My First Kart Project

[newrider3]

BMI has those hubs for half the price FYI...

 

[nerfo]

Motherf****r! Man, I did a piss poor job of price shopping! They really are half the price too. Rats.

 

[freakboy]

haha well i know were im going now....

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

Nice job so far, that frame looks a lot like my asuza frame did before I modified it to fit a motorcycle engine.

 

[nerfo]

Yeah it does! I noticed it as soon as I fitted in the two tubes that run from just behind the seat down to the front end. They're the only ones that run at an angle and as soon as I stepped back to take a look... I was like, "crap, looks like the 'road rocket'" But, I guess I don't mind. It should be plenty sturdy when it's done... besides, I'm more of a 'form follows function' kind of guy.

 

[Stratogeezer]

Nerfo - your cart frame is looking great! I really like how you welded the rear spindle brackets in place. Great welds. I made some progress on my cart too this weekend - and will post more pics in the next day or so. I just picked up my axel, and bearing hanger kit from Northern this weekend - and am working toward getting those mounted. Thanks for setting such a good example!

 

[nerfo]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing how your suspension turns out. Dougthewelder had some really innovative rear suspension ideas that I don't think I've ever seen on a go kart before... http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5315 It's a fun read! I wanted to put suspension on mine, but I'm not sure how my fabrication skills are and opted to save a couple bucks there and spend it in other areas... but if I build another one I'll definately try to come up with some cool suspension idea... or just steal Dougs ideas! Lol!

 

[Stratogeezer]

You can see in the pictures I obviously don't want the rear axle bearing brackets going ANYwhere! I really burned those babys in! And that's probably some of the best welding I've ever done with my little Craftsman! I have the engine mount almost ready to go, but I still want to beef it up with a couple gussets before I call it good... it's just tacked to the frame right now because I got antsy and wanted to set the engine on to see what it would look like!

Nerfo - I wish my welds looked 1/2 as good as yours do here. Fantastic work. I'm redesigning the way I'm going to weld in my axel brackets, based on your work. Again - looks great.

 

[nerfo]

Hey, thanks! That's why I love these forums... you never know where you'll pull a good idea from. Yeah, I really wanted those bearing hangers to be solid... glad I could be an inspiration!

 

[nerfo]

Last weekend... Chicago Auto Show and bumin' around downtown ChiTown for the night (and bar hopping everywhere!) The weekend before last... wedding in Racine. There from Friday night through late Sunday. The weekend before that? I cant remember. Every night for the last month and a half? Dominated by night school and homework. This apprenticeship is really taking its toll on my free time... not to mention all the other junk I got going on!

Any-hoo! Got some big ol' fattie tire action going! And my tax return was a shade bigger than expected, so I went freakin' splurge city on the wheels and tires! You can also see me incredibly mongo axle sprocket... 96 tooth. I know what you're thinking. I'm nuts. Punch the math into the speed calculator on this website. 6.5 with no governor, 12 tooth clutch sprocket, 96 tooth axle sprocket, and a 20" rear tire... I figure, with a real strong tailwind and down a hill, it could hit 40!

This weekend is gonna be a big one! I GOTTA finish that seat bracket and get the steering done. I have everything I need to get her going... it's all about time (and motivation) now! Of course, with those meats on there... that's all the motivation I'm going to need this weekend!

 

[theo]

tuff looking rig, I like it.

 

[Stratogeezer]

Nerfo - looks awesome. What size sprocket are you using on the rear axel? I think mine needs to be bigger - I've got a 72 tooth on mine now, with the same engine as you have - and the low end torque is not what it could be.

 

[nerfo]

I'm only two yolk ends away from a functional go kart!

In the planning stages, I figued the front end would have weighed more, and due to the tire size, I started looking for a rack and pinion (found that one on e-bay for 50 bucks)... WAY overkill! The front end is surprisingly light. Down the road, I'll probably rob the rack for some other project and put a regular steering setup on this guy. I still have plans for some kind of a front bumper/skid plate to protect that baby.

I also thought I'd toss a pic of the throttle rod, return spring, cable adjustment... thingy, and the clamp jobie that attaches the cable to the rod. It isn't finished just yet, but it works really good and the gas pedal has a very positive return!

I just gotta get those last couple steering parts, and it'll be totally set! Saturday is gonna be a crazy day...

 

[devino246]

good god, that is a HUGE sprocket!

 

[nerfo]

I know... I'm nuts.

 

[Hendersonjk]

looks pretty sweet. where did the wheels and tires come from? Compared to alot of these treads youre knocking yours out quick. I`m ready for a vid of this thing

 

[nerfo]

Thanks Henderson! I forgot where I got the wheels from off the top of my head... some golf cart parts website. I didn't save it in my favorites... typical. The front tires I found on e-bay, and because I, evidently, overthink things and wanted the rears to match, those came from carlisletirestore.com.

I've been following both Redneck and Stratogeezers "built from scratch" go kart builds, they they actually cranked theirs out really fast! And they're both more complicated than mine... by a wide margin! Mine is very simple... no suspension, no electric anything, no cool drivetrain components... but I splurged on some neat stuff like a rack and pinion for the steering... it's like power steering! And shiny wheels!

Now... I really have to learn how to post a video to youtube, and hope my sony digital camera, with a cheesy movie mode, can make a vid that I can somehow upload to youtube... I've never uploaded a movie in my LIFE. But I figure if mullet sporting hillbillies can post a video of themselves shooting at watermellons with a spud gun, I had BETTER be able to figure it out!

 

[anderkart]

Hey that turned out really cool nerfo

 

[Stratogeezer]

Nerfo - amazing job. Yes - tomorrow (Saturday) will be a great day for you - once you crank that monster up and go for your first test rips around the neighborhood.

Those tires are amazing - they really set the look of the whole project up a level.

About that rack and pinion - wow $50? What was that steering system originally designed for? I need to look into one of those myself. The steering on my StratoGeezer cart still needs tweaking for sure.

I'm on hold with my cart until my 96 tooth sprocket (inspired by your design) arrives - hopefully today. I looked into a 114 tooth - but it would have dragged the ground!

Great job - let's see some video!

 

[dcook3333]

You will be happy you got bigger tires - especially on the front. Those tiny ones that a lot of yard carts have will wear off in a weekend.

Looks great!