Build Log - LPK - Little Pink Cart

[jetlag]

Well some more progress this evening. I can probably connect all the steering easily tomorrow night. I'm somewhat disappointed that the spindles didn't have any Ackerman built in. I know I can just weld a stub off the end of the arm (and I probably will) but it was still a letdown.

On the positive side I'm actually starting to lay down some decent welds.

Also, I think I may put 1/2 of a live axle in. I really wanted to keep the width under 32" so it could fit through the small garage door. If I use the drum/sprocket outside the frame there's no way I can do this. The cart will be used mainly on solid surfaces so I want only one drive wheel.

Here's the million $ question. Should I put a full, live axle in and only engage one wheel? Then if I ever wanted to put some larger tires on it and let the kid go hog wild offroad I could easily tie the other wheel in too. Man, I wish I could do a manual locking hub like an old Jeep. How sweet would that be.

Edit - I went with 12deg caster and no camber. We'll see how it works out. As mentioned I think I will have to weld a small piece of flat stock off the end of the steering arm at 90deg to create my Ack angle.

Half of a live axle? I don't even know how you would do that unless you just didn't put a keystock on one of the wheel hubs..hah. In my opinion, don't try to half and half. Either do single wheel drive, or live axle. Depends on how much you are willing to spend.

12 degrees of caster seems like a lot, we only used 5 and it turns really good.

That weld looks better. Good work!

Also, how much are you paying for that steel?

I called my usual metal supplier and they don't even carry 1" round tube..hah. I've been buying 1" square .120 for $14 for a 20ft piece, but I called another play for 1" round .120 and they wanted $53 for a 24ft piece!!! I didn't realize round was so much more expensive than square.

 

[brendonv]

That looks nice and solid.

 

[export!]

Thanks brendon.

jet, I paid $30Can. for 20ft lengths. In my experience most tubing (round or square) is priced primarily by steel content (weight). Sounds like you just need to keep looking. There are places here where I could pay double too.

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

welds are looking nice. 12 deg of caster seems like a lot, and if im thinking right, it will make it a bit harder to turn the wheel (jacking effect?), but with a light cart its probably fine.

I would go with a live axle, it will just open up options in the future, just make sure the tire that freewheels has bearings.

 

[theo]

You can alter the bell crank on the steering shaft to get ackerman. Make a T bell crank to attach the tie rods. Separate the rod ends by about 1 1/2"

 

[export!]

Theo you are da man.

That saved me a TON of screwing around. Thank you.

Had a good day of progress. If I could just quit repairing my MIG welder 1/2 the time I might be done by now.

I hope I didn't screw the whole thing up with the caster - I guess I'll have to wait and see.

 

[jetlag]

****, that kart looks GOOD.

 

[export!]

Hey question for the gurus. I fired up the HF-Blue today. Ran really nice. I noticed the throttle is extremely stiff and was wondering what type of linkage/spring I would need.

When I slide the throttle to full, the engine pulses and I can see another linkage moving on what appears to be vacuum motion. This is moving the "real" throttle on the carb which is super easy to move and would be a snap to attach a linkage to. Can I bypass the normal lawnmower style throttle and connect my throttle pedal right to the carb assembly?? I can't see why this would be any problem but I thought I'd ask.

Thanks!

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

If you connect your cable directly to the carb butterfly, you will be bypassing the governor, and since your not going for speed, thats probably a bad idea.

 

[export!]

Is there a way to loosen up the factory throttle slider to make it act smoother for a simple throttle cable?? It takes a LOT of force to move the slider right now.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

No clue, i've never bought a new engine or a clone. All the ones i've gotten were old and free or cheap, so they were already broken in.

I know that one of my tecumsehs is was fairly new, is pretty hard to move by hand, but with the leverage of a pedal, and the strength of your foot, it feels like nothing.

 

[t0x1k]

That little nut(remove air filter cover) that holds the throttle control arm in place. Loosen it just a little bit and it will no longer stick and will bounce back to idle when released.

 

[Raywelder]

This kart is coming out really good!

You may want to upgrade wheels eventually though.

Those are probably wobbly and prone to break

 

[export!]

OK removed the fuel tank and took apart the throttle assembly. Greased it lightly and didn't fully tighten the nylock on the pivot. Works like butter now. I think I will still add a secondary return spring to be sure but it returns nicely to idle now. I also discovered the screw to limit the throttle travel. NICE.

Yeah, the wheels were cheap and easy. This is very lightweight and very slow for now. I replaced all the bearings with real bearings so I might have a fighting chance.

Thanks for the comments. This has been a very rewarding experience so far.

 

[export!]

Well 5 days after breaking ground it's mostly done.

A few loose ends;

First and foremost I need a seat. I'm not sure what to do about this. I built in some lateral support safeguard in the frame but I'd like to have a seat that holds her in place a bit. Anything new and ready-made is mucho $$$.

I need to rework the steering wheel mount. I welded a 1/2" collar with grub screw on the back of the wheel and filed out a nice flat spot on the steering shaft. The screw just eats away at the shaft almost immediately and you get a lot of steering play. I'll have to think about this.

One steering arm is hitting the upper front frame member on a hard right turn - limiting the turn. Easy fix, I think I'll just heat up the steering arm a bit and bend it down 1/4".

If I shorten the pittman arm and ensure I still get enough movement to fully turn the wheels can I increase the "turn" on the steering wheel? It probably only turns from 10:00 to 2:00 lock to lock and I'd like to have 9:00 to 3:00 if possible.

If you're still reading - thanks.

Edit - I forgot to mention I was hauling *** down the street on this today with my knees tucked under my elbows. I'm sure the neighbours were laughing. I clamped a 2X4 across for a seat.

 

[newrider3]

For the steering wheel slippage, replace the set screw with a bolt, and hit the shaft with a equal size drill bit where it contacts.
Also, depending on how big your daughter is, you could strip down an old car booster seat and install that. Almost like a mini racing seat.

 

[export!]

Sweet - I drilled out the steering shaft and collet and put a nice 3/16 bolt through it. So far it feels solid as a rock and there is no steering play at all. Cool - thanks newrider.

I was standing around staring at stuff and trying to figure out how to do a seat. I dug out an old child car seat that would have been decent but it was too high to clear the ground and the steering wheel any way I oriented it.

Then in a minor stroke of genius (read: luck) I happened across an old furniture moving dolly - one of those ones where you can slide the frame out of sleeves and orient it like a hand truck or a dolly.

Heh. I hacked it up and ran it through the bender a bit and now I have an adjustable seat that slides in sleeves. The hand truck even had beefy cotter pins to lock the handle into the sleeves!

So, with a few pieces of 3/4 ply and some rudimentary upholstery I should have a seat that will adjust for different riders or for my girl as she grows!

Sometimes you have to have a beer and stare at the junk you have. The best part was that I had scavenged the wheels off the hand truck long ago and put off throwing it out about 100X.

 

[export!]

Well should be ready for maiden voyage tomorrow. Just have to install a seat belt scavenged from a car seat and my homebrewed remote cut-off.

Thanks for all the help, advice and encouragement. I can't wait to build my next one.

I want a big, ugly farm machine that can tow a small trailer around and still toot around for fun. Sounds like I need a torque converter. Is there a setup where I could pull some decent weight at 5-10mph and still punch it up to around 20 or more????

 

[jetlag]

A torq-a-verter will definitely help.

My friend's gokart ran out of gas and I had to tow it over rough terrain with him in it. So my ~110lb go kart with me(155lb) in it, pulled my friend's kart ~110lb with him in it (175lb). 6.5hp with header and Comet TAV2 30.

Geared 12T and 72T. It had no problem and could have carried more, especially if the ground is flat/smooth/road.

Your kart looks awesome. Great job. I love the pink foam. But that steering wheel seems too big for the kart. It looks like the 12" wheel Northern Tool sells. My friend got a 10" on his kart and it is awesome.

 

[brendonv]

look nice. Solid kart. Well done.