Meet Project Clam Wagon

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Greyscale

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Hi everyone, I'm Matt. Yesterday, my friend Josh and I drove to Rhode Island to purchase what we thought was an old beater kart with a 6.5 horsepower clone engine in it. Well, after paying $180 for the kart, we did some research and found out that we got a bit more than we bargained for. As it turns out, we came to the conclusion that we bought a vintage McCulloch R1 twin-engine kart. I'm almost certain it is a retired track rental kart. It has been converted to disc brake and single engine by the previous owners, which came to make the kart exactly what we wanted. Though we bought the kart specifically to beat on and do burnouts with for super cheap (so we would stop breaking our cars), we do have some respect for the unique and rare machine we wound up with. We will probably do some sort of restoration on it at some point. We have affectionately named the kart "Project Clam Wagon", and we firmly believe it is some of the best money we have ever spent, including all of our project cars!

For now, here are the plans:
-LARGE stockpile of tires
-Mild build on the current Central Machine (older Harbor Freight) clone engine...
-NR Racing Stage 2 kit
-Bored GX200 carb for gasoline
-OEM Honda flywheel, 8 degree key
-1.25" stainless steel exhaust run under the rear of the frame, ending in a VW-inspired 18" long 1.5"-3.5" "stinger pipe".
-Extended steering plate to improve turning radius
-NR Racing "Max Torque" clutch with black springs
-New 5" tri-spoke wheels
-Skid plate for sprocket and chain
-Removal of engine/drivetrain cage

Slightly more serious build on a new Hemi Predator 212 probably in a year or two, just to see how fast we can get this little bugger going safely, and just how much tire smoke we can make.
-NR Racing Stage 3 Kit
-Mikuni 22mm carb with short intake
-Mod2 cam
-ARC billet flywheel
-6" Astro wheels
-Frame extension to allow some of our bigger friends to drive it.

Before I share the pics, I've got to ask if anyone knows off the top of their head which kit I should order from NR Racing to fit the Central Machine engine. Is this engine considered the same as a flathead Predator, or is it a standard clone? Thanks for the help!

PICTURES!


Josh making some tire smoke...


I wish we could get a good shot of the tire smoke at night:


The first picture of it after we bought it:


Some burnout marks




We're in the process of burning off the old fuel which was left in it. It's so bad that we have to run the engine at half choke, and it'll still do this when it get some good fuel through the lines. Keep in mind, I had to let off the throttle to stop at the end of the driveway



More marks




 

Greyscale

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Welcome to the forum. That front tyre looks stuffed. Was that after the burnouts?

We bought it with two very spanked tires already on it, so we're burning them off. That front right tire was not mounted ont he rear wheel at all during our ownership of the kart, that wear is from the previous owner.

Thanks for the welcome!
 

Greyscale

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Our kart currently has a Central Machinery (older Harbor Freight) 6.5hp clone, part number 96549. Does anyone know if this is simply an older Predator (interchangeable with HF part number 69730), or would it fall under the category of basically any other clone? I'm trying to determine which type of hop-up kit I should order.

Thanks!

EDIT: Looks like I've found that it is a 196cc engine.
 

OzFab

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If it's 196cc, there's a good chance it's closer to a honda than the more modern Predator; standard clone parts should fit but, I suggest you take some measurements before ordering any parts, just to be sure...
 

Greyscale

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If it's 196cc, there's a good chance it's closer to a honda than the more modern Predator; standard clone parts should fit but, I suggest you take some measurements before ordering any parts, just to be sure...

I have a couple of those engines. They use clone parts.

Thank you both for the help!

Yesterday we ordered a 10-foot roll of #35 chain and a 60-tooth split sprocket from gokartsupply.com. This will change our sprocket ratio from 5.82 with the old 64-tooth unit to 5.45 with the new piece, but I don't foresee that being a big difference. If anything, it'll get tire speed up just a bit and maybe add a bit of drama to our burnouts! :stir: Over the weekend, we ran into an issue with bending the old sprocket while doing donuts or sliding the kart around on uneven surfaces, so I've got a feeling ordering the thicker sprocket will at least cut down on those occurrences. Something tells me the piece that came on our kart was old and very fatigued.

Up next we will order the NR stage 2 kit as well as the materials for the exhaust. I've decided to try making a muffler from scratch. I have quite a bit of experience in fabricating stainless steel exhausts for automotive applications, so I have a strong understanding of exhaust tuning. I'm confident I can make something that'll sound pretty good.
 

Greyscale

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Well, I broke the crap out of the kart on Saturday night. Broke the sprocket hub wide open and tore a bolt out of it, stripped about 20 teeth clean off of the sprocket, and ruined the chain. This fix is so cheap! I love go-karts.

On order:
-60-tooth split sprocket (thicker style for #35 chain)
-10' roll of #35 chain (we will break more chain, I do not doubt that)
-Mark IV Vari-hub

End of the week:
-NR racing Stage II hop-up with OEM flywheel, 8° timing key, and bored GX200 carburetor.
-Materials for stinger pipe with self-made muffler.
-Tires/wheels
 

Greyscale

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Sprocket and chain came in on Monday, now we wait for the sprocket hub. I'm probably just going to pull the trigger on the exhaust materials today.
 

Greyscale

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Decided to get the NR Racing Stage I kit today. Exhaust will be soon, I'm not sure I'm ready to drop $100 on exhaust materials just yet.
 

Greyscale

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So I'm an idiot and forgot to review my order... I picked up the kit for a GX200 rather than a 4-bolt clone. DERP!

My question is if there are any differences between the GX200/clone air filter adapters and jets. I wasn't planning on doing the valve springs yet since we won't be putting a billet rod in this engine.

Thanks for the help!
 

rmm727

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So I'm an idiot and forgot to review my order... I picked up the kit for a GX200 rather than a 4-bolt clone. DERP!

My question is if there are any differences between the GX200/clone air filter adapters and jets. I wasn't planning on doing the valve springs yet since we won't be putting a billet rod in this engine.

Thanks for the help!

With the parts you ordered, I'd say no. You might have received real Honda jets too.
 

Greyscale

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NR Racing kit, exhaust parts, throttle cable, and spare timing key are all here. Hopefully I can break out the welder this weekend and knock out some progress!
 
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