A Motorized Easy Chair

Chris McIntosh's first recliner was not your standard La-Z-Boy - it was electric-powered and capable of going 15 mph. Now a freshman at the University of Southern California, McIntosh spent his youth building ad-hoc vehicles, so when the chair's paltry electric motor burned out, he decided it was time for a monster makeover.

To upgrade the recliner, he removed the electric motor he had installed, the motor's controller, a pair of batteries, and other parts. He bought a nine-horsepower, four-stroke dirt-bike engine, which fit perfectly in the space beneath the seat, and welded on a fixed rear axle so the engine could power both rear wheels instead of just one.