New Purchase: Old American Express

[Kentucky Boy]

I bought this American Express today. It came with a brand new Hemi Predator still in the box. It has a 5hp Briggs on it with a stuck valve per the previous owner. I'll get into it and diagnose it myself. I plan on extending the front end a few inches to give me some leg room. Over all it's in very good condition. I've always wanted one of these so it was worth the two hour drive one way.

Even the paint is in pretty good shape. Just needs a good cleaning.

Probably gonna get a wider rear axle, new wheels and some slicks.

 

[landuse]

Nice!

 

[TT540]

A kart for sale that is not beat to **** with bald tires and it already has the new engine in the box. that's how you know you are buying from someone who cares/tries/breaths through their nose.

 

[Kentucky Boy]

A kart for sale that is not beat to **** with bald tires and it already has the new engine in the box. that's how you know you are buying from someone who cares/tries/breaths through their nose.

So far it's the nicest condition kart I've ever bought. Most need wheels, tires and framework.

Just checked out the motor. I got lucky on this one. It's the nicest condition Briggs I've ever bought. The cylinder is perfect. Only thing that was wrong with it was a bad head gasket. Someone had the head off and tore the gasket and it was not making a good seal. Gonna take it apart to clean, new gaskets and a new coil.

One more. You never know what these things are gonna look like under the head. This ones nice.

 

[TT540]

I'm actually a little mad/jealous.

 

[Kentucky Boy]

Trying to decide on lengthening the frame or just welding on a longer front bumper. Any advice on this? Not sure if the frame would be strong enough after cutting and adding about 6 inches.

 

[TT540]

Anything is strong enough with the proper wall thickness. Most of your weight is toward the rear. What is the OD of the frame tube? You could get a new, thick wall tube that has an ID to slide over your existing frame. This will give you some overlap and allow you to slide it like a rusty trombone until you find the length you want. Then a few welds or even set screws to keep it in place. Then adjust the brake accordingly. The streering andle will change, so you will have to bend that, or cut and reattach the A support at the seat area.

I would just extend the front bumper for the foot peddles. Assuming you like how close the steering wheel is.

When you do modify it, consider keeping the stock option to revert back to for resell for a shorter person. So rather than extending what is there, try to "duplicate it" further forward of the front cross tube. A duplicate from bumper for what is there, added on to the existing bumper would be pretty cool. Just need a new longer throttle cable and a brake rod extension.

 

[Kentucky Boy]

I was steering toward a longer front bumper. The front end of these karts are very congested with the tie rods right in front of the pedals. Also the steering column support is so wide I don't see how a kid could even get their legs around it. If I do end up extending the frame I would make it appear stock with no visible seams and the same diameter pipe with maybe some solid bar slid in and welded for strength.

Figured out my pedals are on backwards. Gonna flip them around and that should make more room up front. Still gonna make a longer front bumper. I went ahead and ordered a hydraulic disc brake kit for it. Gonna order a longer rear axle. Anybody have experience with this brake setup? Looks like it will give plenty of stopping power.

 

[tgus3]

Nice brakes.Where did you order it from and is it a single brake or 2?

 

[Kentucky Boy]

I ordered the kit from BMI. One brake caliper and one master cylinder, 7" disc for a 1" axle. Comes with brake line and fluid. I'll have to fabricate the mounts to weld to the frame.

Cleaned and painted both front wheels today.

Much better.

Got the MCP hydraulic brake kit today. Looks very well made. Should make a huge improvement over the band brake.

I ordered the 1/4" thick disc as opposed to the 1/8th.

 

[landuse]

Looking good!

 

[Kentucky Boy]

Got some new slicks for the rear.

Gonna get some new wheels.

I took the original Briggs apart. Deleted the governor, added a billet ARC rod. Cleaned and lapped the valves, reset the valve lash, cleaned and painted the flywheel, replaced all gaskets and seals and replaced the coil.

 

[Rdnbrbk]

Figured out my pedals are on backwards. Gonna flip them around and that should make more room up front. Still gonna make a longer front bumper. I went ahead and ordered a hydraulic disc brake kit for it. Gonna order a longer rear axle. Anybody have experience with this brake setup? Looks like it will give plenty of stopping power.

If you are still in the process of lengthening the front, take a look at my current build. I cut the front bumper off and added about a foot to a 2 seater Manco. It's very solid. Plus I added a set of quick disconnect pedals for my daughter that are much closer and easy to flip out of the way when I'm driving.

I LOVE your brake system!

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Kentucky Boy]

I took a look at yours, looks like you've done a very good job with it. I think I'll keep mine simple and just weld on a slightly longer front bumper. Shouldn't need any additional supports. I might not even need to change anything. After flipping the pedals around correctly there's much more room for my feet up there.

Got some 6" aluminum Tristars for the rear. Made for a 1" to 3/4" step down live axle. Mounted the new 12-6-6's on them with new tubes.

This kart has a 36" axle. I'm going to replace it with a 38". 2" wider wheelbase.

Got my new 38" axle, new bearings and master cylinder bracket today, the axle is 2" longer than the stock one. Thanks GPS.

Put the new axle on with new bearings and brackets. Also installed the MCP brake rotor with locking collars.

Nice aluminum rotor hub. Nothing permanent yet just mocked up.

Managed to customize the master cylinder bracket and welded it on. Sprayed it black so it won't rust. Gonna re paint the frame later.

The brackets I bought made this job super easy. I had to fit the pieces but all the holes are predrilled.

At today's temp and humidity the paint should be dry in 12 days.

 

[TT540]

Lol. Life in the south.

 

[Kentucky Boy]

Mounted the master cylinder. I have some lockable bolts coming for the permanent installation. Gonna save the original brake rod. I'm ordering a new one with two clevis's.

 

[aham2003]

Nice job. I like your style. Very clean build.

 

[landuse]

Looking awesome

 

[Kentucky Boy]

Put some 5" Tristars on the front today with slicks. Looks pretty slick.

 

[bob58o]

Looks pretty slick.

Puns about gokart wheels make me tired.