Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: __________Armaan Ahuja_______________ Date: ______24/10/2023________

Teacher: ____Mr. Green_________________ Block: C

The Capstone strand I have chosen is _______Product strand

Proposed title for my Project Proposal: (write the proposed title for your Capstone Project in one clear
sentence): Converting an old Lawnmower into a high-speed vehicle that can be used in the pep rally

What is your inquiry question that interests you for further research? It should be a question that connects with
a purpose, passion, or personalized area of interest for you. This is a question that you cannot just google an
answer for. Please see examples from your Capstone booklet.
My inquiry question is:

How can I transform an old work vehicle into a fun and safe vehicle meant for students?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are choosing to
investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry connect to your passion(s),
purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

I’m choosing this area as a focus because of my passion for vehicles. Old vehicles are great place to start
to work on cars. Old work vehicles are very reliable and simple to work on. There are a lot of parts for them
and have diagnosed multiple times. This will help with getting the vehicle running. Old vehicles are cheap
and robust. Old work vehicles are very robust and are often taken decent care of. Minor and semi major
issues will still be present however they are usually manageable and can be solved with time and research.
Vehicles have always been of interest to me. I do my own oil changes and basic services. However, I
haven’t been able to major adjustments to my cars as it is too risky and would cost a lot of money if goes
wrong. I also only have 1 car, so I would have to use other transportation as my car is in the shop.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this area of inquiry?

I have taken auto-technology in grade 10 with Mr. Clements. This was my first time doing major
adjustments to any cars. I learned the basics at home and learned more advanced repairs in this class.
This class grew my understanding and passion for vehicles. I currently am in auto Tech again with
Mr.Ekkert. He has a Teachers Technology Education Diploma and works in a wood working company. He
has also worked on his on cars much more than I have and does very major changes to his car.

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Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What connections does this
inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

My current career goal is to get a Mechanical engineer degree. This will allow me to go into a variety of
industries. I currently want to be an automotive engineer because of my love for cars. As an engineer you
must take the mechanics into consideration as they will be repairing and working on the cars I make. This
inquiry question helps me understand more about cars and grows my passion with them. I also want to
mod my car in the future and the knowledge from this project will help me in the future.

Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core competencies will
be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

• Personal responsibility
I will have to be on task and at work to barely make this project fit into the time schedule. I will be
responsible for coming in after school to complete tasks that are unfinished.
• Critical thinking
I will need to plan where, and how the custom parts will fit. I will also need to develop designs for the
custom parts and make sure they fit accordingly.
• Communication
This project will require me to work with my teacher and friends to solve problems. I will also be
documenting the process in my final project.

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to present your
project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once completed. You may use a
combination of mediums.
o Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
o Physical portfolio
o Website
o imovie presentation
o YouTube channel

I will have a website that shows my progress throughout the building process. I will have a photo of the
work done and a caption describing the photos and current struggles. I will have videos of me creating
custom parts and driving the Lawnmower. I will give reasoning on why I am doing things a certain way and
the pros and cons of my options. I will explain the gear ratios and math reasoning on my gear ratios.

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what will you
research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced at the end of this

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project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your proposal.

See bottom of page

Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and skills you will
need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to access/learn all of the resources
necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail your plans.

I will have to learn several different skills to build my lawnmower. I will need a lot of tools that will be
supplied by the auto shop. I will need to learn how to create welds that will be able to withstand weight.
We have a MIG welding machine at our auto shop, that I have already taken the safety test on. I will ask
Mr. Ekkert to help me learn how to create solid welds. I will also search up beginner tutorials on YouTube
to learn how to create strong welds. I will be using the plasma cutter to create custom parts that will help
create a rigid frame and features on the lawnmower, such as the trailer hitch. Organization will be a big
part in this project. I will need to organize all the bolts and parts so I will be able to rebuild the engine. I
plan to use plastic bags with labels that will help keep all the bolts organized.

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will you need to

help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you? What is your plan to access
the mentorship/community connections necessary for this project?

I will need mentors that have experience with automobiles. My automotive teacher has a TTED degree
and is very well versed with tools. Mr. Ekkert has done upgraded his car in many ways. He has done
custom jobs on his cars, and I believe this will help with my project. Mr. Ekkert will help me by being able
to provide a budget for the lawnmower as it will be owned by the school. Mr. Ekkert has experience
solving unique problems that will occur during my project. He is also well versed in multiple tools such as
welding and plasma cutting. These will prove very useful as this project will require custom parts. I had
taken automotive engineering as I intended to do this project, and I will be using my in class time to talk
and work on my lawnmower.

Another connection is my classmates. People in my class are well informed on vehicles and are
interested in helping me out. This will allow for me to brainstorm quickly for a solution.

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee that might
affect progress with your Capstone Project?

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 I believe ordering parts will cause problems with this project as shipping will take a while. If any damage
is done to the lawnmower, it will be hard to replace the parts. Another possible obstacle is the creation of
custom parts. It will be hard to create certain parts as they will require precision and stronger materials.
Possible limitations could be in class time. As our class is usually only 1.20 hours long. I will combat this
by coming in after school and doing the presentation part at home.

Other considerations: List and detail any other related information/ considerations about your project
that you feel should be included in your project proposal.

This is a school vehicle and will be paid by the school. I will not be able to keep it and will have access to
heavy duty tools and materials that will help me complete the lawnmower.

References: Provide a literature review of 5-10 PEER REVIEWED ACADEMIC references: research,
videos, etc. that offer some preliminary research you have done for your project that shows you are able
to access the key information that you will need to be able to complete this project/work. Your list should
be written using correct APA formatting.

Peterson, C. D. (1929). Axle Ratios and

Transmission Steps. SAE Transactions, 24,
332–345.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/44434355

Sgro, S. D., Field, D. W., & Freeman, S. A.

(2008). The Impact of Teaching Oxy-Fuel
Welding on Gas Metal Arc Welding
Skills. The Journal of Technology
Studies, 34(1), 2–11.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/43604220

Matrat, M., Guida, F., Mattei, F., Cénée, S.,

Cyr, D., Févotte, J., Sanchez, M., Menvielle,
G., Radoï, L., Schmaus, A., Woronoff, A.-S.,
Luce, D., & Stücker, I. (2016). Welding, a
risk factor of lung cancer: the ICARE
study. Occupational and Environmental
Medicine, 73(4), 254–261.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/43870216

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Bernard, J. E., & Starkey, J. M. (1983).
Engine Mount Optimization. SAE
Transactions, 92, 945–953.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/44644425

Anderson, R. J., & Kurtz, E. F. (1980).

Handling—Characteristics Simulations of
Car–Trailer Systems. SAE Transactions, 89,
2097–2113.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/44633824

Cooper, E. R., Moffatt, E. A., Curzon, A. M.,

Smyth, B. J., & Orlowski, K. F. (2001).
Repeatable Dynamic Rollover Test
Procedure With Controlled Roof
Impact. SAE Transactions, 110, 441–447.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/44730900

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Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what will you research, create, study,
produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced at the end of this project for evaluation .

For my capstone I will making a Drag Lawnmower, this will be a part of the product strand. I will have to
remove, design, and create parts that will increase the speed of the lawnmower. I have chosen this as
my capstone because I have always been fascinated with automobiles. I enjoy designing and creating
makeshift parts that can be used on my current projects. The question that drives my capstone is “How
can I transform an old work vehicle into a fun and safe vehicle meant for students?”. I chose this
question as it aligns with what I want to do in the future. I want to be an automotive engineer and I
believe this capstone will help me decide if I want to continue into engineering.

I will have to start by finding old lawnmowers on used websites. This will allow me to find lawnmowers
for cheap and find lawnmowers that are about to be recycled. I will decide which lawnmower to
purchase by a couple of rules. The lawnmower must not have major body damage as I will not have
enough time to make major repairs. Another rule is it must be less than 600$ as this stops me from
buying a new lawnmower. I can achieve the second goal by negotiating with the seller. After buying the
lawnmower I will need drain all the fluids and check for any major damage around the engine. This will
be preventable maintenance and will help the lawnmower last longer.

I will then have to drop the engine to do standard test. I will have to check the engine for any major
problems. I will do a compression check with a compression kit, test the spark plug wires, fuel pump or
carburetor, and check the relays. If any other damage is shown I will do a deeper dive into the engine
and diagnose the problem.

After all that I will start redesigning the gears in the transmission. To change the gear ratios in the
transmissions I will have to find gears that fit and produce more rpm than torque. I will have to research
which gear ratios make enough rpm while still have torque to pull the trolley.

I will then make or find a trailer for the Lawnmower. This will allow me put people on the trailer during
the pep rally. I will use the motor that is used to spin the blades to slowly spin seats in the back. This will
require custom parts which I will design and make, using the will MIG welder and plasma cutter. I will
practice welding and cutting before attempting to make parts for the lawnmower.

Welding will be a big part of this project as I will need to make custom parts like a roll cage. Before
starting any welding on the lawnmower, I will need to learn and practice different ways of welding. I will
do this by looking for tutorials on YouTube. I will also ask the metal work teacher for tips and pointers.
Strong welds will increase the longevity of the lawnmower sand prevent any injuries during testing.

This project will help deepen my understanding and love of automobiles. I will understand the
complexities of gear ratios better and put it into practice. I will learn new skills and use new tools that
can be used in my future of engineering. The final product will be a fully restored lawnmower that has
different purpose. I will have created a fun and safe automobile that will make my last year at R.E.
Mountain memorable.

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