Inspired by the creativity of Steve Eastman and gunrunnerjohn here's my first bite at the wiener challenge.
I did not have a motorized truck available so I cobbled together a simple transmission using parts from a battery-powered slot car set I got on Christmas clearance for under $10 from the grocery store.
This motor size appears to be in hundred if not thousands of low cost gadgets. It has a 2.0mm shaft with a pinion gear.
I do not have a wheel-puller tool so I hacksawed the 2.5mm axle from an MTH truck, slid on the crown gear, then used a piece of 1/8" brass tubing drilled out to 2.5mm ID to reform the axle.
I wanted remote control but did not want to donate a R2LC-like board set for TMCC and/or DCS operation. So after some head-scratching recalled the electronics in low-cost RF remote control cars (under $10) which have forward/reverse and left/right control. There are hundreds if not thousands of varieties but most seem to use 2 small NiMh batteries (near top of photo) that are charged for a few minutes and then run the car for several minutes. I removed the circuit board and powered it with 2 AA batteries which will run it for hours. These boards also have LED outputs to drive headlights, tail-lights, and interior lights but I'm not using them yet.
As a test bed, I mounted the batteries on another truck and connected the wiring to the receiver. The wiring is very simple - two wires (red/black) to the battery pack, 2 wires (brown) to the motor, and the white antenna wire.
Significant cutting of the body was required to fit the truck.
And I was mindful of gunrunnerjohn's comment about lowering the body. The electronics and battery fit in the wiener. My next step will be to add the wiener sound but again there is plenty of space in the wiener for a speaker and chamber.
The video shows the transmitter. I am pondering what to do with the left/right control - maybe use it to switch between the Wiener song and the "My bologna has a first name" song once I get the audio going.
I believe this can be adapted to a variety of whimsical cars such as a remote controlled pumpkin at Halloween or an NFL helmet of your favorite team during football season.
I like how low it rides on the track.
