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A little more progress today, finished up the clutch linkage. Plan A on the pedals (recycled bicycle pedals) didn't appeal to me, so I made some out of some stainless steel flat stock I had laying around. Added a bumper extension ahead of the front axle to protect the tires and feets and...

Definitely a weight distribution problem. You need to move that rear axle behind the seat at the very least.

Alrighty then. Over the last day or two I've cut down the steering shaft and finalized the steering, replaced all the bushings and bearings in the front axle and wheels, and gotten the clutch and linkage figured out and installed. Pic 1 is the cart as it sits at the moment with the seat just...

Actually, I'm hoping it'll look pretty cool. All the parts are polished aluminum. I took the pedals off the crank arms and removed the spindle and bearings. After cutting the skeleton pedal frame down a little, I'll weld it to the crank arms at a slight angle and rebore the square sockets in...

I rode motorcycles for a LOT of years, and can't recall ever having a master link fail. The bikes I rode (especially with my fat arse on them) had quite a bit more weight and a LOT more horsepower than a kart. My point being, I don't see where a riveted chain has any particular advantage over...

Brendon, I agree with you to some extent. The ability to figure things out for yourself and make what you need out of what you have laying around is a major asset. OTOH, why re-invent the wheel if someone has already done the groundwork? We can all benefit from other folk's ideas. I'm...

Heh, heh, heh...:D That's my way of saying I ain't all that impressed by Craftsman stuff. Their hand tools used to be okay, but even they have gone down the crapper, quality-wise. And their power tools never were worth a **** IMHO. Black & Decker's cheapest homeowner grade stuff, re-badged...

For the moment, I'm using the original transaxle. We'll see how that does for speed and reliability.

My handy-dandy V-belt length calculator says the belt should be 35.5" for based on pulley size and shaft centers. I figure a 37 or 38 would be about right for the loose-belt system. Anybody have opinions/experience with sizing belts for this sort of application?

A little more progress today. My new pulleys came in from Surplus Center, so I can start figuring out the engine mount. After mounting both pulleys and doing a little measuring, I was able to determine how high above the frame the base of the engine needed to be to get the pulleys to line up...

I'm doing just such a conversion as we speak. Pictures so far are here: http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5067. I working on the engine mounting today. It will be considerably slower than a Kart if you use the original drive arrangement. I'm speeding mine up about 25% by...

McMaster Carr would certainly have them, but there are probably cheaper places.

I only paint with spray cans, so if you're planning on an automotive quality paint job, you can stop reading now... First, I've tried any number of brands of paint, and haven't found anything that's easier to use or outperforms Rustoleum. After all the work on the frame is done, everything is...

Well, it's apparent there's a LOT more talent here than what little I have. Perhaps one of you folks would like to do the stick welding article? I'd hate to put out bad information through my lack of training.

Ya got me on the flux core. I've only ever used gas, so naturally it's the best, based on my experience :rolleyes3: As I stated at the outset, I'm a non-certified, self-taught welder, so any input you may have is welcomed.

MIG Welding Equipment A MIG welder, aka a wire welder, consists of a power unit, ground lead, welding lead and optionally, a regulator for shielding gas. You have a few decisions to make when choosing a MIG welder: Voltage: The two common operating voltages are 110 Volts AC (VAC) or 220...

Thanks. A couple of edits upon re-reading: 1. Crack the valves to blow the crud out BEFORE screwing the regulators in, just in case that wasn't clear. 2. When you're done welding, turn the valves on the bottles off, open the valves on the torch handle to clear the gas out of the hoses, then...

In general, there are 4 major approaches to welding: Gas, MIG, Stick and TIG. Eventually, I'll post a separate thread on each process. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT ON ERRORS, AREAS THAT NEED TO BE COVERED IN MORE DEPTH OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU FEEL WILL IMPROVE THIS FAQ.! Gas Welding...

I'm still debating that one. I'll make the final decision after I mock up the engine mounting position. Plan A is to use a loose-belt/spring loaded idler system using parts off the lawn tractor. If that looks like too much work, I'll probably look into a centrifugal.

It's a Spicer 137637. Got the steering shimmed up and installed, looks like it'll work just dandy. I was a little worried about the ratio being quick enough, but it's less than a full turn lock-to-lock so that should be okay