Kart Build

[matty_fly]

I will dig around in the garage, I have a set of bad ass mag wheels that were on old rupp minibikes, complete with disc brakes. if I can find them and you want them, you can have em.

[guidolyons]

I had a Go-cart with a 5Hp Tecumseh, butterfly steering wheel, centripetal clutch, and the old flipper/paddle brakes. I got it for my birthday when I was ~10, I rode that go-cart hard for many years (even after I was waaaay to big for it) It was a ton of fun. I had a track around the perimeter of my neighbor's corn field.

[rugburn]

The first example pic of the gold kart is a Rupp Dart Kart from the late sixties.
I found one about 30 years ago in a neighbors bushes.
We drug it out and pushed it home after it sat for more than 3 years we learned later on.

It had provisions for twin engines, but only one West Bend engine remained.

My brother and I stripped it down to a bare frame, primed and painted it and built a 4HP Tecumseh engine for it with a direct drive.
We would push start it, Chris would jump on the open engine mount and throttle it while I steered and braked.

We had a lot of fun over the years with that chassis and went thru about 5 different engines on that kart before my brother sold it his Senior year in high school.

Our town library had some really cooool old school Karting books from the late Sixties, early Seventies.

Looking forward to your build

john

[woods]

I built a cart with a buddy in metal shop when I was in high school.
We threw a RD 400 Datona engine on it. The thing flew through all 6 gears!
Buddy ended up pulling it apart a couple years later with the plans of fitting a H-2 750 engine in it. He never got it back together

[chris fresh]

125 kawi 2 stroke,clocked at 112 daytona with 165 lb driver

[krawlr]

6HP china engines are on sale at Harborfright for $99 and clutches are available at Tractor Supply or Northern Tool for about $30. But that would be too easy for chopperman.

[surpip]

Originally Posted by chris fresh

125 kawi 2 stroke,clocked at 112 daytona with 165 lb driver

soooo much want

[chris fresh]

Originally Posted by surpip

soooo much want

you can so much have,it's for sale and those pics are old.the frame just came back from powder coat,everything will be new and spotless.along with a fresh top end,lotta guys run the cr motors,i like 6 gears so that's why the kawi

[jensenkennels]

Originally Posted by surpip

soooo much want

Pfft, 'ol skool man, 'ol skool!

[VEX]

Originally Posted by rugburn

The first example pic of the gold kart is a Rupp Dart Kart from the late sixties.
I found one about 30 years ago in a neighbors bushes.
We drug it out and pushed it home after it sat for more than 3 years we learned later on.

It had provisions for twin engines, but only one West Bend engine remained.

My brother and I stripped it down to a bare frame, primed and painted it and built a 4HP Tecumseh engine for it with a direct drive.
We would push start it, Chris would jump on the open engine mount and throttle it while I steered and braked.

We had a lot of fun over the years with that chassis and went thru about 5 different engines on that kart before my brother sold it his Senior year in high school.

Our town library had some really cooool old school Karting books from the late Sixties, early Seventies.

Looking forward to your build

john

Now I know what kind of kart I had as a kid. Exact frame,wheels, slicks, chrome gas tank behind the seat. It was missing the side padding and the crotch pad, but same chassis.

It had a 7 hp McCulloch on it, no muffler, direct drive. What a fawking blast.

You had to push start it with a friend lifting the ass end and dropping it and push till it fired. Usually pretty quick. As I\we got older we were able to pick up the ass by ourselves, drop and hop to get to the accelerator and off you went. This was an acquired and necessary skill as we lived on about a half mile long straight rural road with hills. (blind spots for cars).

Being direct drive you had to keep up momentum and needed a place to turn around under power. My front lawn was the 180 point and at the end of the road was an open field. We had to do some grooming of the turn around point up there, but OMFG the fun we had. Passing neighbors at speed and the close calls were just part of it.

It all ended one summer day when myself, 2 friends and my dad took it to the Sierra College parking lot. We did this regularly when the parking lots were empty in the summer. ( late 70's early 80's).

We all had a great day when dad wants to take it out the last time. He gets a couple hot laps when the steering wheel comes off in his hand.

Being a splined shaft coupled with speed, and a few Oly's, and dad didn't get the wheel on or brake before clipping the curb and flipping spectacularly into the weeds.

He fared much better than the kart. Bent frame, broken wheel, flat tire, snapped chain, seemingly rare 7 tooth primary sprocket, and it was done.

I moved out of the house about 6 months later and never saw it again.

Edit: Just to add I want to get a mild kart for my 6 yr. old as she has outgrown the Power Wheels. Watching this.

[sixteenquad]

A buddy of mine just built this for his kid to race at the local Go Cart track. It started life as a rigid frame with a 12hp Honda. Now it has full suspension and a Raptor 660 motor.The possibilities are endless with Choppermans skills
.

[ElkyRacer]

Looks like a fun build! I wish I could get my mom to scan some pictures of my uncles old go kart. My grandfather built it in the late 50s-early 60s by hand. Think of a 30s roadster built for a midget! Complete with a Cushman motor, drop axle in the front with horizontal leaf springs, and hand built tub. It was called the "10 can". Complete with floorboards made of road signs, it was a "rat rod" waaaaaaaaaay before the craze! Its still sitting in the barn, in fairly good shape even after I got a half assed start on rebuilding it in high school. Ill see if she can get some pictures sent to me, or if its not blocked in Ill drag it out and get some pix.

[surpip]

Originally Posted by chris fresh

you can so much have,

well if your gonna just give it to me....

[lttlbddy]

Originally Posted by Chopperman

Basically going for the same theme as the gold kart below except a tad bit tammer for a 6yr old.

"Tad bit tamer" in a chopperman thread . . . weird

[MudzerK5]

I like the lines of yours better than that gold one, so it should look really killer. I also like the torq thrust looking wheels. Wicked.

[NoJoke]

Brings back memories.
Had a friend with that exact same model I believe....I thought it was an old sears go kart.

Wanna sell?

[rugburn]

Bump for the old skool kart

[shiftrider66]

Originally Posted by ChaseYJ

I had one when I was about his age. Frame was simliar to the gold one. 5hp Briggs moved that thing pretty good around the 2 acre dirt track in the backyard. I put so much time on it the corners ended up banked from sliding around it all the time.

Shit just typing that put a smile on my face. That thing was fun!!

I also had one just like it, 5hp motor, thing was a blast. iirc 30-35mph top speed, but 3" from the ground


Didn't see if anyone mentioned it, but I would just paint the white walls on

[budget76]

Stumble onto this, it thing looks crazy http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2fcJcm...gsxr_kart.html

[Ford4x4Chik27]

Very cool! Nolan was telling me alll about it on Wednesday!

Garnet put one of these in his go kart:



I'll ask him what he did with his old kart engines (I think he should have 2 laying around....)

[JunkyTJ]

Originally Posted by budget76

Stumble onto this, it thing looks crazy http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2fcJcm...gsxr_kart.html

That would be a hell of a way to go.

[Az602623]

How about something like this. Its a soapbox car not a gokart but you know what im getting at.

[LucasFury]

Originally Posted by Az602623

How about something like this. Its a soapbox car not a gokart but you know what im getting at.

..don't.

[matty_fly]

Dang....I need to drag my Kart out of the barn now that I have a yard again.

Tips for kid fun:
Stay away from live axles, they don't turn for shit and burn clutches
if you are not trying to keep it old school, honda engines are the shit. easy to start and can be beat on forever.
make it big enough so you can drive it. my dad drove the shit out of ours back in the day.

I started on a kart when I was 4-5, made it through Jr dragsters, qtr midgets and even drove a few shifter karts. I am damn sure that I am as good of a driver as I am because I spend so much time in a kart.

[665.0coupe]

Originally Posted by LucasFury

..don't.

That was most likely built for something like this sfvisbf.

I kind of surprised that chopperman hasn't built a soapbox racer. Maybe he will after he builds his sons go kart.

It looks like a ton of fun but we don't have many hills around here.