Mounting a bigger engine on my Kart.

[Brandon1023]

Finalyyy, my 420cc Predator arrived today and as expected, my old mounting plate is too small for it. I have a 1ft x 1ft piece of steeland I think its strong enough to support the 90 lb engine. My question is, how do I go about making the holes perfectly aligned on the plate as they are on the engine? Is there a template that I can print or something so I can mark the spots on the plate? I'm not sure what to do about it.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Measure, mark, and then do it twice more! Be sure to use a straightedge and a square to get good reference marks.

 

[Brandon1023]

Okay and how am I supposed to mark where the holes go?

 

[souperman000]

You could use a sharpie, though the angle might be a bit tough...

 

[treyfus]

i would use a silver sharpie, they are very visible. use calipers if you have them, or tape, and measure the motor mount, and create a drawing of it, then cut out your plate, measure, mark, measure again, drill, and weld!

 

[Brandon1023]

Alright. Ill give the sharpie a go. If it fails, the inner ink cartridge of the marker held with some needle nose pliers will do the trick. Will get back to everyone and share how I finished my task.

 

[qtband]

I take a piece of paper, put the engine on it's side, then hold the paper against the engine and use my finger to press in on each mounting hole, thus making a mark on the paper. That gives me a template.

 

[OzFab]

I take a piece of paper, put the engine on it's side, then hold the paper against the engine and use my finger to press in on each mounting hole, thus making a mark on the paper. That gives me a template.

That's the way to do it, old panel beaters trick. Works even better with a dirty finger.
Go over the whole mounting area, that way you will know exactly where it will fit on the plate

 

[qtband]

That's the way to do it, old panel beaters trick.

Who you calling old???? LOL!!!

 

[Brandon1023]

Wow.. I can't believe how smart that is.. lol. I should've thought of that all along. Thanks guys.

 

[General Chaos]

You can also take a thicker piece, like cereal box cardboard and tap the hole areas with a small ball pein hammer.

 

[SquareTire]

^^ good technique, you could also install 4 bolts into your motor, then put it on top of your 1x1 steel plate (bolts will act like legs on a table holding your motor up) then trace around the bolts directly onto your place, then drill away...