How To Make A Rocket Powered Matchbox Car

Step 1: Matchbox Cars

It's time to have some fun and do something a little different. I'm going to take a couple of Matchbox cars and turn them into rocket powered Matchbox cars. These are technically Hot Wheels, but I thought Matchbox was an appropriate name for what we are about to do to them.

Step 2: Rockets

I picked up a package of Estes a10-pt model rockets, and using some 32 gauge wire I wired the rockets to the Matchbox cars.

Step 3: Process

Then, I took some ordinary coffee stirrers, and after cutting a couple grooves in the bottom of the Matchbox cars, I glued them in place.

I also have a race controller that I'll use to ignite the rockets. We had about 100 foot length of string, but we carefully ran one end through the coffee stirrer. And now, here's the rocket powered Matchbox cars.

Step 4: Speed

I calculated that these cars are traveling about 1800 scale miles per hour. And there they are, the rocket powered Matchbox cars.