As you may have come to know by now, there’s only one thing the Take My Scrap Car team favours above and beyond modern car recycling. The way we see it, there’s technically no point bothering with the recycling process in the first place, if what it is you set out to recycle can in fact be reused. Or in other words, if it still has life left in it in one way or another, why take it out of use?
And that’s exactly why we’re always interested to hear about the exploits of plucky and proactive souls from all over the world who take what they have…or at least what they have access to…and show the rest of us what can be done with a little time, dedication and imagination.
The latest example comes courtesy of one 34-year-old mechanic by the name of Azamrudin Shawal. The long and short of it is that this guy, along with the help of his younger brother Mohd Airi, decided that the time had come to bring the attention of the world to their home – the Felda settlement in Malaysia. Both of these guys felt that there was plenty of talent and potential in the area which was going overlooked, so they figured they’d demonstrate just what they could do.
And this is what they came up with – something of a prototype “Formula One” racing which was built from…yep, you guessed it – nothing more than scrap car parts and bits and pieces of old scrap metal. It might not exactly be quite up to the kinds of standards necessary to go up against the likes of Louis Hamilton, but at the same time there’s no denying how impressive it looks.
Even more impressively, the pair told the media that working with relatively basic tools in their father’s workshop, it took no more than around 56 hours to start, build and complete the vehicle. And while the concept as a whole was based around a small toy car, the finished scrap metal masterpiece is far from ornamental. That’s right – it actually works! They also revealed that the scrap metal and car parts required to put the thing together cost no more than £330 – a veritable snip when compared and contrasted with the tens of millions spent on the average Formula One car.
“All I want is to help the community get noticed and possibly raise some funds to carry out activities for the younger generation,” said the proud mechanic.
“I thought hard about how a small-town boy like me can get recognised by the Government and decided to create this prototype, something people would have thought impossible.”
Since its completion, the car has been featured in various parades and celebrations, along with a wedding or two. Azamrudin has no intention of slowing down in his efforts to bring attention to his home however – he’s already planning large scale initiatives that could see new farming land, recreational chalets and even a buggy track arriving in the near future.
“Thus Felda has a lot of potential for growth, especially in agro-tourism that can attract more visitors and boost the economy here besides creating more job opportunities,” he said.
“Sadly, we have been neglected and our capabilities sidelined,”
“It is my hope that by building this racing car, it will open up the eyes of those in power and give the second generation here a chance to prove ourselves.”
Inspiring stuff, isn’t it?