Mobbins Go Kart of Death - Houston we have a problem!

[SteadyMobbin]

Mobbins Go Kart of Death - HELP! Please N Thanks- Engine mounting issue

Hello all, this is an into and project page all-in-one....

Since this forum has the weirdest picture uploading method Ive ever experienced on a message board I will have to wait a few hours (day?) between updates.

Our friends and neighbors gave us their old go kart. It was last run about 8 years ago. IIRC, the belt was bad but was otherwise fine at that time.

Any info on what this is would be great. I think it's a Carter but you guys know more than me.

 

[landuse]

I'm not too sure what it is, but I am sure you are going to have a blast with it.

I assume it has a torque converter (you talk about a belt). You can just get a new one. I would pull the carb off and clean it really well, as well as draining old gas and putting in fresh. Check fuel lines to see if they are cracked and perished. If so, replace those too. If it were me, I would put an inline fuel filter between the carb and the tank, as you never know what crud could be left in that tank from 8yrs of sitting, and you don't want that in the carb again.

Post some more pics of the whole kart for us to see

 

[SteadyMobbin]

I tried posting multiple pictures last night in separate responses but it kept posting everything in the original post with no separation between pictures.

Do I have to let others post between picture updates or am I doing it wrong?

 

[anickode]

I tried posting multiple pictures last night in separate responses but it kept posting everything in the original post with no separation between pictures.

Do I have to let others post between picture updates or am I doing it wrong?

You can direct upload 10 pictures to one post.

If you post again too soon after making a post, it will merge them automatically.

 

[SteadyMobbin]

DEMO -

So the gas tank stunk pretty badly. The cap wasn't the right one and it was pretty rusty.

I drained all the fluids, dismantled everything and used an angle grinder with a wire brush attachment to strip the whole thing and grind off the rust. Out of everything I did this was the most time consuming and back breaking. I probably spent close to 20 hours total just grinding.

The wheels are split rimmed and I couldn't get them off. I ended up finding an old lawn mower mechanic to take of that. I warned him that he shouldn't put too much time into them but like me, he is a stubborn as a mule. He originally told me $20 but humbling requested $40 after all the work he did on them. I happily paid him $50. Yes, I could have bought new wheel but I'm happy I put some money into that mans pocket and I have perfectly good wheels to use now.

I'll update this post with more pictures and my progress in an hour or so and see if that won't lump all the pictures into this post.

I'm not too sure what it is, but I am sure you are going to have a blast with it.

I assume it has a torque converter (you talk about a belt). You can just get a new one. I would pull the carb off and clean it really well, as well as draining old gas and putting in fresh. Check fuel lines to see if they are cracked and perished. If so, replace those too. If it were me, I would put an inline fuel filter between the carb and the tank, as you never know what crud could be left in that tank from 8yrs of sitting, and you don't want that in the carb again.

Post some more pics of the whole kart for us to see

It had a clutch but I "upgraded" to a TC. LOL, now I have another issue that we will get into soon....

 

[SteadyMobbin]

OK, so I just went ahead and loaded up all my pictures....

I spent another 2 hours grinding on the wheels. I'm really proud of how clean I got the frame.

_ My big contribution to this board will be this "tip" -> Getting the tires on was a royal pain in the rear. So hard I never thought I would be able to get them on. Oil oil, soap and water, a 10 lb hammer and a crow bar while I stood on top, rotating the around the edge, just enough to be able to get the valve stem to poke through was the key. Then I fed the tube inside, pinched the other side of the split rim, used bolts/nuts to pull the rims together, then inflate the tire and BAM! Tires seated. Very important -> Remove the air BEFORE removing the hardware. Install the tires on the frame and then inflate.

Don't ask me on the paint job. I thought I'd go with something extreme and out of character for me. I have two girls that will be riding this thing so thats where the purple comes in.

All new stainless steel hardware.
New tubes and tires
Torque Converter




I'm still working on the seat and seat belts.....

In the meantime I could use some help on how to connect the engine to the axle...... The stock setup was a clutch and belt but why would I keep it simple stupid? Noooooo, I had to complicate things and add a toque converter.


So here is the problem.....

As you can see in the last two pictures - the only thing I can think of is raising the engine so this the TC sits overhead the lower sprocket/spindle (<---am I using the correct vernacular here?). Problem is, as you can see from the original picture up thread, if I raise the engine it will hit the seat.... I also don't like that the engine will be that close to the back of the girls head.

Any past experience and help would be greatly appreciated. I also invite criticism with open arms. Thats how we learn.

 

[SteadyMobbin]

Really could use some advice on this.

Suggestions? I’m at the point where I think I’m just gonna scrap the TC and buy a clutch.