This is my favorite of all Lego toys I've ever constructed. It's hard to describe just how much fun it is to play with. If you have a couple of the 8735 motors, go build one right away and see what I mean. If the power source was just a battery box, it would be just another car. But it's more than that....
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The Cranker has four-wheel drive. |
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A close up. The smaller gear behind the upper right wheel is there so you can move the power chain from its current location over to the small gear. (You have to take two links out of the chain when you do this. The two links can be stored under the motor, underneath the 2x4 plate.) This makes The Cranker go faster, but it loses some hill-climbing ability. |
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The secret revealed! The power source for The Cranker's 8735 motor is none other than another 8735 motor with a crank on the output shaft, making it into a generator. This turns out to be amazingly efficient. With no load, 34 rotations on the generator equals 33 rotations of the motor, which makes it about 97% efficient. You can push the car and watch the generator crank turn. If you built two cars, you could push one and watch the other one move. This toy is so much fun! Please, please build one and tell me what you think. |
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Page last modified: 8/17/98