Manco Yellow Jacket

[bullseye670]

I've got the kart finished. Thought I'd post a few pics. I'm pretty happy with the outcome. New spindle brackets for the front wheels and a new steering shaft, among other things. Someone hit somthing with it at some point in it's past life. The engine on the back is a mock-up Gx390. I managed to get it to fit, barely.
Building the engine now. It's getting there. Racing head from NR Racing is set to arrive today.

 

[Denny]

Looks good! Can’t wait to see you get it dirty!

 

[panchothedog]

WOW! That came out really nice. It's not really finished till you're driving it. Should scream with a built 390.

 

[bullseye670]

WOW! That came out really nice. It's not really finished till you're driving it. Should scream with a built 390.

Thanks, panchothedog. It's amazing what throwing a ton of money at somthing will do. I've got the engine done. Only problem is Mikuni 34mm Flatslide carburetor's are out of stock everywhere right now.

 

[panchothedog]

That is in my opinion the best carburetor you could buy for your engine. Do you still have the stock Honda carburetor? If everything else is ready to go, and you are getting ansi to drive it ( and who wouldn't be ) you could fatten the jet in the stocker and while you won't quite get the top end of the Makuni, it will still run pretty strong. I have a pretty strongly built predator 301 that uses the stock
rejetted carb. I'm sure it would give me more with a big Makuni but it runs pretty darn good as is.

 

[bullseye670]

Yeah, I've still got some things to correct. I'm going to need to move the engine over to the right about an inch for the electric starter to clear the seat back rail. That means putting on a new motor mount plate. Oh well. Nothing worth doing is ever easy.

Look at the picture. The starter "just" fits when I moved everything slightly to the right. I also noticed that I forgot to redo the seat frame. Damn rust.
I don't anticipate riding this one until springtime. I'm not a big fan of riding in the snow. Plus, I've got a medical issue right now that's going to put me out of commission for a little while.
I got what I'm going to call Lucky. I built a minibike this past spring. Crashed into a pine tree on the maiden voyage. Darn fat rear tire kept the bike from turning well. Didn't hurt the bike. Fractured my pelvis. Which lead to tests, which led to them finding cancer. Which is leading to a little surgery. Just a little setback. Karts keep my mind off things.

Anyway, hopefully those carbs will be in soon.

 

[Denny]

Good luck with the health issues! Cancer sucks!

 

[bullseye670]

Thanks, Denny! Yeah, second time around. Different cancer. It's not gonna win.

 

[panchothedog]

Best of luck with the cancer. I was going to say something like damn mini bike. It might have saved your life in a round about way.
You are probably aware of, but just in case not, most of the big suppliers ( Go Power Sports, OMB Warehouse ) for sure offer a motor plate that does exactly what you are talking about. It's a bolt on item so there is no cutting or welding involved. I have them on two of my karts where alignment was an issue. They offer a good inch of side to side movement, as well as fore and aft. They can be rotated 180 degrees, so they work to either side. I don't know how to post a link, but it is a half inch thick aluminum plate that is slotted and bolts to your existing motor plate. Pretty sure OMB has them for both big and small block engines.

 

[bullseye670]

Thanks, panchothedog. I recall seeing them before, now that you mention them. Perhaps I'll run up to Studzracing tomorrow. They're only about 20 minutes from work. I think they have them. Thanks again. I'll give it a try. It may raise my motor too much. It's pretty tight. The exhaust might not make it. We'll see.

And yes, I think the minibike crash saved me. No telling how long I might have taken to discover it. I don't really have any of the signs of prostate cancer, except a high PSA. Anyway, 8 weeks till surgery. Glad there's no rush. The doctors looked at me kinda funny when I told them I was riding a minibike.

 

[Denny]

The doctors looked at me kinda funny when I told them I was riding a minibike.

Must be tough having to be a grown up!

 

[bullseye670]

Finally got the 34mm flat slide. It may look a little odd, but it will work. Guess this is what happens when you up size the motor. It will look ok with the header sticking out the other side. Almost have the torque converter tube back on.

 

[Denny]

Looking really good!

 

[milesguy81]

Thats a cool way to do the rear suspension! Did you just use like a tractor PTO shaft for the CV axles? Also thats a sweet looking kart!

 

[bullseye670]

I imagine you could fabricate something similar. Basically, two universals for a 1" shaft. I actually cut down an axle I had to make new ones on this kart. This is actually the way that it came from the factory. I can't wait to get it completed. Still a few months away. I keep looking at it and think, those brakes need to go, and hydraulics need to go on it. I'll probably get it running, then decide to tear it down to do the brakes. I really should start planning a swap before I get it complete.

 

[panchothedog]

That looks like a drum for a band brake. Don't sell them short. I don't have a lot of experience using them, but of the 4 karts I own ( one mechanical disc, two hydrolic disc, and one a band brake ) the band is the 2nd best performing one of the group. Very satisfied with the stopping power it provides.

 

[bullseye670]

Interesting. I haven't used drums a lot. I switched to the machanical disc brake set-up on most of my karts, before actually using them.Then I switched to the hydraulics. I wan't happy with the manual disc. Perhaps I'll give it a try. That was my intention, originally. Thank you panchothedog.

 

[panchothedog]

Seeing how it's already on there, you got nothing to lose. Do you already have the outer band.The lining is in the band.

 

[bullseye670]

Yes, I do. Actually, I have a brand new old stock one also. I picked it up off of ebay a few years ago to use on my first project. I ended up going through the disc brake dance. First the mechanical ones, then the hydraulic. Never really gave the band brake a chance.

 

[Denny]

Scrub brakes are the ones I thought sucked. You hit one little puddle or mud hole and it’s all over.