Once upon a time, amusement parks dotted the countryside from coast to coast. Everyone wanting to become the next Coney Island or Disneyland. That was back when things were good in that part of the entertainment sector.

A high revving motorcycle engine in a short wheelbase chassis means tons of fun for the aggressive drivers.

Even in the best times, amusement parks are hectic, chaotic, ugly and full of danger.

Despite the noisy environment, there is one part of the amusement park that was always welcoming: The bumper car arena.

As the amusement parks began to close due to slow business, lawsuits, and the sluggish economy, we have always wondered what happened to the beloved bumper cars. We finally have an answer.

A California-based car builder, Tom Wright, began acquiring a few bumper cars from the Long Beach Pike amusement park, saving them from the trash heap.

The interior compartment shows a full pedal arrangement, with he accelerator and brake on one side and the clutch on the other side of the steering column.

Wright then reconfigured the bumper cars to run on four-wheels, legal for street use. It’s rumored that Wright took out the Harley motors that originally powered these cars, and replaced them with 750cc Honda and Kawasaki powerplants. The rest of the car was redesigned to pass the California vehicle code for street use.

Having no idea these cars existed, we were alerted by one of our faithful readers, who had seen one of these creations at a local car show in San Diego.

In 2006, there were eight of these machines on the road in Southern California. Nobody really knows how many more there are.

According to this video that we found, Wright now owns eight of these street-legal bumper cars, making it one of the largest fleet of active bumper cars not in an amusement park. All eight are licensed for the road and guaranteed to give you a  run for the money.

These cars were reportedly able to achieve speeds up to 160 mph, which makes for a wild ride with such a short wheelbase. Regardless of the ride quality, we want one so bad!