Giving the Futurista its Voice

A few years ago, I had the awesome pleasure of working on Darryl Starbird’s restored Futurista, a 1963 three-wheeled bubble-top car from the past’s future. The original was wrecked in a transport accident, so helping the new owner rebuild it was a cool opportunity.

My job was getting the bubble top and doors to open and close, plus making the voice system work. The top and doors were straightforward—standard linear actuators and relay triggers did the trick. The real challenge was timing the door opening to sync perfectly with the voice playback. I used a modern audio module to play the car’s original futuristic lines, keeping the retro vibe. Getting that timing just right took some tweaking, but hearing it all come together was awesome.

This project was a fun mix of car nostalgia and tech problem-solving. It’s one I’ll always remember. Need help with a unique project or IT support? Check out techhound.tech.

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