2015 - "Sprint Kart"

[JMINDY]

Not much done today...wife had to go in to work, so I was on baby(s) duty...

Finish the lower mounts for the tail cone...

Only two of the three bolts on the lower bracket would fit on the angle iron, so I fab a little metal clip to secure the third bolt... maybe two bolts would of been enough to hold the bracket on, but this couldn't hurt... added a metal backing plate, hopefully help from cracking the fiberglass.

Going to have to add a little downward bend to the exhaust pipe, muffler won't clear the tail cone...and don't really want to cut it...

Started looking at the front spindles... As I said... They are a mess! Just learning about Ackerman and Caster etc... There is a lot of teetering, side to side play. Hole seems to be oblong. Is this correct? Can't tell if OP has the wrong size bolt or spindles are worn...

Advise on what to look for on spindles?
Thanks

 

[Denny]

Dude, Ray Charles could see those spindles are worn. Buy new spindles, springs and bolts that kart is worth it. It looks real good by the way.

Denny

 

[landuse]

I agree. With the kart looking so good i wouldn't go all Scrooge on the spindles

 

[JMINDY]

Dude, Ray Charles could see those spindles are worn. Buy new spindles, springs and bolts that kart is worth it. It looks real good by the way.

Denny

I agree. With the kart looking so good i wouldn't go all Scrooge on the spindles

I've already purchased new springs, bushings and spacer... just don't buy the spindle yet. When I purchased them, I did not have the front apart yet, so wasn't sure they were bad. Plus at the time I hadn't bought the front wheel hubs, wasn't sure if spindle were going to match up with the new hubs I would later find. Also wasn't concern about wasting money on the springs/bushings etc. because I could use them on the two seater also...

Next dumb question...
New spindles come in 4-1/2˝ and 6˝ length of axle...
I believe I have the 4-1/2˝ now. The new hubs fit if I take the spacer off of the axle shaft (as seen still on the axle in the pic above). At full turn the new rims and tires just barely clear the roll bars.

Will there be an issue with buying the 6˝ axles, creating a new spacer (1/2˝ to an 1˝) to space out the front wheel more? There is a large washer against the inside hub wheel bearing, so the bearing won't be riding up against the spacer...

Wheel is slightly larger than original (now 15˝ diameter & 6˝ width, plus the wt. of hub), moving it farther out put too much stress on the axle?

 

[Desertduler]

I've already purchased new springs, bushings and spacer... just don't buy the spindle yet. When I purchased them, I did not have the front apart yet, so wasn't sure they were bad. Plus at the time I hadn't bought the front wheel hubs, wasn't sure if spindle were going to match up with the new hubs I would later find. Also wasn't concern about wasting money on the springs/bushings etc. because I could use them on the two seater also...

Next dumb question...
New spindles come in 4-1/2˝ and 6˝ length of axle...
I believe I have the 4-1/2˝ now. The new hubs fit if I take the spacer off of the axle shaft (as seen still on the axle in the pic above). At full turn the new rims and tires just barely clear the roll bars.

Will there be an issue with buying the 6˝ axles, creating a new spacer (1/2˝ to an 1˝) to space out the front wheel more? There is a large washer against the inside hub wheel bearing, so the bearing won't be riding up against the spacer...

Wheel is slightly larger than original (now 15˝ diameter & 6˝ width, plus the wt. of hub), moving it farther out put too much stress on the axle?

I would not worry about that little more of a distance in overhang, I would make sure that the wheel bearings inner races are not riding on any of the axle bolt threads.

 

[JMINDY]

Got some little jobs done tonight on the kart...

First, the youngster got to fire up the cutting torch (I think it's his favorite tool in the shop ). Mounted the exhaust pipe in the vice and put some heat to it, while I torqued it into a new position, little lower & to the left... Then we wrapped it and added the muffler...

Muffler clears the tail cone now...

I had an old steering wheel that has been wall art for some time, came off of a 34 Ford coupe that I traded for, rebuilt and sold off years ago. Jake asked if we could use it...I explained that it is a little large, but we could give it a try. Got a quick disconnect from speedway motors, drilled a hole in the spline adapter, cleaned the steering shaft with some sandpaper, and bumped it on with a mallet. Looks cool. If we don't like it, we can go back to the original wheel, nothing was alter...

Next we started on the new spindles...
Thanks to Desertduler comment above, I went back and checked the original spindles with 4-1/2˝ axles and the bearings of the new hubs were riding on the threads of the bolt. So I purchased the 6˝ spindles from BMI. Now I can space the wheels out some more from the frame, but also keep the bearing off of the threads. I also like how the steering arms are better reinforced on the new spindles compared to the originals.

Tore one side apart... and the original king pin bolts are 1/2˝... the new spindle have a 5/8˝ tube... so need to go to NAPA tomorrow and either find some tubing to fill (spacer) the spindle down to 1/2˝ or try to re-drill the top and bottom of the frame axle to 5/8˝. Re-drilling won't be as easy because the existing holes are too close to the edge to go larger. Plus the new spindle have a finer thread count than the original spindles, so also need to get new nuts. Why can't anything just bolt up for once?

 

[Denny]

What about going to ACE Hardware or TSC and getting some bronze bushings?

Denny

 

[chancer]

What about going to ACE Hardware or TSC and getting some bronze bushings?

Denny

That works. I made a set of spindles using 3/4 gas pipe for the tube and put flanged bronze bushings in them for 1/2" bolts. I think they were car door hinge bushings.
Only problem is you are going 5/8 to 1/2 that is a small (thin) bushing. but I am sure you will find something.

 

[JMINDY]

What about going to ACE Hardware or TSC and getting some bronze bushings?

Denny

That works. I made a set of spindles using 3/4 gas pipe for the tube and put flanged bronze bushings in them for 1/2" bolts. I think they were car door hinge bushings.
Only problem is you are going 5/8 to 1/2 that is a small (thin) bushing. but I am sure you will find something.

thanks guys, I'll keep those in mind if I can't find anything at NAPA, have to go there first as I get everything at cost with employee discount. Can be a huge difference at times... like that exhaust wrap

Measured the spindle with caliper, it's 11/16 not 5/8...

 

[Poboy kartman]

For your spindles...you could get four bushings, and possibly use thin walled condiut as a spacer inbetween.

 

[JMINDY]

I picked up new 5/8˝ bolts, flat washer, locking washers and nuts at NAPA to work with the springs, plastic bushings, and spacers that I previously purchased from gokartsupply and spindles from BMI.

Layout the hole placement with a circle template and used a carbide burr to create the new holes.

New spindles assembled...

Back on all fours...

Finished the middle supports for the body.

And finally, we made sure daddy still fits inside this thing...

Getting closer... I'm starting to make vroom, vroom noises!

 

[Desertduler]

Looks really cool!

 

[JMINDY]

It doesn’t look like I’ll be finishing my kart by the contest deadline. My goal was to have the body panels completed by labor day weekend, allowing me the final two months to get it sandblasted, painted, assembled and videos made…. But I’m not even close.

For the last month and continuing for this month, I’ve had to help family members move… My in-laws live in a gated lake community. They decided to purchase a new house on down/other side of the lake, but before moving they decided to add on to the new house. So old house is sold and with the new house almost finish, it was planned to for me and the other son-in-law (Mike) to send a weekend to help pack up (mostly the garage, the old man is a hoarder!) and move a few of the items to the new house. The following weekend, they were hiring movers to move the rest of the items. No problem, its just one weekend… except the father-in-law (75) has a heart attack the Thursday before! Ends up having a triple by-pass surgery! That left Mike, myself, and their two daughters to pack their entire house and move their items. We were able to reschedule the movers back one week, as the house was barely started with packing. Moving company said it wasn’t any problem to move the date, but wanted extra $$ per hour because it was Labor Day weekend. So moving day comes around… We scheduled 3 men, box truck with lift gate for 9:00am. A man with a skinny 17 year-old girl shows up at 12:30 with a truck with no lift… and he still wanted to charge us the full $150 per hour! Luckily for us, they never required a deposit, so we fired them…(although they were ballsy enough to send us a bill this week)! So… spent 2 hours finding/getting a Penske truck, and Mike and I started moving items our selves at around 5:00pm. So I’ve spent the last three weekends getting them moved. Still have 2 boat lifts to unanchored, float/tow 5 miles down the lake, and reinstall at the new house. The great news is father-in-law is recovering well, got sent home last week… now if we can just keep him from doing to much…

You would think that was enough moving… nope… we have an uncle in PA, was diagnose with esophagus cancer (stage 4) about last year… been doing the chemo treatments, with not much good results… but I think he’s had enough… sold his house, been giving most of his stuff away… he was a woodworker, had a huge work shop with a lot of equipment, donated all of it to his local high school, so hopefully they can expand their shop classes. He is going to live with his son in OH, who is also handicap. So he has asked me last week if I would move the remaining items he wants to keep. I’m going to drive out there (about 600 miles), hire a moving company, and oversee that his stuff gets taken care of. In exchange, he wants to give me his truck, which I could really use since my truck die last year. This has to be done by Oct. 1st, when he transfers over his house to the new owners.

Have a free weekend before I head off to PA, so I’ll see what I can get done… not throwing in the towel yet… but after this last month, I’m feeling a little sunk…

 

[Desertduler]

Wow, you have had a plate full and still more to come! Life get's in the way sometimes of our own desires and sets us on a different course that we were not anticipating,good thing for your relatives that you are a good person and are willing to help them out which is not much of the norm now days! I wish you luck and I hope that we get to see your little sprint car done in the near future.

 

[JMINDY]

A few late nights here to get some progress going...

First a few pics of what we're trying to mimic/simulate...

Started out with a sheet of metal for the front fenders... cut out an opening for the front axle, marked up the angles and folded the edges... figured out the mounting spots and drilled the holes...

Hammered out a curve for the front corner... a lot of... cut, weld, & grinding of the seams... Folded some of the edges...

Repeat for the other side... for a pair of front fenders!

Next I started on the hood... started at the back side where it kicks ups, made some bends & folded over the edges... marked out the recess holes for the roll cage on the front half...

Moving the In-Laws wasn't all bad... wife got a new dinning room set & a nice leather couch, and I got some unwanted used shop equipment...

I added a round blade to it, so I could cut side ways, not just forward... and used it to cut out the slots for the roll bars to past thru...

Next I trimmed out the edges, hammered out the front curve, and folded over the edges...

Under Side...

Top Side...

Finish fitting the hood... still have to drill the mounting holes to secure it down to the fenders with some round alan head bolts...

I have a "hood scoop"... for lack of a better term... started to be made for the center of the hood... but it's not finished yet to show... Have to cut out the opening for the steering rods to pass through the fenders... have new spacers to move the wheels out a little more to clear the fenders on a full turn...

One more move to do this weekend, then I'll get back at it and see what I can get finished. Thanks for looking!

 

[JMINDY]

Wow! Thats looking so good. Nice sheet metal work, and the hood pin fits right in....and those Hoosiers are still just the bees knees!

What size is that finger brake and what brand is it...that a real nice piece.

Sorry, I realize that I never answer your question...

Finger Brake is a 48˝ from Grizzly Industries (I think they are from MO). It was the cheapest I could find... was worry about quality, but so far I've been very happy. Rated up to 16 gauge... I use mostly 22 gauge, and rarely some 18 gauge on floor braces of my old cars.

My bead roller is from Woodward Fab (MI)... again I went with the cheapest... dies have been good, but I've broken the tensioner on it twice.... going to have to fabricate something else to make to work right. It's a hand crank model, which means I always need someone to help out in order to use it... electric would of been nice to have, but it was out of my price range...

I have a 8˝ Throatless Hand Shear from Woodward Fab, which has worked great... so they have some good quality products...

 

[JMINDY]

Well, I’m officially waving the white flag!

Had to deal with some family issues these last few months…and quite frankly I’m a little burn out on this project, just don’t have the drive to work on it when I do have some garage time. Projects tend to do that sometimes…I’ll get back to it eventually!

After sitting for about a year, I just spent a weekend installing front springs on my 1947 Cadillac project. Did some trading for an engine that will deliver this week, bought some more metal fab supplies (shrinker/stretcher machine & flange-punch tool) for the garage… and well, I’ve got that itch again for the Caddy…. So making a list of goals to work on this fall/winter…

We got my uncle moved from PA to Ohio at the end of September, unfortunately he past away due to his battle with cancer this week… so after this weekend I plan to mock up the kart with all of the parts and work that is completed…for one last photo shoot, then push it to the back corner for a little while…

I completed a parts list/specs of the kart… (Desertduler is a trendsetter)

Kart’s Name: Hurry’n Hoosier

Specs:
Mod-Predator engine, 6:1 gearing, 16˝ rear tires. 30ish top MPH depending on RPM I get out of the engine, kart will be on the heavy side through…

Color Scheme: Black frame – Silver Roll Bars – Red & White paint scheme on the body panels – Vintage round White & Black racing number decal.

Parts List:
• 212 Pedator – Harbor Freight
• Billet Connecting Rod – NR Racing
• Billet Flywheel – NR Racing
• 22 lb. Valve Springs – NR Racing
• K&N XStream Air Filter – NAPA
• K&N Crankcase Filter – NAPA
• Coolit Exhaust Wrap – NAPA
• Hose clamps - NAPA
• Spark Plug Insulator – NAPA
• Kill Switch – NAPA
• Inline Fuel Filter – Menards
• Small Engine Muffler – Menards
• Pipe Adapter for Muffler – Lowes
• Exhaust Header – gopowersports.com
• Flex Tubing, PVC 90˚ Elbow, some fittings (for air filter to carb) – Lowes
• GTC TC2 Torque Converter – gokartusa.com
• 60 Tooth Sprocket (40,41,420) – gokartsupply.com
• #40 Master link – gokartsupply.com
• (2) 1” Axle Bearings – gokartsupply.com
• ¼” x 12” Keystock – gokartsupply.com
• (2) 2” Front Spindle Springs – gokartsupply.com
• 5/8” Spindle Bushings & Spacers – gokartsupply.com
• 8˝ x 9˝ Rear Steel Rims – gokartsupply.com
• 8˝ x 5-7/8˝ Front Steel Rims – gokartsupply.com
• (2) Live Axle Hub 1" To 3/4 Step – gokartsupply.com
• (2) Non Drive Hub with Bearings – gokartsupply.com
• Rear Tires: Hoosier Small Crossblock 16.0x8.5-8 – Hoosier Tire Midwest
• Front Tires: Hoosier Kart Angleblock 15.0x6.0-8 – Hoosier Tire Midwest
• (2) 6˝ Front Spindles – BMIgokarts.com
• (2) Rubber Hood Latches– NAPA
• Hood Pin Kit– Speedwaymotors.com
• Aluminum Quick Release Steering Wheel Hub, Splined, ¾˝ – Speedwaymotors.com
• Vinyl Steering Wheel Nose Pad– Speedwaymotors.com
• Sprint/Midget Cage Net w/ Quick Release– Speedwaymotors.com
• #40 Chain – gokartsupply.com
• 4 Point Camlock Safety Seat Belts – Amazon
• Digital Tachometer Hour Meter – Amazon
• Recover Seat: Marine Vinyl , 2” Dense Foam, ¾” Poly Foam with Backing, Marine Black Thread – Jo Ann Fabrics
• Fiberglass Tail Cone Cover – TQ Fiberglass
• 22 & 18 ga. Sheetmetal, ½” to 1-1/2” Wide x 1/8” to ¼” Thickness in metals used for making brackets, and lots of bolts/nuts Hardware – Local Metal Shop / NAPA


As to future plans… Still have a few metal panels to fab. Going to use round stock to fab some bumpers. Have to purchase jets for the carb. Going to add a second brake disc to the axle for a hydraulic brake system, then going to convert the original brake to a parking/hand brake.

I’ll post pics next week. Thanks to those who followed along. JMINDY

 

[Desertduler]

Sorry for your loss, cancer is a wicked evil disease, I lost my father from it, life gets in the way sometimes of our own desires, you will complete your little sprinter one day and please keep us all posted on the progress, I would like to see the outcome of your build it will be way cool!

 

[OzFab]

We already PMed on the subject so, what he ^^ said

 

[JMINDY]

Cleaned out the garage this weekend and mocked up the kart with some of it's parts. Still have the two side panels to create, make new steering and brakes, finish some of the other panels, make some bumpers... then I'll brake it down to paint. Will work on the kart as the jobs relate with what I'm doing to the Caddy, hopefully it will be finish to run next spring.