Fox (Manco) Vortex

[3kakr4]

My new-to-me Vortex. Got it from my father-in-law supposedly to ride my 3 year old around on. One good lap on it in our yard and I'm hooked on karting.

Anywho, here are some pictures as it sits from my father in law's - aka obvious safety issues have been noted and will be addressed in a better fashion.

I have a new Honda CT70 carb and cone filter on the way (since that route was $7 cheaper than the rebuild kit). Probably gonna try and source just the float bowl o-ring and ride the rest of the season (Anyone happen to know the diameter/good places to find such like?). That way I tear it down good over winter and maybe shoehorn some rack and pinion steering on there (suggestions?).

There was a piece of stainless dsteel wire doing duty as the throttle cable that snapped on day 2 of riding, so I built a quick and dirty pedal linkage to connect a piece of bicycle brake cable for throttle to get us back rolling. I plan to spend a little more time with it when it's too cold to ride.

New front tires are gonna happen sooner than later, I promise.

On a side note, I can't seem to get Tapatalk to log me in to my account here. It just says "Connecting to server." until I click back (Verizon Galaxy S7). Any ideas?

Oh, and the battery box is through bolted to the piece of stainless plate. The bungee just holds the lid on. That will be replaced with a more size appropriate battery and relocated to somewhere better than the roof. Haha.

 

[Hellion]

...Oh, and the battery box is through bolted to the piece of stainless plate. The bungee just holds the lid on. That will be replaced with a more size appropriate battery and relocated to somewhere better than the roof. Haha.

Whoa, I agree with getting that battery off the roof--is that a full size 12V? Dumb location.

I try evilbay first for all my minuscule and minor parts. If you know exactly what you're looking for and the size of the O-ring, the sources might be almost limitless. Gewgle is your friend, until it surreptitiously steals all your data and compiles it into the file they will have created on you.

Can't help you on the Tapatalk. My prime mode of DIYGK browsing is a laptop and I have zero issues.

Is your steering really that difficult? Make sure you have your front tires at the recommended PSI for best steering at all times. Maybe when you tear everything down over the winter, you can lube up the steering spindles and all the articulation points in the A arms and so forth. Prior to that, make sure all the metal-on-metal parts are smooth and free from pitting and corrosion so there's no drag and/or roughness in anything that moves. Then lube it all with a quality grease.

 

[3kakr4]

I didn't gewgle well enough the first time around. Found the carb bowl packing and both gaskets for the two bolts that penetrate the carb bowl (drain bolt and bolt that holds the bowl onto the carburetor body) shipped for $17 from jackssmallengines. I saved that pdf woth exploded engine views and part numbers I found (on here, coincidentally) for any and all later questions.

It is a full size 12v. My father-in-law's mantra seems to be "done is better than perfect" with a heavy helping of "not enough time to do it right the first time, but I have time to fix it twice."

Anyway, I'm thinking of just using a lawn mower battery or maybe even just a 12v 7ah fire alarm battery. I would love to have it charge right on the cart, but for now, just tossing the trickle charger on it every so often will undoubtedly be the simplest solution.

Regarding the steering, I'm sure getting new tires inflated to the correct PSI will feel like going from a jalopy to a brand new Cadillac. Toss is cleaned and properly greased steering components may upgrade it all the way to a grade-a cloud. Good thought, I will definitely start there.

 

[chancer]

Jacks engines is a great resource. Often overlooked here at DIY.

 

[Hellion]

Jacks engines is a great resource. Often overlooked here at DIY.

http://www.jackssmallengines.com/ ??? Just finished a transaction (received the items) with them. Good outfit, good prices and a fast shipper. FYI.

 

[3kakr4]

Baby steps

I got my new CT70 carburetor and cone filter at the end of last week, and then took a weekend trip up to Chattanooga with the missus and our two crumbsnatchers (~3 year old son and 9 week old daughter). The day before we left, I decided I would just order the gasket I needed (fuel bowl packing) to prevent it from sloshing out everywhere when we ride. Will swap the carbs this winter. The picture of small fuel puddle is after it sat overnight without me closing the fuel shutoff. After a five minute ride, gas will be everywhere on the black plastic.

I should have my package from Jack's Small Engines tomorrow and should be able to throw the gasket before the sun sets again.

Also in the works are to take the torque converter pulleys off and buff them to remove the rust so the belt will engage smoothly. Could someone post up some pictures of how much slack the belt should have? I can remove the belt easily from around the big pulley. Is the belt too big or stretched? It has a Comet 30 series TQ. I can grab some pictures tomorrow-it will give me an excuse to untarp it and ride a little (especially since I need to put the new gasket on and test drive)!

Anyway, that's all the news that is news.