Recent content by tpage

We built the Dirt Devil. The plans are metric so they are very easy to follow. The kart is easy to build overall. You can play with dimensions if you know what you are doing and you can deviate from them as it suits you. In our case the rear suspension was changed a little bit. We also changed...

Yep, that's the plan. We're going to paint the main frame stark white and the suspension bits black.

Yep, we finally finished the build. We had to get creative with a couple of things like the steering blocks which we deviated from the plans a tiny bit. The other issue was dealing with the chain. After some testing we determined we needed a tensioner to take up some of the slack because it was...

Flux core wire is what we used since we don't have the more expensive gas shielding stuff. Would much rather have gas but for this project it's good enough. Some may look like crap but trust me, they are very strong. Besides, we're not going to the moon here ;)

We have a Honda clone engine (gs160?) and I have the centrifugal clutch installed on the drive shaft (3/4"). The engine is mounted so that the drive shaft is inline with the rear swing arm pivot on our dirt devil kart. The distance between the swimgarm pivot bolt and the clutch is about 1/2" of...

Kw surplus in Kitchener. Today I finished the brake and the throttle link. Chain will be next followed lastly by the steering.

Bought a big brick of it from a surplus store and cut off smaller bits as needed. Worked out well.

Making progress guys! The kart is up on the wheels now. Just have to finish the steering linkage and wheel and the chain/brake. I already installed the seat but didn't take any pictures of that yet. Once we have that completed we should be able to take it for a quick spin and make any mods...

Posted a few more pictures of the build in my album here: http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/album.php?albumid=206 On Friday I had a chance to work on the front end. I finished the suspension by making some bushings out of UHMW plastic and bolting on the wheels and shocks. The tie rods that were...

Thanks. I've only gone to the Newmarket Princess location. They don't have uhmw at all. There's a surplus shop in Kitchener though that has lots of uhmw cutoffs. I might drop in there on Monday when I visit my folks. We got the Honda clone from princess for $99 on sale back in November. Can't...

I have some engineering background so I already know you have the have the engine PTO inline with the swing arm pivot. What I'm worried about is the potential slack in the chain. I don't know at this point how long the chain is going to be once I install the sprockets on the engine and rear...

I think I might have come up with another solution to the bearing adjustment issue. I just placed an order for the shocks from BMI karts and I also ordered a couple of their clearance bearing hangers. This will give us a place to mount the bearings in their cages and give us a flat surface to...

Mike, not on the frame side. The swing arm has to be inline with then engine drive shaft so we don't have to deal with chain tensioning issues due to an offset cam action. Questions for others: what length of shock do we need for the swing arm? Can we use the same 12" length as the fronts or...

Maybe I'm over thinking the bearings thing too much. Do we really need the bearing retainers to be adjustable? What if I just welded the bearing retainers to the swing arm tube and hope the chain length ends up right? This is not the usual way for me to operate since building planes means little...

I think Mike suffers from the welding flash. We have an auto darkening helmet but I think he's having a tough time actually seeing the weld puddle and the surrounding shadows so he can get his bearings so to speak. He's really good at grinding though! ;)