Old car parts. Throw them or keep them

My son changed the complance bushes & carriers on his Golf GTI a few weeks ago. He came round to use the press. 2 Alloy housings were left for scrap. I kept them with the idea of maybe making something out of them. Cast alloy & quite heavy. 1 st idea was a Cutting oil pot, as i am always knocking mine over .

So this is how far i got. It now looks way too nice to make a pot out of.

So far all i can think of is a Formula 1 racing car wheel, making a centre for it.

Cutting cups all the way around it & making a miniature water wheel for my pond. Attaching a generator to power my garage with... No just kidding, but maybe a man on a bike waving. Got lots of stainless tig wire for that.

Slicing it into 3 or 4 pieces & making some decorative bangles for the grand kids.

Any idea's of some things it would make.

Steve.

Inset a sheet base, manipulate the lug into a handle and you have a new tea mug..

pgk

All sorts of things, if you melt it and cast it in a suitable section.

So what you have is thick walled alloy tube. Loads of times you need some of that. Will it work as a smokebox for some gauge of loco? Sliced to make larger cross slide dial. Slice to make small traction engine wheels.

More likely forgings or extrusions. Still you now have some swarf to throw out.

Not much swarf really, the centre had a metalistic bush in it. Which after pressing out left the centre that size. At least I got a bit of experience milling on the rotary table etc.

Steve.

I found that a steering rod tie rod end works nicely if one is building an HH basic grinding rest. The one in question came from a friend whose teenage son managed to crash his car. It was easier to find than a plastic ball, much more robust and had a spigot which really came in handy to mount the thing.

* Danny M *

Simple but ingenious. Don't get me going, I have a spare rover v8 engine somewhere.

Steve.