60mph+ Rocket Powered and 3D Printed Delorean!

I've been wanting to make something with a model rocket engine for a very long time! So here is the quickest, and best idea that I could come up with in a short period!

1. E12-4 Model Rocket Engine
2. Estes Rocket Launch Controller
3. Brass Rods
4. Bambu Lab PLA Matte
5. Bambu Lab PAHT-CF If needed
6. Wire Rope (400+ft)
7. Something to cut the brass rods
8. Long distance measuring tool
9. Cinder blocks or something heavy
10. Glue (if needed)

First, draw out an idea of what you want it to look like. The picture above is the original design I sketched out when making this. But then a friend suggested that I base the model off of a Delorean, the car.

So I decided that it would look good with just the basic body/form of a Delorean. I went online and found some easily traceable pictures. Then saved them to be used in the design process.

Then I searched up many rocket engines, looking at all the power differences. I had never dealt with model rockets before, so it was an extensive search.

I thought about using double rockets, really powerful rockets, etc. But I decided that one powerful rocket would work, so I decided on a E12-4 model rocket engine.

I searched amazon, but it was not there. Then I remembered that Hobby Lobby had a selection of these. So I went on their website and found just what I needed! The rocket and its dimensions.

Then I took those rocket dimensions into Autodesk Fusion and designed the bearer of this powerful rocket. Though, when designing off of online dimensions, always give some extra room in case the dimensions are wrong.

Attached is a dimensional sketch of the rocket car and time lapses of the design process.

Then I went and bought all my supplies. Rockets at Hobby Lobby, metal rope on Amazon, and I already had the filament. But that's on Amazon or Bambu Lab as well.

Then I uploaded all the models into the 3D printer slicer, Bambu Studio, and sliced them. Using PLA Matte and PAHT-CF, I printed all the models. I even attached the timelapse of print the main car body to this step!

Print two of the rope holders/anchors.

Make sure to separate the back and front wheels, do not mix up! The back wheels are slightly bigger than the front.

Attached are the model files and Bambu Studio .3mf file for printing.

Now take a brass rod (or any other type of 4mm rod), and make a line at the 89mm mark. Then cut it on the outside of that line. Once cut, the rod can be filed down to 88mm long. Do the same for another rod.

Now you need to find a location to test the rocket car. It should have at least 200ft of open and flat ground. Pavement works pretty good if it does not have a ton of cracks. It should also have enough extra space around it that in case of guideline failure, it doesn't go flying through a window or hit a car.

Now grab all of the pieces made so far: the car, wheels, metal rope holder (anchor), and axles. Also grab the metal rope and rocket.

Now take the car body, and set in front of you upside down. Then grab a back wheel and insert one of the axles into the wheel's hole, you should glue it in if too loose. Then insert the axle into the axle hole on the rear of the car. But make sure the arrows are pointing the correct way (look and the pictures). Now, add the other back wheel onto the other end of the axle, again, glue if too loose. Make sure that it is fully on the axle, it should have a minimal amount of extra space between wheel and car body. Do the same for the front wheels (smaller) and axle.

Then grab the rocket and insert it into the hole in the rear of the car body. Make sure not to push it fully in, to where you can't pull it out if needed.

Then roll the metal rope out, and loop it through the car, anchors, cinder blocks... in the way pictured in the last .pdf picture attached.

Now grab one end of the metal rope with an anchor, and set it in a designated spot for either end. Then grab something heavy or attach it to the ground somehow, make sure it will stay in its place! Do the same for the other side, but make it so that the metal rope is as tight as possible and not tangled up. Make sure that they rope is lined up nice as well.

They should be about 200ft apart.

Now inspect your work and make sure everything is working: wheels spin, wheels stay attached, rocket inserted correctly, metal rope tight/not tangled up, and car moves freely on the metal rope. Also make sure that there is something that can stop the car at the end so it doesn't crash.

Make sure everything works and is safe!

Also set up speed calculating lines, I just used some colored duct tape. Then I spaced them out 5ft each so that I can get an exact speed.

After you know that everything is as safe, grab your remote starter, igniter wires, and plugs. Now insert the igniter into the end of the rocket, then insert the plug to secure it (look at the instruction picture). Then, with the safety key undone, attach the wires of the remote starter to each end of the igniter.

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME UNLESS EXPERIENCED OR HAVE EXTREMELY ADEQUATE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS!!! THIS DOES INVOLVE FIRE, IF NOT PAYED ATTENTION TO, IT CAN BURN SOMETHING!!!

Once you have all the cameras set up that you need, your ready! Have everyone get clear of the track, and spread out the cord of the remote starter so you can stay away as well. Then, insert the safety key and press down on it until the light turns red.

Now count down to ignition; 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, then press the ignite button. At that same moment you should see your rocket car shooting down the pavement!

Now that the rocket Delorean has blasted off and landed, I went to check on the car. When I found it, I noticed that something was missing. The hole top blew off! This is because when I looked up what the temperature can reach on the non-blast side of the rocket, I was given false information. It said that it would "just get warm", but from what results we can see, that's not true! It completely melted the inside of the Delorean, not to mention the blown-off roof!

I believe that if I could redesign and make a new design of car in different filament, it could be a lot faster with the same rocket. First, I think that it lost some of its momentum when the roof blew off. Looking at the video close enough, I think I'm right about that. I also noticed that it was going its fastest before it was even on the speed measuring lines, so it was going faster that what the math tells us. I also should have left holes for the rockets to get air, that would also be in my V2 version.

After carefully looking at the slow-mo, we determined that it went 25ft in 0.3 seconds. After doing some math, we determined that it was going about 57mph! Though, as I said before, it was going faster than that at the start of the blast.

This is a V2 rocket car that I designed, its meant to fix most (if not all) of the Delorean's problems.

1. It has an air intake
2. Its much smaller
3. It weighs less
4. Its much more aerodynamic
5. The wheels are improved; smaller wheelbase and no traction
6. The anchor is much smaller in height and width.

If I print this in a better temperature and break resistant filament, like PAHT-CF or ABS-GF, this would probably be a much faster and break resistant rocket car!