ebay ($1.25)

5) 120mm 12V Red LED computer case fan - already owned (maybe $9 online)

6) Liquidtape - Radio Shack ($5)

7) Rustoleum Painters Touch black satin paint - Ace Hardware ($4)

8) 2x Cozy Coupe replacement wheels - littletikes.com ($3.99 each)

9) 3/8 in diameter 48" long metal rod - Home Depot ($2.97)

(not pictured) Rustoleum Primer - already owned ($3)

Children are filthy creatures. I know. I was one once. Make sure to clean every part so the paint and primer will adhere better.

Thank you to my wife for allowing me this small space on our living room floor for two months.

You'll want to do this before any sanding or painting.

Initially I wasn't sure how large I wanted the booster hole to be.

I had a cheap plastic planter pot that I used at first to simply mark the various hole sizes.

Then I realized I could use it as the nozzle by trimming it down with a pair of shears.

Click the images for the step by step instructions.

Always the longest and always the most important step... prep your surface.

Sand everything thoroughly. This plastic needs it.

Then prime and paint. Easy enough.

Little Tikes has online instructions available for reassembly (thank goodness).

In this order:

Install the voltmeter, switch and LED lights.

I installed the switch first and it was tough to pass the voltmeter wires through the same small cavity in the CC body.

The hole you made in the back of the CC for the rocket booster is plenty large enough to get your hand or arm through to pull all the wires from the front to the back for final assembly.

Home Depot cut the 3/4 in rod to length for me but a hack saw will make short work of it.

I chose to mount the battery pack where it was easily accessible to parents, out of the way and, seriously, the cubby behind the seat was the best and only option.

Little Tikes doesn't make a wiring harness for the CC so you're starting from scratch

I taught myself to solder for this (thanks youtube). So, even you can do this.

(Note that I am not formally educated in electronics and may have made mistakes I am not aware of in the proceeding steps. Everything here is self taught. Consult an expert if you are weary.).

You'll need to solder extension wires for each accessory in order to get power to them all since the included wires will not be long enough to reach the power supply. After which, you'll need to use the Liquidtape to water proof and protect each soldered joint.

After you've run and labeled all the wires to the rear of the CC, connect and solder all POSITIVE (+) wires together. In the images these are all the red wires. Note that the switch wires will both be negative leads.

Then, connect all the NEGATIVE (-) wires together sans the negative power wire from the battery pack and one wire from the switch. Connect and solder these two wires (the one power and one switch wire) together and waterproof. The other wire from the switch will go with the rest of the NEGATIVE (-) wires which you can now solder and waterproof.

The only textual way I can think of how to describe the wire path is like this:

Negative (-) power > switch > negative accessories > positive accessories > positive (+) power.

I also bought this costume for his son, because what toddler doesn't like dressing up like their favorite superhero?

The Dark Knight Rises Toddler Batman Costume

Here is the finished product. Enjoy!