Cars, trucks, and RVs have been a lifelong passion of mine. I own too many cars and motorcycles as well as hoard literally hundreds of diecast cars. Yet, despite my love for all things with engines, I don’t really show it, or at least, not in the way I want to. That’s where I need your help, readers. I want to wear a car part on a necklace, but I don’t know what will work!
In the years before I started writing about cars, I was an IT drone. I started off by fixing desktops and graduated to writing SQL and Java. I tell you what, that career path wasn’t as fun as I thought it was. Still, I loved computers. I still love computers! Back in 2018 or so, I tried to make a budget super gaming computer out of a giant cluster of server CPUs. It didn’t work out, so I ended up reselling almost all of the parts I bought. I kept around one of the server CPUs, an AMD Opteron, for another project. I drilled a hole straight through it to turn it into a necklace charm.
I’ve been wearing this thing regularly ever since. Honestly, it’s always a talking point no matter where I go. Everyone wants to know what the heck is hanging from my neck. Only some people make the connection and ask if it’s a computer processor. Behold! The face of just 3 hours of sleep before a flight…
But here’s the thing, I write about vehicles, not computers! I need a new kind of fun necklace accessory. This came up thanks to Lady Gaga wearing a bumper cover on the red carpet. I don’t want to go that extreme, but a comment from Jb996 got me thinking. The context is that getstonyII thought the Lady Gaga post was probably sponsored (it’s not), which led readers to joke about who the sponsor would be:
Uh, sponsored by who?? I certainly missed it.
By SELVA? I’m not sure we’re the target demographic.
By a Junk Yard? Pushing people to buy old car parts for fashion excessories! Yes!I still think it’s the Junk-Yard Lobby. They’re trying to get me to wear old brake rotors for a necklace, like some kind of Auto-FlavorFlav
I won’t do it!!
For a brief detour, I will give a second COTD nomination today. California wants to annoy speeders with in-car alerts that cannot be turned off. This has upset a lot of folks, but I think Sid Bridge clearly has the better plan, here:
I have long held that the best cure for speeding isn’t technology based. Speeders should just be sentenced to having to drive a 1986 Dodge Aries for a month in order to really feel how horrifying 80 miles per hour can be.
Okay, so with COTD out of the way, I need your help. What’s a car part I can wear? My wife bought me a piece of Fordite, which is awesome, but I have that on display rather than wearing it. Besides, that’s not exactly what I’m looking for. I want to wear a car part as jewelry, not turn car parts into jewelry, if you get what I’m saying.
But here’s the thing: It needs to be small, preferably roughly the size of that big server CPU. I don’t want to walk around with a clutch disk hanging from my neck. I also think wearing a badge would be cheating. However, now I’m stuck. What’s a car part that’s small, still identifiable as a car part, and presumably won’t tear up my skin? Maybe you can help!
Otherwise, have a great weekend, everyone!
For the necklace, are you looking for badass? How about part of a VW timing chain? For those in the know, it shouts “I AM TROUBLE.”
How about just a timing chain for the necklace? Use a zip tie, or “mechanics wire” as the clasp.
I can’t give you a specific part to use but I have some experience with similar endeavors with jewelry so here are some things to consider:
Make it personal to you. I’m guessing start with your love of Smarts.
Maybe a specific memory. A road trip you remember fondly could mean a trip odometer or a big repair job means using a fuel injector or whatever.
That’s my 2¢. Just look back on your many and varied experiences and see if you can’t identify a memory you hold special and that might lead you to some physical manifestations of that memory that could be a lovely (to you at least) charm. If not, go the Flav A Flav route and make a heavy timing chain uh… chain I guess.
Heck, they’re so small, she could probably wear an actual Smart as a pendant! Or a Beat?
So, it needs to be recognizable enough to most people, yet small enough to be practical… Got it!
Some of those below were suggested elsewhere here, so in such cases, think of this as a vote:
– Spark plug.
– Hazard light switch.
– High beans switch.
– Plate lights.
– Dome light cover (most cars have smaller ones at the back)
– VW door lock pin (you know the one). Actually, most interior trim from a Beetle qualifies, mostly small and iconic enough.
– Oil dipstick yellow pull thing.
– Windshield cleaner nozzle.
– A fuse on a socket (bonus points if you ever use it to replace a burnt one).
– Any car part from a scale model. Seriously, if I worked with you, I would give you a pair of ear rings made from thr steering wheel of a Smart scale model (reproduction, so no models were harmed). If I were leaving hospital now, I would have time to manufacture such present, and it would probably help heal my shoulder faster.
– Tyre valve (complete)
– One individual brake pad
Mend on the Move … first thing that came to mind.
https://mendonthemove.org/
Given what you’ve said about the Fordite piece, I don’t think Mend will suit you in this case. But, it might be of interest to others.
I picked up a few pieces from them several years ago and still enjoy them.
10mm bolt (cast in fancy metal) as a necklace piece?
a 10mm socket, plated in gold.
I think any flat plane crankshaft meets your needs for style and comfort.
How about an analog gauge face? A small tach or speedo, oil or water temp gauge. If you could mount an LED in it with a coin battery it could even light up.
PCV valve, perhaps?
I would use Key fobs, and for you specifically, a Mercedes key fob!
Tail light reflector get Torch to pick one out
Carburetor butterfly. We’re (the fire department I volunteer for) rebuilding the engine from one of our antique engines. In one of the intake ports we found the butterfly from the carb. The last time this engine was opened was around 1960, and the carb has a butterfly on it, so who knows how long it’s been in there. The extra butterfly is now on the keychain.
While a clutch disk would stand out, the pilot bearing would look cool.
Amber side marker or turn signal repeater lens could be interesting.
Not a car part, per se, but Japanese manufacturers like Royal Clover and Zoom make some wild “fashion keys” for various models. Most of the best ones are rare and out-of-production, but there are some excellent designs that would look awesome on a necklace. If nothing else, it’s a fun online rabbit hole to dive into!
Rocker arm or other engine valve train component.
I was going to say a Mercedes hood ornament but since that is out
How about a spark plug, or a valve can be polished nice and shiny or electroplated.
First thing that comes to mind is a smaller reflector or exterior light. Might be pricy, but something like the Volvo crystal shifter? The Bvlgari clock from a Cadillac XLR? When I worked at a GM dealer, there were a ton of bent valves from Chevy Aveos lying around, I feel like a handful of those would make for a decent coat rack, but unbent or with the stem trimmed as well could work on a necklace? I’m also blanking on a more elegant variant of the pop out door handle (like the Pontiac Grand Prix linked below), but just the handle itself like a pendant?
Also, have you considered any motorcycle parts? The smaller scale might lend itself even better than car parts.
https://www.chicagomusclecarparts.com/products/copy-of-outside-door-handle-new-69-72-grand-prix
Totally a hazard light switch.
Iconic, even non-enthusiasts will vaguely recognize it, even if they can’t place it, goes with red lipstick for formal occasions, and best part is the built-in verbal followup if you’re questioned – “oh yeah, you better believe hazardous…”
Find an old Thunderbird or Corvette emblem, and have that made into a pendant.
A starter button maybe? Like from an Aston Martin, a Ferrari, or dare I say a Mercedes-Benz?
Is there really any doubt about what you need?
I remember wearing the very similar part (probably from a W124) as a chain piece for a stage play back in high school.
Piston rings could work, but maybe it would not be so identifiable as a car part.
I think piston rings would make cool hoop earrings
A keychain sized 6 speed transmission shifter. From Amazon.
Oh, heck… there’s a whole collection of carparts!
Now that is a workable solution. Small but recognizable. And multiple options for multiple outfits.
Those would be perfect. I like the rotor and caliper the best.
1950s car keys: 28 Vintage FORD Keys | eBay
I think that the Mk1 mini indicator stalk could be what you need, the one with the green flasher on the end. minispares part number 31945 I think.
This
I have just spent a happy hour, it really does look like a purpose made necklace!