Ever Wanted Your Own Land Speeder?

An anonymous reader writes "Be the first on your block to drive on of these! a StarWars Land Speeder. This used to be a 1988 Ford Escort and only has 880 miles since built." This is a surprisingly impressive conversion.

Comments

jedi mind trick

[gmkeegan]

This isn't the Escort you're looking for...

Scoundrel? I can live with that...

Re:Impresive

[enigma48]

The donor car it was built on actually has 108k on it - the "Speeder" after built though, only has gone 880 miles.

This is street legal ?!?!?!

[MarcoAtWork]

Well, in Europe (Italy to be more precise), where I'm originally from, there are *extremely* strict rules that define what is street legal and what is not (for example, most kit cars are not legal despite the fact that they've been tested, because you're building it yourself, so you can't, say, use the crash tests from a different one, because the manufacturer is different).

Something like this would probably be laughed at before even starting the application process ;)

Just curious, what are exactly the regulations that define street-worthiness in the USA? I'm thinking about things like

- safety (if I want to install an impaling device on the front of the car, am I allowed to? or what about the always fun side-mounted scythe blades?)

- safety (if I want to install a 10 foot tall flagpole that will make my car 99% flip over in a turn when there's wind, can I do it?)

- safety (if I take my average car, install a couple thousand pounds worth of 'mods' and its braking distance shoots up fourfold, is it a problem?)

- safety (what about being able to evade an accident? if my 'mods' make my car drive like a barge in a river, is that ok?)

- safety (what about if sharp pieces of my 'mod' become unglued when going over a bump at speed, take off, and shatter the windshield of whomever is following me?)

- safety (what about seatbelts? what if it rolls over?)

I don't want to spoil the fun, but really, if a car doesn't pass *all* of the above (and more) IMHO it shouldn't be classified as 'road worthy' regardless of how cool it looks...

just my 2c

Re:This is street legal ?!?!?!

[Anonymous Coward]

it used to be a frigging Ford Escort. How much more could he fuck it up?

• Horrible braking distance? Check.
• Drives like a barge in a river? Check.
• Pieces falling off? Check.
• Rollover? Check.

Re:This is street legal ?!?!?!

[Salsaman]

No need to worry about that...

"Excuse me sir, is this your vehicle ?"

"This is not the car you are looking for"

"This is not the car we are looking for. Move along."

Re:Impresive

[BabyDave]

What fascinates me is the price. 880 miles and a real car and the guy is selling it for less than $5000 + 50% of the transport costs? Makes you wonder a bit.

He says it's the best he can do. Since the XP-38 came out, they're just not in demand.

I can just see the conversation with the cop

[CodeWheeney]

Cop: Son, do you realize you were going 45 in a 25? License, and, um, registration please.

Obi Wannabe: These are not the droids you are looking for.

Cop: What?

Obi Wannabe: Move Along.

Cop: Get out of the car and place your hands where I can see them...

Re:Is it actually legal to drive this?

[nomadic]

Of course, the insurance company would probably freeze you in carbonite, metaphorically speaking...

Yes. I must purchase this automobile.

[multiplexo]

Then and only then will I be able to complete my transmogrification into the Comic Book guy from The Simpsons.

Re:"Street Legal" only in the US?

[kikta]

it would look pretty in my garden next to the R2D2 fountain and Ewok treehouse...

Don't you mean your parents' garden? ;-)