I'm planning on installing a new engine in my Beetle this weekend, so I've been looking at lots of engine parts and pictures of engines lately. And maybe something snapped after too many hours of staring at carburetors while Star Trek:TNG droned on in the background. Whatever it was, it made me see all car parts as spaceships.

So, I decided to make a few pictures with car part spaceships. There was only one rule: the car part itself must be whole and not altered in any major way — I'd scale and tweak the angle and that sort of thing, but no assemblages made from pictures — just the part or parts themselves, as I found the images online. Some reference famous sci-fi movies, some don't.

See if you can ID the references! Or make your own and put 'em in the comments! Woo! Car part spaceship party!

Driveshaft and round-topped nut

Entire radial engine

Entire drivetrain

Clutch plate

Carburetor

Brake booster and transaxle component

Turbocharger and exhaust plenum

Entire drivetrain and transmission

Brake rotors