Do-It-Yourself (DIY) videos on YouTube have become a common source of information for people, but 19-year-old Prem Thakur from Kharghar, Maharashtra, has taken it a notch further and built an all new motor car with the help of such videos.
This B.Com. first-year student, who was always fascinated with electronic equipment in the house, repairing and opening them up, always dreamt of building his own car.
“He would always tell me that we should build our own car and not buy from other company. Since his childhood, he was always fascinated with electrical and electronic things. More than a pen or pencil, he has held screw driver in his hand. We want to see him as an automobile engineer building his own cars on a commercial level,” Prem’s mother, Sandhya Thakur, said.
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Son of Sandhya and Kailash Thakur, an autorickshaw driver, Prem now wants to study engineering. “I took up Commerce as I was told by my friends that engineering is difficult but now, since I have realised my passion, I think I should take up engineering from next academic year.”
He used the engine of a second-hand Honda Accent car his family owned and built the whole body of the new car by himself. “I bought materials from various places like Taloja steel market, Crawford and some I bought online. I used heavy pipes to build the outer body of the car and then covered it with using fibre material.”
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It cost Prem around Rs. 2.50 lakh to source the material. “My parents who are my greatest support helped me with Rs. 2 lakh and the remaining Rs. 50,000 I saved up by plying auto during the hours when my father did not,” he said.
Built in four months, this car has features such as side blinkers and a music system with a USB port. Since the car does not have any registration number, he drives the car locally within the limits of Kharghar and by now it has become the topic of discussion for most of the town’s residents.