2017 - !Arriba!

[Functional Artist]

After splitting the steering support

used a piece of scrap steel & vise grips to help hold & align the pieces

a little tack weld here

a little tack weld there


Then double check everything

...measurements

...alignment

...angles

...& even by eye (gotta look good)

 

[Functional Artist]

Steering wheel options:

...from a car

...off of a riding lawn mower

...a standard go kart replacement

...make some handle bars


Nope, not gonna work

This one is set up like old school style

...with your knees way up high


I'm thinkin' dragster style

Butterfly wheel


Guess, I'ma gonna hafta make one

put a couple of kool bends in some ~2" x 1/8" steel

 

[Functional Artist]

Layed the bent metal on the bench (hump upward)

put a couple of 3 1/2" pieces of pipe on each side of it

with

...~1/2" hanging below

...& ~2" sticking above, for the thumb throttle(s)

A couple of spot welds on the back side to hold 'er together

(don't want a bunch of build up back there, that's where ya grip)

flipped it & welded the front side up good

cut a ~2" piece of scrap pipe (used it right down to the nub) for the mounting hub

drilled a 1/4" hole thru it & cut off the scrap/excess & welded it on


Boom!
one custom made

Butterfly Steering Wheel

 

[Functional Artist]

Steering assembly

the steering shaft is a piece of 5/8" x 13 3/4" steel rod

For the bottom (foot)

I wasn't sure about the length

so, I made (2)

Both are pieces of 1/8" steel

(1) @ 2 1/2" the other @ 3 1/2"

drilled 3/8" holes in one end of each one (to attach tie rod ends)

& 5/8" holes in the other end of both (to attach to the bottom of the steering shaft)

The 3 1/2" is the winner

squared 'er up with the steering wheel & welded 'er up

 

[Functional Artist]

The floor pan is next

Had some left over expanded metal

(1st) piece is 26" x 16" (just wide enough to cross frame rails)

bent it @ ~110* angle (12" for the seat & 14" up the back)

...with a couple of C-clamps & some 2 x 4's


(2nd) piece is 6' x 16' (good enough to prop your feet up)

Did a little trimmin' & a little roundin'

then

Some clampin' & some weldin'

then

Some more trimmin' & more roundin'


4 hours later


Almost ready for primer

 

[MTNSleder]

It's finished eh?

 

[Functional Artist]

It's finished eh?

Allo mosto

NOT far now

 

[Functional Artist]

Gotta do a few more things

Safety stuff ya know

First

Brakes

Lets go, Big Wheel Style

...short, sweet & 2 the point


Start off with a piece of 5/8" rod & a couple of mounting brackets


Next

With the rear wheels positioned as far forward as we have them

that means we are gonna have a wheel/sprocket spinnin" @

well lets do the math

...if the motor does 3,000 rpm's

& we have a 7.2:1 gear ratio (3,000/7.2 = 416.66)

that means the wheel/sprocket will be spinnin" @ ~400 rpm's

right near our elbows


So, ya, I think we need some elbow protection

Added a couple of left over, slightly bent bars between the driver & the wheel (may add fenders or ? IDK)

 

[Functional Artist]

More on the brakes



cut a couple of pieces of 1/8" x 2" steel ~ 3" long

rounded'em up a bit

poped 'em in the bender

@ a 30* bend ~1" from each end


Yup!, that should do it

 

[Functional Artist]

After running the 5/8" rod thru the mounting brackets & centering it with the wheels I spot welded the brake pads on

Removed the wheels & welded them on good

After cooling a bit, put wheels back on to figure handle placement

then added a ~6" piece of pipe for a handle

spot welded it, removed the wheels again & welded 'er on good too

Now, we got brakes (an E-Brake anyways)


Big Wheel Style

 

[Functional Artist]

Rear wheels

(2) 6" x 4" split steel rims

(2) tubes (split rims don't hold air too good)

(2) 15 x 6.00 / 6 tires


Take 'em apart (rim halves)

Insert a tube into a tire

air it up a bit (so it can't get pinched between rim halves during assembly)

use soapy water around the tire bead, so the rim will slide into tire (also aids assembly)

put valve stem thru hole in rim

stand up, add second rim half (aligning bolt holes)

insert bolts with lock washers & nuts

torque 'em down good

air it up to ~15 lbs. psi

then release the pressure/deflate (so tube can self align)


Air it back up to ~15 lbs. psi

...& done

 

[MTNSleder]

Cool tire Cleaners..

 

[KingCobra]

WOW! That's lookin' rootin' tootin' awesome so far!!!!!!

 

[Functional Artist]

Cleaned, wire brushed, smoothed, & de-burred

...the spindles, tie rods steering shaft, butterfly wheel

...& the entire frame from end to end

...flipped it over & repeated the above procedure


Then, a final cleaning

...gave everything a bath in paint thinner

...then another quickie wipe down with fresh rags doused with fresh thinner (to help make sure I didn't miss anything)


Finally, ready for some primer

 

[Functional Artist]

Oops, forgot about the battery box


Old aluminum road sign (free sturdy & lightweight)

Cut off a piece

Popped it in the sheet metal bender

1" lip x 3" down x 6" across x 3" up x another 1" lip

It sits on pieces of angle steel in front & in back

Should support 'em nicely

 

[Functional Artist]

Now, to seal 'er up & make her look purty

Goin' for/with Gold

gave everything several light coats (not really coats - a bit lighter)

then a nice gloss coat

 

[KingCobra]

After splitting the steering support

used a piece of scrap steel & vise grips to help hold & align the pieces

a little tack weld here

a little tack weld there


Then double check everything

...measurements

...alignment

...angles

...& even by eye (gotta look good)

I spose in that first photo you had the engine running?? Looking great though!! I like your braking system but the only down fall I see is that you are limited to that size tire for ever.

 

[Functional Artist]

I spose in that first photo you had the engine running?? Looking great though!! I like your braking system but the only down fall I see is that you are limited to that size tire for ever.

Something musta been runnin'

Probably jittery from grinding/sanding


Yup, limited to (1) tire size


Went that way for (2) reasons

(1)...the 15 x 6.00 / 6 is common on the front of riding lawn mower.

I have lots of 'em & their easy to come by otherwise

...& there are many tread patters available even smooth/slicks

(2) ...I wanted to try 'em on an electric kart

It seemed to be a happy medium between the smaller 10" - 12" tires & the bigger 16" - 18" tires

Were gonna find out

 

[Functional Artist]

All the loose parts are painted gold

...& the bottom side of the frame too

So, after ~24hrs.

I did some light assembly

...inserted the battery box thru frame (front bolted down with rear axle bolts, the rear lip is bolted down with (2) 1/4" lock nuts & bolts (wiped clean)

...mounted the rear axle with (wiped clean) washers & lock nuts

...mounted the spindles with (wiped clean) lock nuts & bolts

...mounted the steering shaft with (greasable) plastic bushings

...mounted the steering wheel with (wiped clean) 1/4" bolt & lock nut

...added the tie rods (nut & bolt also wiped clean)



Because,

I want it to look finished overall

...sometimes, things get scraped a bit during assembly

...& after assembly you have unpainted hardware everywhere

...& you don't want to spray bolt heads & such (mess up your nice paint job)

So, now I'll give 'er a nice (top coat)

By doing it this way I think it has a more professional/manufactured look

...everything is coated/matching

...& all scrapes during assembly are covered as well

 

[Functional Artist]

Rounded up some wheels that will work up front

They are off a (super heavy duty) old fun kart.

They have Timken style roller bearings that were for a 3/4" spindle.

All my karts have 5/8" spindles.

These bearings look pretty krusty anyways

So, I'll just get new ones


Two days later

...still can't find these (stupid) bearings with a 5/8" ID anywhere


So, Plan B

...clean 'em up with petroleum based solvent (gasoline)

..& add 5/8" ID x 3/4" OD bushings


But, the bushings don't seem to fit in the bearing too good

...have ta do the old freez'em trick

...shrink 'em up a bit & tap 'em in with a block of wood

Yup, that'll work