[EricH]

Would it be cool? Yep. Would it be easy? No. In HS physics, one of the class projects was to build a motor. Of the half-dozen or so attempts, zero actually worked.

Or, this paraphrased discussion of a R/C airplane starter motor with another member of the Aero Design team I'm on:

Me: "Think I'll try to get into that motor again and fix it."
Operations Officer: "We think it was already on its way out."
Me: "Yeah, but we found the problem, right? Shouldn't be that hard to fix."
OO: "We think that that's just the final phase. We're thinking that the contacts were making contact for a long time, which is why we thought we had all those battery issues. E.C.'s starter is better all around." [E.C. is another member who has his own plane]
Me: "That makes sense."

This was taking place a couple of days after I'd pulled the dud motor apart and found the issue--one magnet contact sprung. We thought we'd fixed it, then we put the whole thing back together.

I think the other reason not to have team-built motors is that it can be pretty darn hard. For some teams, it can be impossible. However, what I'd do is try to do it during the summer or fall as a team-building project, and then present it to your physics teacher as extra credit if it works.