Building the Kart
In 1989 I saw a go-kart for sale in the classified
ads...
It turned out to be a 60's relic and was pretty
rough after years of abuse and repair. I saved the wheels, the real axle,
the drum brake, and the steering pieces but the rest was crap and dealt with
accordingly. This is the only photo I was able to find, which shows how
little I thought of it.
On the right is the lawnmower engine which came with
the kart. It was removed and resold at the flea market for $2 and replaced
with the robust, multi-speed Honda CT70 on the left. The Honda design is so
dependable that Korean minibike builders today are making copies.
Here's the new frame going together; a simple ladder
design made from mild steel tubing with cross bracing and MIG welded by my
good friend Tom Pearson, PhD. With no Internet at the time (at least for me)
I made a lot of parts from scratch and sourced raw materials from local
hardware stores.
Jury-rigged and looking pretty ugly, it was
incredibly fun. Due to space limitations, the kick starter was converted to
a crude pull-start, which was difficult to operate. The seat effectively
blocked all cooling air to the motor. The sheet-metal pedals bent easily.
The seating was cramped and tight. Despite all this, the kart went like a
bat out of Hell, exceeding all expectations.
Test-pilot Mike demonstrates the proper driving
techniques: lean into turns and keep the accelerator mashed. It was fast,
handled great, and with a little practice, we we doing four-wheel drifts
thru 30mph turns. Several of us spent a few hours beating it around a
makeshift GP course on Thanksgiving of 1989, and it's never moved under it's
own power since.
This was a kart dad owned when I was a little kid. I
recall sitting in it, and doing a lot of daydreaming about driving, but
I don't think dad was ever able to get both motors running and eventually it
changed hands.
