Kibble's Kontinued-Kontinued Kart Konstruction

[kibble]

Well since my other thread was locked....*cough* robert *cough*... LOL JK

Anyways, I got some time today to do a little bit of work on my kart. Not much was done, I just mounted the rotors for the brakes and a few other little things.

I took a vid of my engine running to show how the mechanism works. You can see in the video that I didn't tighten up some of the bolts/nuts because one of them falls off!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46pvDQg5qMI

[robertdjung]

looks great!

[2or3wheels]

haha good thing it didnt go flying.

[kibble]

I did some work today. Started working on the seat but only got the backrest done. In the pics it's actually on the bottom as if it was the seat. I ran out of foam material for the bottom of the seat.

Welded a piece of square tubing on the rear to support the pillow blocks.

Mounted the steering wheel, not permanently yet because I'll have to raise it a bit; it's too low. The steering wheel will be a different one, not that ugly red one. You can't really tell in the pics but it looks like crap. I got a brand new one, identical to it for $2 from a pep boys store that was closing down

I'll be mounting the calipers for the brakes soon, maybe tomorrow.

[ed1380]

looks great. this the same kart you were planning on selling?

btw is the master cylinder by any chance from an eclipse?

[kibble]

Selling? I never said anything about selling it. LOL This is the only kart I've ever built. Maybe it was somebody else you're thinking of.

I don't remember what I took the master cylinder out of. I was just looking around the junkyard and saw this one that looked very easy to take out, so I did.

[ironman]

man looks great like the whole axle set up. where did you buy those bearing caps from

[kibble]

I got those on ebay along with most of the other stuff like the brake rotors/calipers, the axle itself, the clutch, and the small sprocket.

[ironman]

have you had a chance to ride it yet. man that axle setup really looks good but with all the rear parts do you think it will take away from your power.

[kibble]

No, can't ride it yet. I still need to finish up the brakes and finish up the steering I have to mount the seat, line up the bearings and tighten them down and mount the fuel tank somewhere. There's other small details as well.

I hope I don't lose too much power. I had to make the drive that way because the shaft coming out of the engine wasn't 3/4 or 1" so I couldn't find a suitable clutch. The Pulley mounted on the engine is the same size as the one on the jackshaft going into the clutch, 3" I think. I made it that way so it's almost like having the clutch straight on the crankshaft.

Last night I welded the mounts for the brake calipers and the master cylinder. I ran some of the tubing from the master cylinder to the rear and from there it's going to a set of couplers that will be used to connect them to the calipers. I will take pics later.

[jr dragster Tyler]

is that gold'ish drum the clutch if so how did you connect it up, there is a shaft with a pulley going in from one side and another shaft with the sprocket on it going out the other side.

[kibble]

That's exactly right. The clutch has a 3/4" input and a 3/4" output. The bore doesn't go all the way through so one side is attached to the pulley and the other goes to the sprocket.

[gustopf]

lol thats the same steering wheel i have, i took a kill switch off an old, stihl o28 and it fits right in the smallest hole and tightened it down then just ran the wire up the steering support. just thought id mention it :P

[kibble]

I was thinking of putting some switches for a few things on it, I'm just not sure I'd want it on the wheel itself. Thanks for the idea though.

Here's some pics I took of the brake system. I need to trim down some of the brake lines as they're too long right now. I'm not gonna trim them though until I put both of the holders for the lines in place. Right now I have only made one.

[ironman]

Man you got some great ideas going into that kart good pic. how did you come up with that brake setup looks good .

[kibble]

Thanks! I just build it as the ideas come to me. I just have an idea in my head as to what I want it to look like and I just work from that. I'll put parts together just temporarily to see what they will look like and if I end up liking it, then I go ahead and make them permanent.

[ironman]

what width of rim did you go with for your setup.on you first picture when you look at the front rims are you useing a spacer or some type of sleeve on it.i bought a set of rims for mine but they are skinny and the wheels slide side to side about 3inches.

[kibble]

Ironman, I believe the width of my rims are 12" in the rear and 8" in the front. I don't remember exactly what I have. On the front I am using spacers to keep the wheels from shifting side to side. If I didn't, I'd probably have it shift about 3 inches, like you said.

[2or3wheels]

make spaces ironman.

[ironman]

do you think using those spacer are going to give you any problems with wear on the bearings.

[kibble]

I wouldn't think so because it's still being supported evenly. The spacer is just there to keep it from shifting around or being too close to the frame.

Here's a pic of the brake system completely done with the disks in place and the differential back in place. I put brake fluid into it today, as can be evidenced by the slight purple tinge on the brake lines, and it works just as it should!

[ironman]

dude that setup looks so wicked i love checking out this pictures and it helps me with ideas keep it up.were did you get those brake {calipar}

[kibble]

I got the brakes on ebay as complete sets, that is, they come with the disk, the hub for the disk, the master cylinder (which I didn't use for mine), tubing, and the calipers. Search for "mcp brakes" on ebay and you'll see them right away. They are kind of pricey and I really hesitated on buying them because I had to buy two kits at about $130 each. It took me a while before I finally decided to buy them but I think they were worth it. The brakes alone are probably the most expensive thing that I had to pay for on my kart! On the other hand, however, brakes a pretty important aspect of any vehicle.

[gustopf]

that is deffinatly a nice piece of machinery!!! i had no idea you could put hydralic brakes on a kart, that is awsome!

[jr dragster Tyler]

What kind of slicks are on that kart in the rear?

[2or3wheels]

lookin good

[kibble]

What kind of slicks are on that kart in the rear?

Maxxis, they're used but they were cheap with the rims.

[russo2]

whered did you get the diff. axle in the rear?

[kibble]

Got the diff off of an old Nissan Sentra at an auto dismantling junkyard. I had the CV joints machined and bored to 1 inch so that it would accept the axle that I got on ebay.

[2or3wheels]

wow nice.

[kibble]

Some new pics of progress. It doesn't seem like much but it's taken me hours to get some of this stuff completed. One of them is of the mount I made for the backrest and the other is of some aluminum diamond plate that I put where the feet will go. I drilled and tapped some pieces of metal and welded them to the frame to support the aluminum. The steering is one of the most difficult things I'm currently working on. I can't seem to get it quite right, although the last thing I've been trying seems like it will be ok. I had two 3/4" collars that were supposed to be for the steering rod but I can't find one of them, I don't know where it is! :mad2:

[ironman]

lookin good man keep up the work

[apreludem]

nicely done

[2or3wheels]

wow this is going to be a badass cart

[pomeroniinc]

Correct me if I'm incorrect but wouldnt it have been easier and less expensive to just put on a comet 40 series torque converter??

[pomeroniinc]

Also this kart would be a perfect candiate for a KT 100 kart engine from Probasco Karts!! balanced and blueprinted!! Man what a ride!!

[kibble]

Correct me if I'm incorrect but wouldnt it have been easier and less expensive to just put on a comet 40 series torque converter??

The engine shaft isn't a standard size. It's smaller than 1" and bigger than 3/4" at .87". That's the only reason why I made it with a jackshaft. Oddly enough, pulleys were available that fit on there perfectly.

I would have loved to have used a tc.

[kibble]

Has anybody used a u-joint type setup on their steering mechanism? I was thinking of it because I apparently made my kart a bit too short on the front:oops: and I'm having problems trying to find a decent way to mount the steering rod. I thought about extending it but I'm not sure I want to do that. I was able to get some more 3/4" collars at a local nursery so now I can continue with the steering. I still need to work on the pedals.

Hmmmmm, this talking about extending the kart just gave me an idea. The kart is wide enough for two people but with the way I made the front end, only one can fit comfortably. I could make a second, two person, front end and make some way to be able to detach the front end and change it if I want to have two people in it. With the way I did the brakes and the throttle, I can just disconnect the parts and re-attach the new front end.

I probably sound :out: right about now... LOL

[ironman]

hey kibble, hows that ride going still thinking of a two frontend setup

[kibble]

I haven't done much since the last post. I was really busy over the weekend and then I got sick.:ack2: Today I was trying to fix a tiny gps receiver that I messed up yesterday while trying to modify it... :oops: It's ok though, I got it working again.

I'm not really gonna bother with the two person front end until I get the whole thing working first. It's the steering that's got me stumped right now. One of these days when I got some time, I'll try to get it all straight.

[ironman]

i hear you there well ill be watching i like the whole setup you got cant wait to see pictures when its done and hear about how fast it goes

[ironman]

Hey kibble on those collars for the rear axle how good are they as far as lasting? I see they dont cost alot just was wanting to know im about to buy a set for a 1inch axles but want to make sure they are worth it. Is that a 1 inch axle you are useing and what length is it ?

[kibble]

Ironman, I'm not using any collars on my rear axle to hold it in place. The axle is 1" and I believe it was 36" long when I bought it. I had to cut it in two pieces and the ends go into the CV joints on the differential. Are those the parts that you're referring to as the collars? Most of my axle is held in place by the pillow blocks' set screws, there's two per pillow and three on the cv joints so there's a total of 7 set screws per axle holding it in place. I have a couple of collars that I'll use if I have to but I don't think they're necessary.

As far as collars go, I think anything will do as far as it fits on whatever you're putting it on. They're not made to take a lot of abuse, just to hold parts in place.

[ironman]

pillow blocks is what i trying to say{thanks}..Just bought a set for my mini kart project im working on just was wanting to know how strong they were if i should use two or four for the axle is going to be about 32 inches long.

[kibble]

If you're not using a diff, then just two would be ok. I'm only using 4 because of the diff. On my jackshaft, 4 is probably overkill. I was thinking of taking two off.

[kibble]

Ok, so I had time to work on my kart today and I finally got the steering all straightened out. Works great! I also took some pics of it's current state.

Stuff left to do:

Mount gas tank
Pedals, gas and brakes
Some electrical/electronics
Attach steering wheel completely with newer steering wheel.
TEST DRIVE!!! :auto: :biggrin5: :biggrin5: :biggrin5:

I think that's all that's left to do.

[ironman]

Hey you weigh that thing yet looks like you are getting up ther on the weight .:thumbsup: you better beef up that motor. looks good.hey what are the back spaceing on the front rims and are those 4 1/2 inch front spindles.

[2or3wheels]

lookin good.

[kibble]

Hey you weigh that thing yet looks like you are getting up ther on the weight .:thumbsup: you better beef up that motor. looks good.hey what are the back spaceing on the front rims and are those 4 1/2 inch front spindles.

I don't know how the heck I would weigh the thing, at least not with what I have. I don't know the spacing I'm using off the top of my head and the spindles I made, I'll have to go home a measure and get back to you on those.

[kibble]

Hey Ironman, my spacers in the front are about 1 3/4" and the spindles are about 3 3/4". I made the spindles out of some brackets I bought at Lowes.

I worked on the pedals today and I should be attaching them soon. No new pics yet though. I'm hoping to have it drivable within the next two weeks. I'll have a video of the very first test drive, whether a success or a failure. :auto:

[dirtrider69]

that ius looking pretty frickin' sweet!!

[JerryAssburger]

HOLY COW, Kibble! That is a beautiful thing to behold! (Eyes tearing up). If my experience can help, find some way of keeping your butt from sliding off that thing. It looks like it's going to corner HARD! The first time I took my lowrider out for a spin, I took a good corner at about 25mph, and slid right off of the seat onto the ground... watching it do circles next to me! OUCH! Think grippy seat!

[kibble]

Thanks! :thumbsup: I had thought about adding a seat belt to it. Maybe now that you mention that I will do it. I'll go to the auto wreckers and jack a seat belt off of something. The good thing is, the material I used for the seats isn't very slippery, it's kind of rubbery.

Well, I worked on finding a way to put the pedals on the kart today and this is what I came up with. I got the pedals at Kragens or something for like $14. I just had to find some way to attach them to the kart.

[EngineerDaisy]

Mr Kibble that kart is awesum :drool5: :thumbsup: Hope you get it going.

[noley99]

It's looking great Kibble! Can't wait to see a video of hauling the mail!

[kibble]

Thanks!

Today I did some work with the brake again. I hardened the bar that connects the pedal to the master cylinder and I redesigned the mechanism connecting the pedal to the bar. I made is so that pushing on the pedal doesn't make the bar bend down so now I don't have the problem I was having before. It's not really what I was wanting to do, but it works. I still have to make it a little cleaner and cut some extra material off of it.

[ironman]

o yea that looks nice and strong

[kibble]

A couple of new pictures. One is of the throttle. I have yet to connect it to the pedal though. The second is of the tubing through which the wires run to the rear of the kart. My goal is to have this all up and running by the end of next Friday. I am planning to video tape on Saturday the 12th. Keep your eyes peeled for a video sometime that weekend, I hope.

[kibble]

Mounted the gas tank today. I was hoping to get more done, but that didn't happen. Tomorrow I'm gonna be working on it for as much as I can. One picture is of the tank where I drilled two holes to mount it to an angled bar that I welded to the back of the seat. After I took that picture, I accidentally dropped my camera in a bucket of water. :( Fortunately, I took it apart immediately and sprayed the main circuit board and flash board with contact cleaner/lubricant to displace any of the water on them. then I set the boards, lens and all the other parts on top of my computer where it has an exhaust fan that blows hot air out of it and they dried up. I tested it and still works fine! :thumbsup:

The second picture is of the tank mounted on the kart. I took that pic with my cell because that was right after I had dropped the camera in the water so you can tell that it's not as clear.

Hey, Robert, is this thread getting to long?

[ironman]

that tank setup look good looks like you could buy that setup from the store.