The Professor
New member
Hello everyone, new member here with an old kart.
I got into the vintage Subaru game about 14 years ago (Real Subarus, not karts). The idea was to find a cheap 4WD car that could get me up to the ski slopes and maybe some light off-roading. One day I stumbled across the USMB and it was as if Pandora's box had opened and I dove head first into Subarudom. I came across an old "Subarus of the 80's" webpage and the moment my eyes locked onto the Fun Wheels BRAT go kart, I knew that one day I would own one, if I could ever find one.
So I started searching. They would pop up every now and again; "BRAT Kart body for sale," "BRAT kart, no engine," "I have this neat fiberglass BRAT kart body, but it's been cut up into pieces, FOR SALE OBO." And so it went... Most of those karts that did come up for sale were stupid expensive, or were on the East coast. And so with a heavy heart I pushed the BRAT kart dream to the back burner, where it would simmer for years.
Fast forward to last week and I find not one, BUT TWO brat karts for sale, and one of them was in Washington state! The description said that it ran and drove, but needed some work. The only two photos in the auction showed what looked to be a pretty well preserved barn find of a kart! After a brief email exchange with the seller, it was clear that this was going to be my kart. A few days later the auction was over and I was the proud new owner of the kart. When I took delivery of the kart the seller informed me that he had been contacted by a local scrap dealer. She told the seller about a running BRAT that she had for sale and he agreed to buy it from her, thinking it was a full-size BRAT and not a kart.
After I took possession of the kart and had a chance to look it over I was impressed with how well cared for the kart looked. Some spider cracks in the gel coat, a few small cracks in the fiberglass body. Somebody used the original seat as a step and broke it, but I still have the shell. The kart is powered by a Briggs & Stratton Model 90702 3 hp engine that doesn't appear to be original (build date is 02/23/1987). The only thing I can tell that was missing were a few of the body-mounting bolts.
I cleaned and lubed the drive chain, rewound the starting rope, replaced the body hardware and lubed up all the bearings and cables. Despite having horribly cracked tires and a piece of wood for a temporary seat, this thing is a blast! Easily my finest Subaru purchase to date!
There doesn't seem to be much info out on the web about Fun Wheels and, although limited by the "four-or-more character" search function, I haven't found any references to this brand of kart on this forum.
I got into the vintage Subaru game about 14 years ago (Real Subarus, not karts). The idea was to find a cheap 4WD car that could get me up to the ski slopes and maybe some light off-roading. One day I stumbled across the USMB and it was as if Pandora's box had opened and I dove head first into Subarudom. I came across an old "Subarus of the 80's" webpage and the moment my eyes locked onto the Fun Wheels BRAT go kart, I knew that one day I would own one, if I could ever find one.
So I started searching. They would pop up every now and again; "BRAT Kart body for sale," "BRAT kart, no engine," "I have this neat fiberglass BRAT kart body, but it's been cut up into pieces, FOR SALE OBO." And so it went... Most of those karts that did come up for sale were stupid expensive, or were on the East coast. And so with a heavy heart I pushed the BRAT kart dream to the back burner, where it would simmer for years.
Fast forward to last week and I find not one, BUT TWO brat karts for sale, and one of them was in Washington state! The description said that it ran and drove, but needed some work. The only two photos in the auction showed what looked to be a pretty well preserved barn find of a kart! After a brief email exchange with the seller, it was clear that this was going to be my kart. A few days later the auction was over and I was the proud new owner of the kart. When I took delivery of the kart the seller informed me that he had been contacted by a local scrap dealer. She told the seller about a running BRAT that she had for sale and he agreed to buy it from her, thinking it was a full-size BRAT and not a kart.
After I took possession of the kart and had a chance to look it over I was impressed with how well cared for the kart looked. Some spider cracks in the gel coat, a few small cracks in the fiberglass body. Somebody used the original seat as a step and broke it, but I still have the shell. The kart is powered by a Briggs & Stratton Model 90702 3 hp engine that doesn't appear to be original (build date is 02/23/1987). The only thing I can tell that was missing were a few of the body-mounting bolts.
I cleaned and lubed the drive chain, rewound the starting rope, replaced the body hardware and lubed up all the bearings and cables. Despite having horribly cracked tires and a piece of wood for a temporary seat, this thing is a blast! Easily my finest Subaru purchase to date!
There doesn't seem to be much info out on the web about Fun Wheels and, although limited by the "four-or-more character" search function, I haven't found any references to this brand of kart on this forum.
