My 2 vintage race Kart chassis elect. conversion winter projects.

KMEFA

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My Buddy & I just got back from a ''long'' road trip to pick up these 2 vintage Kart chassis.
Mine is an 80''s Coyote ''Bullet'' sprint.
His,, is an early 80's, Margay 'Xpert'' sprint.
They are well used, but for 250 bucks ea.,, it was more than well worth the trip.

They are ''each'' going to be powered by 48v - 2000w ''1109'' BLDC motors , & 2 -''12ah'' - 48v. - 13s 4p packs w/BMS., ''connected in parallel'',, giving a total of 24ah.
Each pack will have 52 - 3000ma ''Li'' - 18650 cells.

Gearing on my buddy's Kart is going to start @ 6.7 - 1.

Mine, being a heavier Kart & guy,, is going to start @ 6.9 - 1.

We both have 6 & 6.5 in. wide 6'' rims ,& will be putting on Carlisle 2 - ply turf saver ''2'' - 15/6.5/6 tires on the backs ,, & 13/5/6 ones on the fronts.

They are just going to be large Subdivision street cruisers,, & will probably do only around 35,, but that's cool.

Got ''a lot'' of work to do,, & hope to have them both done by spring.

They will also both have 3 spd. switches, reverse,, & brake lights ect.

My buddy's AUW should be around 110lbs.,, Mine is probably going to be around 120,, as my frame is heavier.

My frame is going to be a med. candy electric blue.

Buddy's at the moment,, he is thinking bright signal yellow.

Ian

P/S,,
if somebody wants the ''vintage'' 4 spoke steering wheel on the Bullet,, send me a PM with an offer.
Am going to put a 3 spoke 12'' on it.
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KMEFA

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Just figured out why my frame ''was'' way heavier than my buddies .
In cutting off the ''welded on'' rear frame bumper extension tubes,, I noticed ''lead'' buck shot seeping out of the RR end.
Stood the kart on it's tail & 8 3/4 lb.s of it ran out of the RR frame tube. :oops:!
I then removed a foam grommet inside the LR, & another 8 1/4 lbs. of the stuff ran out of that !! o_O
17lbs. of lead shot I removed !!

Also cut off the 4 corner roll cage perch tubes that someone welded on,, plus cut down the sides of the ''huge/ugly @$$'' fiberglass sprint seat ect.

Between the tubes & the seat,, I removed 3 lbs.

That's a total of 20 lbs. ''so far''.:cool:

My frame feels lighter than my buddies now, especially in the rear.. LOL.
Think we will pull his rear bumper next, & see what goody might be inside his frame tubes :unsure:……..

I
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Karts of Kaos

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yikes! why would the po have used buck shot it seems anti cost effective. I would have used mabe like a big steel rod or something.
 

KMEFA

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Who knows ??

All I can figure,, is to slow them down & keep them planted better.

Guess they had a bunch of kids riding them, & a ''bunch'' more,, years ago,,, on a circle track they made out in the boonies.

Guy also told us that there used to be trees around the track,, & because the trees got hit so many times,, they all eventually died. :oops:
No wonder they ''had'' 4 point roll cages, & 5 point seat belts ect. !!

Bet that was the ''cool'' place to hang out though. ;)

P/S,,
I found a Guy that would love that 17lbs. of lead shot for sinkers & reloads . LOL.
 
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anderkart

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Reason for the lead weight is most racekart tracks have minimum weight rules for each class. They weigh the kart & driver, the lighter drivers have to add weight to meet the requirements. The weight rule makes things more fair for everyone, otherwise the lightest driver would typically have a huge advantage.
 

KMEFA

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Been busy today...…

Didn't find much goody in my Buddy ''Fred's'' frame tubes other than pretty much rust dust & dirt.
Definitely looks like my frames the lighter of the two.:p
His 1 1/4 aluminum axel only weighs 2.38 lbs. though.
My ''boat anchor'' 1 1/4 steel tube one,, weighs 8.25 lbs.
Am getting a 3 lb. 1 1/4 aluminum tube one from BMI, for mine.
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Kartorbust

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The thing about aluminum axles is, they flex an awful lot. A 1 1/4" hollow chromoly might be better.
 

KMEFA

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Thanks for the suggestion Kartorbust. :)

The one I 'am getting is key slotted, & 1/4 wall.
I'll be running 1 long key in each side, & it should be fine,, for my needs.
It's basically just going to be a ''Subdivision''/ street cruiser,, ''not a racer''.

The Margay already has a 1-1/4, 1/4 wall aluminum one,, & has had the living crap beat out of it for ''many'' moons,, & the axel is
still strait as an arrow,, & seems pretty stout also.

For 37 bucks, & free ship, ''with Fred's & my other stuff'',, I will give the alum. one a try .....

Everything from BMI I have ordered in the past,, was all real good quality,, & excellent prices also.
 
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vpd66

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Just figured out why my frame ''was'' way heavier than my buddies .
In cutting off the ''welded on'' rear frame bumper extension tubes,, I noticed ''lead'' buck shot seeping out of the RR end.
Stood the kart on it's tail & 8 3/4 lb.s of it ran out of the RR frame tube. :oops:!
I then removed a foam grommet inside the LR, & another 8 1/4 lbs. of the stuff ran out of that !! o_O
17lbs. of lead shot I removed !!

Also cut off the 4 corner roll cage perch tubes that someone welded on,, plus cut down the sides of the ''huge/ugly @$$'' fiberglass sprint seat ect.

Between the tubes & the seat,, I removed 3 lbs.

That's a total of 20 lbs. ''so far''.:cool:

My frame feels lighter than my buddies now, especially in the rear.. LOL.
Think we will pull his rear bumper next, & see what goody might be inside his frame tubes :unsure:……..

I
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Back in the early to middle 90s I raced karts on dirt circle tracks and we had minimum weight rules. My kart weighed (with me on it) 283 lbs. The minimum weigh for the class I was running was 315 lbs. I had a heck of a time adding that weight to my kart to get to minimum weight. It doesn't sound that terrible but it is hard to attach weight safely to those karts. I ended up melting lead into muffin tins and bolting the "lead muffins" to the back of the seat. They wanted to up my classes minimum weight to 345 lbs so I decided to move to a different class where they had 3 different weight rules light at 315, medium at 335, and heavy at 355. By adding that lead shot inside the frame it was a safe way to get the kart up to weight. Then you have weight placement and the affects it has on handling..... That is another story! LOL
 

KMEFA

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Spent a bit of time this morning ''going thru'' & spiffing up the Master cyl. & caliper on my Bullet.
These old Enginetics brake systems seem like pretty ''stout'' - good stuff.
Probably why Margay & Coyote ect. put them on from the factory back in the day,, unless there wasn't much other options ..
Was thinking I might at least need a kit for the Massa., but all the internal parts seem to be in pretty good shape. :)

Still have to do the same on ''Fred's'' Margay yet.

His ''plastic'' master cyl. lid is split down the middle, probably from the pipe plug being over tightened.:rolleyes:

Can't find one of those anywhere as of yet.

I was lucky with mine,, my plastic one was replaced at some point with an upgrade aluminum lid.

If any body has a spare Enginetics ''4 screw'' master cyl. lid that they might part with, please send me a PM.

Ian100_6419.JPG
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vpd66

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Those racing kart hydraulic brakes were very durable. I raced for 5 years with the same brake system and never wore out any pads or had any brake problems. I drained, flushed, and bleed them out after every season. Thats about all I ever had to do to them. I don't remember what brand the brake components were.
 

KMEFA

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Been ripp'n & strip'n om my ''Wile-E'' today,, & found the ID stamps on the inside & outside of the caliper frame mount bracket.

I then called Coyote motorsports & was ''real lucky'' in talking with one of the 2 head Guys there - ''Jim''.
I gave him the outside mount bracket ID Letters & numbers, which is : ''K I C 9 0''.
He said it's a 1990 Bullet.
I then told him that the 2nd & third letters ''I C'' are actually my initials.
Think that floored him a bit, as it did me also,, when I first discovered that..
Also gave him a heads up on my elect. plans with it ect,, & he thought that was really cool.
Finally I asked him if he would like me to send some pics when it's finished, & he said ''sure ! ''
Definitely a real cool Guy. :cool:

It was for sure in the stars of me getting this chassis,, especially after seeing the ''I C'' !! :)

I was right on with it being a Coyote Bullet,, just guessed it was a late 80's one.
Wasn't to far off on that though ... ;)

I
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vpd66

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One thing I don't know if you considered is the those race karts have very little ground clearance. I've seen people put 15" "snowblower" tires on to get ground clearance so you can drive these karts somewhat off road. When I raced mine I used to go to a local tech college parking lot to test mine. It was the biggest smoothest place I could find to test. Even going down streets was sketchy. A manhole cover or pot hole and you could bottom out easily. Just something to remember.
 

KMEFA

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We are putting Carlisle 15/6/6 - turf saver 2 tires on the rears, & ''turf saver 2'' - 13/5/6 on the fronts,, with lowering the king pin/spindles pretty much to the bottom of the king pin yokes, with only 1 washer on the bottoms.
Think we will be good.;)
Carlisle-Turf-Saver-II-Tire.jpg
 

vpd66

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The bottom of my seat was the lowest point the first year I raced. I remember raising my seat after about the 3 weeks of racing because it would bottom out on the straight aways if the track didn't pack in perfectly smooth. Those tires should get you some clearance but don't expect to do to much off road trail riding. Merry Christmas!
 

KMEFA

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Merry Christmas to you two !! :)

These Karts are just going to be large ''newer'' subdivision street cruisers, & the streets for the most part are fairly decent.
Pretty much have every nook & cranny figured out,, from the extensive cruises the last couple of years on the Mini bikes. LOL
Have no intentions of running them off road,, ''that would be just asking for trouble''.

Plan on using layers of ''rock chip''/ stone guard tape on strategic bottom points of the frames,, for protection. ;)
That stuff was originally developed for putting on the leading edges of helicopter blades to help protect them.

Porsche also started using it also, ''years ago'',, on their race & production cars.
 
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Functional Artist

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My Buddy & I just got back from a ''long'' road trip to pick up these 2 vintage Kart chassis.
Mine is an 80''s Coyote ''Bullet'' sprint.
His,, is an early 80's, Margay 'Xpert'' sprint.
They are well used, but for 250 bucks ea.,, it was more than well worth the trip.

They are ''each'' going to be powered by 48v - 2000w ''1109'' BLDC motors , & 2 -''12ah'' - 48v. - 13s 4p packs w/BMS., ''connected in parallel'',, giving a total of 24ah.
Each pack will have 52 - 3000ma ''Li'' - 18650 cells.

Gearing on my buddy's Kart is going to start @ 6.7 - 1.

Mine, being a heavier Kart & guy,, is going to start @ 6.9 - 1.

We both have 6 & 6.5 in. wide 6'' rims ,& will be putting on Carlisle 2 - ply turf saver ''2'' - 15/6.5/6 tires on the backs ,, & 13/5/6 ones on the fronts.

They are just going to be large Subdivision street cruisers,, & will probably do only around 35,, but that's cool.

Got ''a lot'' of work to do,, & hope to have them both done by spring.

They will also both have 3 spd. switches, reverse,, & brake lights ect.

My buddy's AUW should be around 110lbs.,, Mine is probably going to be around 120,, as my frame is heavier.

My frame is going to be a med. candy electric blue.

Buddy's at the moment,, he is thinking bright signal yellow.

Ian

P/S,,
if somebody wants the ''vintage'' 4 spoke steering wheel on the Bullet,, send me a PM with an offer.
Am going to put a 3 spoke 12'' on it.
View attachment 124446
View attachment 124447
View attachment 124448View attachment 124449
Kool projects :thumbsup:

IMO it's gonna be difficult to "hit" 35MPH with a 48V system

Keep in mind the max (loaded) speed of most motors, powered by 48V, is usually ~3,000 - 3,500 RPM's

So, using the "Ball Park Equation" MS/GR=ASxTC=IM/FT=FMxHR=FHxMM= MPH How fast do you want to go? | DIY Go Karts

Motor Speed/Gear Ratio=Axle Speed x Tire Circumference = Inches per Minute traveled/Foot(12) = Feet per Minute traveled x Hour(60) = Feet per Hour traveled x MPH Multiplier(.000189) = Miles Per Hour

The numbers for a (small light) kart with an electric motor
...powered by a 48V battery pack
...running a 6.9 gear ratio
...& rolling on ~15" (rear) tires, should look kinda like this:

3,500(MS)/6.9(GR) = 507.25(AS)
507.25(AS)x48"(TC) = 24,348 (IM)
24,348(IM)/12(FT) = 2,029(FM)
2,039(FM)x60(HR) = 121,740(FH)
121,740(FH)x.000189(MM) -23.01 MPH

* For a "real world" example of a 48V kart
...running a 6:1 gear ratio
...rolling on ~13" tires, check out my Torsk kart (top speed ~24 MPH) :cool:
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Here is the build thread :sifone:
Torsk (Backbone Chassis) Kart | DIY Go Karts
...& here is a video of it "in action" :2guns:
(324) Torsk 12 Me & Desteny take a ride - YouTube
 
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