Manco indy car replica ID help.

[mr.man]

Hello, I have been trying to find information about this go cart I have, the frame is blue. I look online and apparently they never made a manco indy car replica with a blue frame? Is it a rare model, is it fake, or is it repainted? (as you can see in the photo, it has a blue frame)

 

[Hellion]

Remove the body and look for clear signs of a repaint; I’m inclined to think that yes, the frames were always black but I don’t know.

No Reserve: Manco Indy Car-Style Go-Kart

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: Manco Indy Car-Style Go-Kart at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #156,700.

bringatrailer.com

Edit: Nice find though.
Edited again: is there an ID tag in front of the seat?

 

[mr.man]

Remove the body and look for clear signs of a repaint; I’m inclined to think that yes, the frames were always black but I don’t know.

No Reserve: Manco Indy Car-Style Go-Kart

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: Manco Indy Car-Style Go-Kart at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #156,700.

bringatrailer.com

Edit: Nice find though.
Edited again: is there an ID tag in front of the seat?

I already looked, the paint is chipping in some spots, and there is no sign of black paint, also it is very neat and looks factory. The seat frame is black though. There isn't an ID tag in front of the seat but there is a plate with a serial number on the back of the seat frame. I forgot when the number was because it is somewhere else right now, but it said it was made in fort wayne indiana.
(edit) the engine in that link that you sent is different than the one I have.
(Edit again) It also has different tires.

 

[Hellion]

I already looked, the paint is chipping in some spots, and there is no sign of black paint, also it is very neat and looks factory. The seat frame is black though. There isn't an ID tag in front of the seat but there is a plate with a serial number on the back of the seat frame. I forgot when the number was because it is somewhere else right now, but it said it was made in fort wayne indiana.
(edit) the engine in that link that you sent is different than the one I have.
(Edit again) It also has different tires.

I bet the blue paint is legit then. Fort Wayne is where Manco was located. Manco is defunct now and a company called Landmaster is the current name after several buyouts and mergers. They make boring UTVs now.

As far as I can tell, there were several versions, engine wise, of these karts but they could have nearly any decor on the Formula 1/Indy car body that a customer wanted. It looks like you may have a 3 or 3.5HP engine.

Manco 713 had a 3.5HP engine
Manco 714 had a 4.0HP engine
Manco 715 had a 5.0HP engine

https://landmaster-assets.american-landmaster.workers.dev/uploads/manuals/Fun-Kart/713_operatorsmanual.pdf

https://landmaster-assets.american-landmaster.workers.dev/uploads/manuals/Fun-Kart/714_operatorsmanual.pdf

 

[Denny]

Yes it is a MANCO. Probably strip and repaint at some point in its life.

 

[Hellion]

The "racing slick" tires would be correct for the kart.

I like the "speed reducer" on the model 714...

 

[mr.man]

I like the "speed reducer" on the model 714...

Me to

 

[mr.man]

Yes it is a MANCO. Probably strip and repaint at some point in its life.

I bet the blue paint is legit then. Fort Wayne is where Manco was located. Manco is defunct now and a company called Landmaster is the current name after several buyouts and mergers. They make boring UTVs now.

As far as I can tell, there were several versions, engine wise, of these karts but they could have nearly any decor on the Formula 1/Indy car body that a customer wanted. It looks like you may have a 3 or 3.5HP engine.

Manco 713 had a 3.5HP engine
Manco 714 had a 4.0HP engine
Manco 715 had a 5.0HP engine

https://landmaster-assets.american-landmaster.workers.dev/uploads/manuals/Fun-Kart/713_operatorsmanual.pdf

https://landmaster-assets.american-landmaster.workers.dev/uploads/manuals/Fun-Kart/714_operatorsmanual.pdf

it is the 3 hp briggs

 

[mr.man]

Yes it is a MANCO. Probably strip and repaint at some point in its life.

Its a pretty dang good paint job, props to whoever did it.

 

[Hellion]

Its a pretty dang good paint job, props to whoever did it.

Might be factory applied paint. Take more photos, this blue color might be a rare variant making it super rare and worth billions.

 

[mr.man]

I will take more photos when I go to the place it is at right now, the thing that makes me think it is factory is that it has the factory safety stickers on it, which someone would most likely just leave off if they repainted it.

 

[Hellion]

the thing that makes me think it is factory is that it has the factory safety stickers on it, which someone would most likely just leave off if they repainted it.

Right, that does make sense. If however someone masked off and painted around the stickers I think it would be obvious too but that is something I have done (for an old Briggs and Stratton engine). It is painstaking work for little gain other than satisfaction.

ETA: are you gonna run it or fluff 'n buff it and put it on display for Man Cave purposes?

 

[mr.man]

Right, that does make sense. If however someone masked off and painted around the stickers I think it would be obvious too but that is something I have done (for an old Briggs and Stratton engine). It is painstaking work for little gain other than satisfaction.

That makes sense, but since the stickers are peeling up in some corners a little, you can quite obviously see blue paint under them. which further confuses me. its hard to figure out if its factory or not because there is no records from what I can find of a blue frame model.
Edit: they also do seem to be factory safety stickers and look just as old as the cart.

 

[mr.man]

Example of what the badge on my seat frame looks like.

 

[mr.man]

Right, that does make sense. If however someone masked off and painted around the stickers I think it would be obvious too but that is something I have done (for an old Briggs and Stratton engine). It is painstaking work for little gain other than satisfaction.

ETA; are you gonna run it or fluff 'n buff it and put it on display for Man Cave purposes?

I'm just gonna ride it, might as well, its not in great shape anyway.

 

[mr.man]

The more research I'm doing the more I'm finding it could be a genuine blue paint job, there is no signs of black paint whatsoever, on the underside there is scratches and it is only blue paint and you can see inside the tubes on the frame where there is blue paint and no black from what I can see.

 

[Hellion]

because there is no records from what I can find of a blue frame model.

Just because you have not found a blue frame model on the interwebz doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I will grant that blue is not a common color for a Manco anything; black, red and yellow seem to be the most popular colors in my limited experience.

Found a frame color of royal blue, which is part #1 on this parts list:

https://landmaster-assets.american-landmaster.workers.dev/uploads/manuals/Fun-Kart/485486_operatorsmanual_485b2.pdf

 

[Hellion]

I'm just gonna ride it, might as well, its not in great shape anyway.

Is the side not shown on camera destroyed and hideous, because the kart seems to be in good-to-very good condition to me. Most of the time with these karts, the Indy car body was smashed and lost long ago and all we have is the oddly shaped frame which most here can identify for what it was....

 

[mr.man]

The body is actually in great shape, a couple spots with wear here and there but the only cracks and breaks are on the wing.

 

[mr.man]

engine wise its a different story, it sat for 25 years and I got it running in 3 days but that engine is pretty beat up, makes sense, they didn't do an oil change for the timespan of 5 years they drove it for...