old car engines find a second life as handmade electric guitars

Reclaimed Engine Heads Become Handcrafted Electric Guitars

Plateis Guitars turns old car engine heads into handmade electric guitars, giving discarded automotive parts a second life as playable instruments. Created by Slovenian maker Vlado Plateis, the project brings together car culture, music, metalwork, and slow craftsmanship in one unexpected object. Each guitar begins with a used engine head, a part that once helped power a car and would usually end up as scrap. Instead of hiding its industrial origin, Plateis keeps the character of the metal visible. The shape, marks, openings and weight of the engine head become part of the guitar’s identity. What once roared on the road now roars in a different way, through strings, pickups, amplifiers, and many musical scales.

all images courtesy of Plateis Guitars – Vlado Plateis

Each Plateis Guitar Is Built as a One-of-a-Kind Instrument

The making process is slow and precise. Plateis works on one instrument at a time, spending around three months on each piece. During that period, the engine head is prepared, adapted, and combined with guitar components so the final object is not only visually striking, but also playable. Balance, strength, tuning stability, and sound all have to be considered.

The result sits somewhere between electric guitar, sculpture, and mechanical artifact. No two Plateis guitars are the same. Every engine head brings its own form, history and imperfections, which means each finished instrument has a different presence. The project is not about mass production or decoration. It is about transforming a heavy, forgotten mechanical part into something expressive, functional, and alive again. Plateis Guitars show how waste material can become an object of sound, craft and emotion. They speak to guitar players, collectors, car enthusiasts and anyone interested in design with a story behind it. An engine may stop moving a car, but in the right hands, it can still make noise.

discarded automotive parts become playable instruments

Ghost | donor engine: DODGE DOHC 2.4l 16 valve, weight: 5,4 kg (11,9 lbs)

each guitar begins with a reclaimed car engine head

MAZDA | donor engine: MAZDA 323 F IV, weight: 2,8 kg (6,9 lbs)

the original cast-metal form remains visible

Sorell | donor car: Toyota Corolla, weight: 4,1 kg (9 lbs)

engine components are adapted into functional guitar bodies

pickups and strings contrast with the raw metal casting

The Good | donor engine: Mitsubishi Colt 1.5 Petrol 2003- 2009, weight: 6 kg (13,2 lbs)

automotive waste is transformed through craftsmanship

every guitar is built as a one-of-a-kind object

project info:

name: Plateis Guitars
designer: Plateis Guitars – Vlado Plateis | @plateis.guitars

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom