Kart Rods

[Kelly Wood]

Update:

Moving along...

My trusty camera died a while back and I finally got a replacement.

The saga continues.

A few days off work should prove interesting as Sarge has a different engine now.

Time to rig up some throttle linkage and this should be a work of art because of the updraft carb that's on it. There's nowhere to really hook anything so I'll have to fab up something. Plus, this engine is much older than the one I used before so it has a bit of an older look to it. It's fan shroud is more rounded and seems to fit well with it artistically. Another plus, the old chevy orange color that it was. I'll use my dremel to shine up the intake but leave a hint of the orange splashed around giving it a bit of an older feel.

Also on the "to do list," put some real brakes on. The scrub brakes work ok but they're buggin me. They're noisy and ruin the tires (I knew this)

So an asuza drum is going on and the scrub brakes will be kept and hooked up to a lever... for an emergency brake... but that's down the road. For now, I'll just weld the brake bar in place for looks. The scrub brakes currently use pads that are just basic metal and will be replaced with some nifty (and shined up) aluminum ones for show.

Stay tuned.

 

[Kelly Wood]

Update:

I'm sorry Urban defiance... but sarge didn't make it. The transplant didn't go as planned. (sad daytime tv hospital music plays in the background... LOL)

It's almost as if I forgot what I had in mind... and then this happens.

We'll start with my carport after I was done. See pic 1. (yes, I do all this in only a carport. I have no garage)

In short:
1. New brake system
2. Aluminum scrub brakes stabilized & in place for future emergency brake
3. Motor & fuel tank replacement... etc.

...and I didn't use the other briggs for some reason. I put the fire breathing honda in it's place with some funky changes. (hey, I loved the version I did that made it look like a gas mask... so that's what I did.)

6 hours later, we end up with The Sarge, with a back side she can shake.

Top it off with some gnarley pipe wrap and a test drive. She's very very fast now and predictable... just like Urban Defiance.

Thanks for watching.

 

[Kelly Wood]

Update:

Let's just say that today started EXACTLY LIKE YESTERDAY. 7 Hours of tinkering with Sarge to make it just right had me just following a problem that I've known about for a while... but just got worse.

The engine (a honda GX200) has this weird "miss" here & there. It's random and I'm pretty much at my wits end on it... and just gonna go get a predator and use the honda for parts.

In short, to track down this miss I did the following:
1. 3 different carbs, new gaskets each time, all of them totally clean, including using Urban Defiances' carb too. Also 3 different jets, all clean, all stock.
2. Numerous new plugs, all good, even used Urban defiances.
3. 2 different fuel pumps
4. 2 different ignition systems
5. New Gas
6. Kill switch disconnected
7. Insulator inspected, not cracked (that I could see)
8. Flywheel not cracked, all in place, key on crankshaft not sheered off, nada.

The sympoms?
1. Starts 1st pull, idles well, but a random misfire here & there, but random. Like one every 30 seconds or so.
2. When cold, flooring it from idle is good, then a random miss here & there. Seemed to go away when it got hot.
3. No backfires, nothing strange there... just a miss here & there.
4. Flooring it gets it up to speed well, but it's like you're dragging a small pet behind you at times, not all the time though.

WTF? I dunno. Cracked valve?

Anyway, the hunt for a clone is now on cause I want to run sarge, alot.

The rest of the story is pretty good. The brake system kicks butt. For spare parts, the asuza drum is quite good and predictable. http://www.ombwarehouse.com/6-Internal-Drum-Brake-Assembly-AZ2552.html

More soon,
thanks for watching.

Oh hey, Predator folks! Any thoughts on the predator? They ok? Can you just pop the governer out & they're ok? It's all I plan on doing. Thoughts appreciated.

 

[Desertduler]

Kelly,
Have you checked the valve lash? .006 on the Intake .008 on the exhaust.

 

[Kelly Wood]

Kelly,
Have you checked the valve lash? .006 on the Intake .008 on the exhaust.

I pulled the valve cover I looked around, valve lash is good, but I suspect something else is still to be found.

 

[Desertduler]

I pulled the valve cover I looked around, valve lash is good, but I suspect something else is still to be found.

Do you want me to look at it for you?

 

[Kelly Wood]

Update:

Sarge needs a killer engine. 8 Am today has me at harbor freight with an itch for a new engine. With sarge, the honda looks excellent and the custom throttle I did for it... well, I didn't want to have to re-engineer... and I hear these predators have the same tank mounts as the honda.

It seemed similar to the day I bought the greyhound for UD.

In we went, I asked my daughter to pick one from the pile o'motors, and she points to one on the bottom.

Predator in hand (both hands that is), on we go, breakfast in hand and homeward.

Pretty much just a cleanup day for me while I break in this beast right.

For those interested, here's my break-in process for a clone.

1. Unpack it
2. Put everything in the box aside except for the motor
3. Bolt motor to my hand truck (it has a makeshift motor mount on it for just this purpose)
4. Fill with gas.
5. Put 12 OZ of the cheapest oil I can find in it.
6. Turn on switch
7. Pull until it starts
8. Let idle for 1 hour.

This thing started on the 2nd pull out of the box.

Clean house, do stuff, wander around, listen... it's just purring away out there in the driveway. All is well.

9. Randomly, go to the motor, put the throttle up at half way for 10-15 seconds, then back to idle for 15 min. Repeat for the next hour.
10. Stop engine. Ad more gas if needed.
11. Pull dipstick, look at the oil, drop some on white paper to see the color compared to new oil. If color is about the same, start again & let idle, continue with step 9 for another hour. Started on 1st pull.
12. After this, go back to the engine and pop it up a bit, see that it goes to full throttle. Listen to it. Then, hit full throttle for 5 sec, then back to idle for 15 min. Repeat this for a bit.
13. Kill engine. Look for leaks. If no leaks, let cool.
14. Drain oil in a container but drain it through white napkins. Office clips hold the napkin on the edges of the pan.
15. Once drained, inspect the napkin. There should be little shiny flakes of aluminum in it. This is good. If there's chunks, there's a huge problem.
16. Fill again with new 12 oz of cheap oil.
17. Continue on with idle, rev & hold at full and mid range, etc for another hour.
18. Kill engine. Repeate 14 & 15. Then put the oil aside.
19. Pop the air filter cover off, take off fuel tank, pop side cover off.
20. Remove the governer and take out the low oil sensor. Cut the wire, but leave it in there to plug the hole, then discard the low oil float and governer parts. Tap out the governer arm and screw a like sized fine threaded bolt in the governer arm hole. Done.
21. Inspect inside, look for any aluminum shavings, etc. Clean it out very good.
22. Reassemble but make sure you take the THIN spring from the throttle arm and attach it to the carb and one vent hole on the shroud (so it doesn't go to full the minute you start it)
23. Fill with the remaining oil and some of the strained clean oil - to make 12oz at least.
24. Start. Started 2nd pull. 1 hr idling, misc revs, listen.
25. Now, see what the thing does with the governer out, rev it a bit & feel the force!

This ends day one of break in... Still smells new, no leaks, all seems good... might need valve springs. Not sure just yet. The Greyhound didn't need em, still has the stock ones in it.

I will note that the build quality on this engine appears to be very clean. I love the cast aluminum valve cover they've added to newer models.

more tomorrow.

Thanks for watching.

 

[Kelly Wood]

Do you want me to look at it for you?

If you're feelin frisky, sure! I get most things here but this one's eluding me.

 

[Kelly Wood]

Update:

Um... I spent 3 days on this. I'm tired.

Sometimes you gotta work for it but in the end, I finished. Bled 3 times to boot.

Sarge is a work of art now sporting her new Predator... and fast as sh!t. By fast, I mean: Faster than Urban Defiance, quicker and sounds mean, period.

The funny part about my engine problems: The predator started doing the same crap as the honda did.

In the end, I just went with what worked. I knew it was a fuel problem because when I pulled the pump, plugged the fuel pump vaccuum line & all that crap, strapped the gravity feed tank on it... the problem went away.

????????

What the...

Could it be too much fuel forced by the pumps?

Dunno, don't care. Sarge rules, looks killer, I got that "gas mask" look to the engine I wanted, end of story.

I'm happy, 2 really fast & dependable rides, beer time.

Time to get some more tires too.

A rundown of what went into it:
1. Noram Clutch, Blue springs (that's heavier than stock red) 13 T, shoes are light and cut a bit. (means I cut grooves in them too) Engages at 4000'ish
2. Fuel tank from an old power products AH47.
3. Air filter & housing from a tecumseh
4. Briggs blown out muffler, sounds cool. (Hey, I'm in a neighborhood, gotta tone it down)
5. Asuza brake system
6. Custom throttle linkage
7. Custom exhaust
8. 55 T rear sprocket

... and misc nuts & bolts... some don't match... as usual.

Pretty sure this ends the chapter on Sarge. She's done & only a few little things will be done now.

On to the next one... whatever that might be. I'm thinking a police themed something or other.


Thanks for watching.

 

[Desertduler]

If you're feelin frisky, sure! I get most things here but this one's eluding me.

Let's have a look PM me.

 

[Kelly Wood]

Continuing on:

With 2 good to go, it's time to do something different.

Long ago, before my daughter & I got into kart racing, we had a go kart. It was one of those manco 2 seaters, one wheel peel kind of thing. I loved that thing.

I let it go to a neighborhood kid 8 years ago.

Now sitting in my back yard is another frame of one.

What can I do with a 2 seater?

I really wanted to do that "red baron" one but the frame just didn't work out and the idea was shelved for a while.

So, some crappy lunchtime computer sketching and we have a revised edition using the manco 2 seater frame. It's just a computer mock-up so we'll see where it goes.

Slam the steering forward, (like you saw that coming...) stretch & mod the rear end, add 2 Motor mounts...

yea... 2 briggs. That'll sound good.



Stay tuned.

Oh yes, a question for everyone. Should I keep posting little updates on this, or am I bugging some folks?


Kelly "Kart rods" Wood

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Keep posting, my friend!

Sarge looks terrific- and I find it incredibly ironic that your fastest ride is the one styled after an old military Jeep- as slow as they were. He//, I bet Sarge would beat an old Willys in a throw-down!

 

[souperman000]

Love the posts and the creations.

Keep it up!

 

[machinist@large]

Please, please keep as you are; most of us here find the opposite to be the most annoying...."I started drawing on the floor to sketch my idea..." then nothing until ~8 to 12 weeks later we get a short post, with ZERO PICTURES, saying "I finished my kart, it runs great".....

 

[Kelly Wood]

Ok, thanks. I guess sometimes I read too much into the lack of responses.

Onward:

Well, with an idea looming, I head outside to check the old frame I have.

Frame: Check
Front axles: Check
Steering functional: Rusty, but yes. Check
Usable: Check

Out with it and take some pics. Time to sketch a real idea of what I'm going after here.

So, back to the beginning we go.

Maybe some scans of the sketches & computer mockup part-2 tomorrow. I gotta do some thinkin.

Thanks for watching.

 

[Kelly Wood]

Update, yes, again.

Believe it or not, I sit & watch cartoons when I do this.

10 min of photoshopping... I've got a good feeling about this one.

Note: Since it's a 2 seater, one might typically redo the thing & get the steering & seat in the center...

But I'm not. I'm leaving it this way for a reason. Weird factor.

It will have 2 engine mounts and for the first run, the engine will be on the right while I sit slightly on the left.

Go ahead, raise your eyebrows all you like... This will be quite the ride.

Tuck 2 Briggs flatties down low in front of the rear axle and a few enhancements later... it will be a strange one.

Can anyone guess what I'm gonna use for the front piece? Think about it, it's like an old airplane... metal, round, has ribs...

LOL I love getting all creative.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Please, please keep as you are; most of us here find the opposite to be the most annoying...."I started drawing on the floor to sketch my idea..." then nothing until ~8 to 12 weeks later we get a short post, with ZERO PICTURES, saying "I finished my kart, it runs great".....

Bingo. That and, "I can't get my engine to run right" followed by 20 suggestions, time passes, "fixed it!" and no further detail. Gee thanks!

Ok, thanks. I guess sometimes I read too much into the lack of responses.

Dunno if you noticed, but it happens to me, too!

Just keep doing what you're doing. You're doing it well!

 

[Kelly Wood]

and a correction....

 

[Kelly Wood]

Lunchtime update:

Was drawing a bit last night but I wasn't really happy with them side bars on this frame. They won't go with the overall stance I'm looking for.

So, some redrawing at lunch produced something a little different.

... and closer to what I'm gonna want.

The picture is just a left side concept shot so you can't really tell some of the details. It's a 2 seater. The machine gun is in the passenger area, the fin is centered and attached to the seat brace on the right side of the seat. The brace is center, attaches to the top right of the seat back. Brace and fin go between the motors slightly.

The front piece is ONLY on the left side.

Onward, I'm sure it'll change but I'm getting there.

This one will have the longest wheelbase of any of my rides. Sarge & UD are both 49 1/2". This one will be about 52 or more to be more in line with the width of it. Being a 2 seater, it's wider than normal by 3 in.

Thanks for watching.

Kelly

 

[Kelly Wood]

While sitting on hold with a customer, I was able to scrape some photo of a manco 2 seater & modify it here at work. Sometimes these phone calls get, well, boring while they figure out what to do and I'm capable of juggling numerous things.

(note I didn't use the word multi-tasking? Multi-tasking is a myth)

Anyway, add to the mayhem in my mind, a quick scribbling of the front end, sort of...

Kelly