First Build: Manco Dingo (WIP)

[Armatus]

Hey, I'm brand new to karting so I figured I'd start my own thread and hopefully get some tips and advice from you guys. To start, a little about me. I'm an industrial design student and have been into prop making for years, so I'm good with my hands, but I have no experience in auto-mechanics. I'm very interested in cars (I drive a toyota celica), but just don't know much about how they work or how to fix them. In light of this, I picked up an old Manco Dingo from my uncle, which has been sitting in a shed for years, to restore this summer. It should be a lot of fun and a great learning opportunity. My dad will be doing most of the work with me, as he's great with cars.

The cart is pretty old, but the condition isn't to bad (so far as I can tell). The front bar is a bit bent, there's surface rust in many places, but it drives just fine (other then the brake which is shot).




It's not very fast, so I'm planning on replacing the 5hp engine with a 10-15hp engine. Needs new tires all around, probably make them bigger in the front. I'm also hoping to make it road legal (maybe?), I'm pretty good at wiring so the electrical system wouldn't be a problem. Anyone have experience trying to ensure one of these?


In the coming weeks I'm going to dissemble it completely to sand and re-paint the frame (which is something I do have experience in). I'll probably just paint it black again. I'm planning on moving the petals forward about 3 inches and hopefully re-do the steering column mount so my knees don't just out the sides of the frame.

I plan on continuing to search the forum thoroughly to learn more on my own, but any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

 

[KartFab]

Advice:

1) stick with a 5-8 hp engine
2) stick with a new or the original 30 series torque converter
3) the go kart goes 35 mph stock, figure out why it's going so slow now.
4) if you replace the engine with a newer OHV engine, the gas tank may hit the seat, so you may need to reposition the motor mount to get everything to fit.
5) I agree with you about tires. 15x6-6 will fit the existing rims. I got these turf savers for mine.

Here is a summary of my go kart resto mod.

 

[Hursty]

there are lots of great people, and info here.
Nice cart.. i have one just like that in the shed.
what do you mean by street legal?
What part of pa are you from?

 

[colestreasures]

I agree with kartfab stick with the 8hp and the converter setup. Also if you go bigger you might have to re-drill the engine plate or end up changing it out completely. I also had this same kart been tryibg to get it back mine gad the full cage over it still.
Cole

 

[Armatus]

Why is it better to not go above 8 horse power? I'm fine with redrilling holes or making a new mounting plate for the engine entirely. Id really like it to accelerate faster. I've seen a bunch of people put in a 13hp engine which seems to work great.

By road legal, I'd like to be able to drive it on the road, just so I can get it to where I actually drive it without having to use a truck. As far as my research as showed, all you need is headlights, tail lights, mirrors, turn signals, and a speedometer, then you can take it to a DMV for a speed test and get it registered. Slap a license plate and orange triangle on the back (to say it's slow traffic) and you're good to go.

 

[MatthewD]

Why is it better to not go above 8 horse power? I'm fine with redrilling holes or making a new mounting plate for the engine entirely. Id really like it to accelerate faster. I've seen a bunch of people put in a 13hp engine which seems to work great.

By road legal, I'd like to be able to drive it on the road, just so I can get it to where I actually drive it without having to use a truck. As far as my research as showed, all you need is headlights, tail lights, mirrors, turn signals, and a speedometer, then you can take it to a DMV for a speed test and get it registered. Slap a license plate and orange triangle on the back (to say it's slow traffic) and you're good to go.

It's not as easy as that here. You can get some ATV's registered for the road but not go-karts.

 

[chancer]

It must be easy in PA. the Amish just slap a orange triangle on the back of their 1 hp buggy and are good to go. So 8hp or 13 hp buggy just get a triangle, grow a beard and shave your mustache.

 

[colestreasures]

Nothing wrong with putting a 13hp or whatever on it. Its just simpler with a 8hp , its whatever you want i just got done removing a 8hp on my carter kart and installed a 13hp honda just re-drilled the plate and its going ti be a beast , i say go for it if its what you want, i was just saying in my other post.
Cole

 

[Armatus]

I've been doing a lot of reading about hp and torque, and I think I want to use the 8hp 301cc predator engine (this seems to be the preferred brand) because it's lighter and cheaper then a 13hp but punchier then a 6.5 212cc with a lot more torque. Should also be easy to mount right? However, I see a bunch of kits on ebay and other places to upgrade the 212cc engine, different air filters and exhausts and such, but I haven't found anything for the 301cc. Why is there no love for the 8hp 301cc predator engine? Is it fine the way it is? I'd like the cart to accelerate as fast as possible, top speed doesn't really matter to me as long as it's at or above 40.

I also need it to have an electric start, I know there are kits available to make the 212cc electric start, do they work on the 301cc? Is there another kit that would work? Thanks.

EDIT: Also looking at the Duromax 7hp 196cc engine because it comes with electric start. How hard would it be to mount that? Possible upgrades for more power/better performance? http://www.ebay.com/itm/DuroMax-7-HP-Go-Kart-Log-Splitter-Gas-Power-Engine-Motor-XP7HPE-Electric-Start-/171272228244?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27e09ecd94