'51 Mercury Overdrive
Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 7:43 am
I like boutique effects pedals and always wanted to make my own. Ya'll know I do like to think outside the box as well. This "prototype" if you will, was an idea I had when a guy took me to a car show on our first date. (I thought it was kind of funny first date idea, but I had a good time anyway) 
Anyway, I got this idea for an effects pedal and decided to see if it would actually work. Well, it does work and here it is!
First I found a pretty cool looking '51 Mercury Low Rider Fire Chief's car. It is die cast metal and very sturdy. I took all of the seats, etc out of the interior to make room for the board.
I took the engine out to make room for the 9 Volt battery and 110v input jack.
The trunk area was already empty and plenty of room for the stomp switch. My plan is to have the trunk lid slightly open so you have to step on it to activiate the switch. A spring will lift the trunk lid back up again. I'll put a clear film (like iPhones) on the trunk lid to protect the paint.
And here are the internal goodies.
It is going to be pretty tricky fitting everything inside.
The chasis took just a little modification in a few spots to accommodate the board.
Okay, the board fits nicely and I think it will work perfectly.
There is a little LED light that will go in the red bubble on top. I hope that works okay.
I want to conceal as much as possible so as not to invade the look and "coolness" of the die cast model.
I decided I wanted the input and output jacks to be on the sides so it can be in line with other pedals on the pedal board. So, to the drillpress!
And the other side.
I took the tiny little axel out, removed the wheels, and drilled larger holes on each side. Since I needed a spot for the three control knobs I studied the thing for a while and it occurred to me that a pot is like an axel, sort of. So I just drilled a hole big enough for the stem to go through.
For the front axles I chose the pots for "TONE" control and the "DRIVE" control. I took the stock knobs and cut them much thinner on the bandsaw and then sanded them flat on the belt sander. The original wheels had little knubs where the axel was glued in. Using the dremel I ground all of that out and removed the chrome on the inside. This gave a nice flat plastic surface that I superglued the remaining knob part into.
Here you can see the two pots in place and you can see the "tire knob" on the left.
In this image you can see the wheels are back onto the shafts of the pots for TONE and DRIVE. So, now the wheels are actually the knobs to control TONE and DRIVE. I will put a little white line on top of the tire so I can tell where center is. When I'm finished I'll have a flat plastic plate on the bottom of the car which will allow it to be velcro attached to a pedal board and lift the wheels just enough that the "wheel knobs" can be adjusted.
Next was to do a another test fit and see if everything is going to fit inside of the car with no problems. As you can see the hardware is in place for the jack output. There is another pot that will need to be located and I think I will put it on a rear wheel.
The next issues to resolve are:
1. Locate the 110v input jack into the grill.
2. Locate the pot for the LEVEL control. (rear wheel I think)
3. Locate the stomp switch and spring under the truck lid at the right height.
4. I think I am going to drill into the red bubble on top of the car and install a tiny LED light so when it is powered on you can tell.
There is still a bit more soldering to do and redirecting of wires. But, it is coming together and I think it's going to work perfectly.
When it is finished it should look very much like the above photo without much invasive protrusions. I think it will look pretty cool on a pedal board.
I bought the domain, www.GearHeadPedals.com, and hope to actually turn these into a marketable boutique pedal. There is a huge variety of die cast models available and I could even do custom pedals if someone had a favorite car. For example if someone wanted a Mustang pedal to match their favorite car I think I could do that.
Mr. Bill's Harley Fuzz pedal gave me the inspiration to think outside the box. I am on the lookout for a source for die cast HD motors like the one he used. A very awesome pedal, indeed! I love it!
Anyway, I got this idea for an effects pedal and decided to see if it would actually work. Well, it does work and here it is!
First I found a pretty cool looking '51 Mercury Low Rider Fire Chief's car. It is die cast metal and very sturdy. I took all of the seats, etc out of the interior to make room for the board.
I took the engine out to make room for the 9 Volt battery and 110v input jack.
The trunk area was already empty and plenty of room for the stomp switch. My plan is to have the trunk lid slightly open so you have to step on it to activiate the switch. A spring will lift the trunk lid back up again. I'll put a clear film (like iPhones) on the trunk lid to protect the paint.
And here are the internal goodies.
It is going to be pretty tricky fitting everything inside.
The chasis took just a little modification in a few spots to accommodate the board.
Okay, the board fits nicely and I think it will work perfectly.
There is a little LED light that will go in the red bubble on top. I hope that works okay.
I want to conceal as much as possible so as not to invade the look and "coolness" of the die cast model.
I decided I wanted the input and output jacks to be on the sides so it can be in line with other pedals on the pedal board. So, to the drillpress!
And the other side.
I took the tiny little axel out, removed the wheels, and drilled larger holes on each side. Since I needed a spot for the three control knobs I studied the thing for a while and it occurred to me that a pot is like an axel, sort of. So I just drilled a hole big enough for the stem to go through.
For the front axles I chose the pots for "TONE" control and the "DRIVE" control. I took the stock knobs and cut them much thinner on the bandsaw and then sanded them flat on the belt sander. The original wheels had little knubs where the axel was glued in. Using the dremel I ground all of that out and removed the chrome on the inside. This gave a nice flat plastic surface that I superglued the remaining knob part into.
Here you can see the two pots in place and you can see the "tire knob" on the left.
In this image you can see the wheels are back onto the shafts of the pots for TONE and DRIVE. So, now the wheels are actually the knobs to control TONE and DRIVE. I will put a little white line on top of the tire so I can tell where center is. When I'm finished I'll have a flat plastic plate on the bottom of the car which will allow it to be velcro attached to a pedal board and lift the wheels just enough that the "wheel knobs" can be adjusted.
Next was to do a another test fit and see if everything is going to fit inside of the car with no problems. As you can see the hardware is in place for the jack output. There is another pot that will need to be located and I think I will put it on a rear wheel.
The next issues to resolve are:
1. Locate the 110v input jack into the grill.
2. Locate the pot for the LEVEL control. (rear wheel I think)
3. Locate the stomp switch and spring under the truck lid at the right height.
4. I think I am going to drill into the red bubble on top of the car and install a tiny LED light so when it is powered on you can tell.
There is still a bit more soldering to do and redirecting of wires. But, it is coming together and I think it's going to work perfectly.
When it is finished it should look very much like the above photo without much invasive protrusions. I think it will look pretty cool on a pedal board.
I bought the domain, www.GearHeadPedals.com, and hope to actually turn these into a marketable boutique pedal. There is a huge variety of die cast models available and I could even do custom pedals if someone had a favorite car. For example if someone wanted a Mustang pedal to match their favorite car I think I could do that.
Mr. Bill's Harley Fuzz pedal gave me the inspiration to think outside the box. I am on the lookout for a source for die cast HD motors like the one he used. A very awesome pedal, indeed! I love it!
