Finished Live-Axle Wooden Kart

[the thnikkaman]

I just finished my kart. It's made of wood because my dad won't let me use a welder (soon to change). It's got 6.5 hp, live axle, and a strange form of suspension. In total, the build price was about $400.00. Here's some pics, feel free to comment.

 

[chevy6]

Good job! I really don't think I could or would have thought to build a go kart of of wood

 

[kibble]

That's pretty interesting! It looks good though.

 

[ed1380]

very nice

could you get a pic of teh steering setup and suspension?

 

[2or3wheels]

Is it holding up, i dont have a welder and i wanted to build one out of wood but thought the wood would break.

 

[robin]

well done it looks great if you can make a mettle one i would tho

 

[2or3wheels]

so what size wood did you use and u just bolted metal brackets? Does the motor mount hole? Pics of the front would be great, i think im going to build this.

 

[the thnikkaman]

For the steering, I bought this garden cart: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=129180-52314-129180&lpage=none

It came with this front section that has a solid bar that pushes both spindle arms to turn the wheels. I just used a piece of ABS pipe for the steering column, and wrapped some steel cable around it. When the wheel is turned right or left, the cable pulls the spindle arms, and turns the wheels. I used cable because those metal L-joints that attach to the steering assembaly act as shock absorbers, and the cables allow for that movement. By the way, the garden cart is also where I got the rims and tires. Heres some pics:

 

[the thnikkaman]

As for the structural integrity of the cart, I have run it over some bumpy terrain, and it seems just fine. I used 2.5x1.5 pinewood beams, held together by metal L-joints and 3/8 in. bolts. For the area where you sit, there a plywood sheet screwed onto the bottom of the outer frame. I bought the motor mount and drilled 4 extra holes in it so I could bolt it to the wooden frame. The wood really seems to dampen the engine noise.