firsst gokart. 15hp briggs power

[builder bob]

hello i'm new to this forum and have never successfully completed a go kart. mainly because i couldn't build the steering system or weld. well i still can't weld but, my school was just donated a riding lawnmower with a 1 cylinder 15hp Briggs that doesn't look like it has been run to often and supposedly runs great. the starter battery is charging so i can't test it till tomaro. what i want to do is make an over powered little 1 person go kart (probably making a mini AC Cobra with it is not to smart). we have a 200 amp auto feed mig welder that is broken and probably fixable. is mig/tig only thing you can use on pipes? from what i've read all the problems the teacher said they were having with a regular stick welder were caused by excessive current, what i mean to sat is no body at my school is to good at welding. is it possible to get a torc converter for this sized engine? any body no of some full suspension plans that could fit this engine? or at least what sized piping do most people use? finally, the engine doesn't say how many cc it's got so i don't know what kind of suspension we would need. i'm guessing that it'd be around 400cc because 6.5 hp hondas are like 120cc or something. please help me out, no one else in the engineering club i'm in knows a single thing about engines. one kid said aerodynamics has nothing to do with most cars and another kid thought differentials were electronics!

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Welcome to the forum. You've got a lot of thought there, in no particular order. So, in no particular order-

Lawn tractors aren't suited to much outside of lawn tractors. Suspension has nothing to do with engine displacement. Yes, you could use a CVT with that engine. Yes, you need to fix the welder and learn to weld. No, MIG/TIG is not the only suitable welding process for the job. Yes, the stick machine you have access to is probably overpowered for the job....

Under the given circumstances, you may be better off shopping for some used go kart parts and a chassis, and build it up. There's not much you'll be able to do with that mower, and the engine in it is a vertical shaft. Horizontal shaft engines are better suited to kart applications.

 

[chris_the_poser]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your build. Is your motor a horizontal or vertical shaft if its horizontal you are going to be better off building a kart. Do you have any pics of the idea of kart you wanna build. Yes its possible to get a torque converter for that size motor but they aren't cheap but that depends on the shaft direction of your engine tho

 

[chris_the_poser]

Well you toystory you beat me to i. But he is right builder bob

 

[builder bob]

thanks for the welcome guys!

Welcome to the forum. You've got a lot of thought there, in no particular order. So, in no particular order-

Lawn tractors aren't suited to much outside of lawn tractors. Suspension has nothing to do with engine displacement. Yes, you could use a CVT with that engine. Yes, you need to fix the welder and learn to weld. No, MIG/TIG is not the only suitable welding process for the job. Yes, the stick machine you have access to is probably overpowered for the job....

Under the given circumstances, you may be better off shopping for some used go kart parts and a chassis, and build it up. There's not much you'll be able to do with that mower, and the engine in it is a vertical shaft. Horizontal shaft engines are better suited to kart applications.

so i was right about not having to use a sheilding gas to be able to weld pipe! ha! my teacher was wrong! i didn't mean use the mower as a go kart, just the big engine and rely big back weals. it is a virticle mount engine but maybe it could be stood upright if a new mount mas made? i wanted to know the displacement because that's how i've seen suspension sold for, on the page selling the shock it says what size go kart it's recommended for. would a turbo rely mess up this engine? probably would but just wondering

 

[chris_the_poser]

Pointless to turbo an engine like this cool yes but still pointless and I'm pretty sure you can't run it horizontal because of the oil

 

[builder bob]

oh ya, didn't think of that. poopy. could a go kart still be made with this engine? if this one doesn't work we won't be having any gas powered thing because nobody will buy parts for it. we still have to buy 500 pounds of lead acid batteries for the golf cart we're fixing.

 

[builder bob]

oh, could the belt be twisted to make it work?

 

[DaiSan76]

oh, could the belt be twisted to make it work?

I have a John Deere tractor which has a vertical shaft engine that is mated to a horizontal shaft hydro-static trans-axle, so yes, it would work, but I don't know how well it would work for your application.

 

[builder bob]

maybe the mower we've got has one of those.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

The twisted-belt thing is really not a great solution for a go kart. Also, just re-mounting the engine horizontally is not enough. You have to address oiling, you have to find a way to mount the carb level again, too.

What you could do to keep it cheap, it keep the engine vertical, and re-use the transaxle, wheels, etc that you already have. Depending on the model of transaxle, you may be able to do some modifications to it to help it put up with kart abuse.

As for the steel- you can stick weld it, MIG (GMAW) Flux-Core (FCAW) TIG, heck, you could theoretically Oxy-Acetylene weld it- just depends on the available tools and skills...

As far as suspension rating for engine size goes- that all pretty much goes out the window when you custom-build a frame.

 

[builder bob]

oh ok. if more then the engine and wheels must be needed then it probably should be a street car because the axle is not more then 3.5 ft. could that be lengthened?

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Depends- do you have a transmission, or a transaxle? The difference is such- if you have a transmission, the gearbox is one part, and the axle is a whole seperate unit. A transaxle combines transmission and axle together. If your axle is seperate, replacing it is easy. If you have a transaxle, it'll be a lot more involved and is probably best avoided. Put up some pics when you've got the chance. Also, post the Model/Type/Code information off the engine, and we'll tell you all about it.

 

[builder bob]

5 speed shift i think is on the axle, i didn't look to close. i'll try to get some pics

 

[builder bob]

does the logo at the top of the page moove back and forth? i swear it moves an 1/8 inch, maybe a little less.

 

[builder bob]

does the logo at the top of the page moove back and forth? i swear it moves an 1/8 inch, maybe a little less.

nope, i was just rely tired

 

[cOw]

Pics or it didn't happen!

 

[builder bob]

it was 12:30 am, i was wrong, i feel rely weird when it gets that late and can't quite tell what's going on once it hits 1:00

 

[builder bob]

the mower runs! drive belt is wicked loose though and so it won't drive. where would the governor be on this engine? there's a wire plugged into the carb bowl but I wouldn't think it'd be there.

 

[OzFab]

It will be attached to the carb by a thin rod which goes to the governor arm.

Whether it's on a 5hp or a 15hp, vertical or horizontal, they're all pretty much the same