VALANCHERY: Fourteen-year-old Mohammad Shanid was searching on YouTube to ward off the boredom of Covid lockdown when the off-road vehicle buggy car came to his mind.

Seeing the heroic adventures of the buggy car, he wondered if he could make it.

Shanid, an HSS eighth standard student of Irimpiliyam MESHS, then built a buggy car in eight months for just Rs 40,000. According to Shanid, with a litre of petrol the vehicle can travel up to 30 km.

Shanid was supported by his parents, Abdul Rashid and Sharafunnisa, and brothers Shafiq and Shameena. His neighbour Mohammad also helped by providing construction materials, including a welding machine. Shanid ambition is to become an automobile engineer.

He made an automatic sanitizer machine for which he received the Inspire Award, given by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Innovation Foundation. Shanid is embarking on a new experiment to convert the engine of an old scooter into an electric one.

Craftsmanship

The materials such as engine, tires, steering, disc brakes and lights for the buggy car were collected from the poly market. The chassis was made of GI pipe and the petrol tank was made of PVC pipe. The engine of the Bajaj CT100 bike was tried first, but it was not successful. Later it was completed with an auto-rickshaw's petrol engine.

The tires of the Alto car and the steering wheel of the Maruti 800 are used. The rear tires were also fitted with the bike's disc brakes. The boy is self-designed and made out of tin sheets. There are five gears, including the reverse gear.