New to the hobby- need help identifying

[Hellion]

Um...fruity...gay...electric motor???

I wrote that just for you to get your hackles up.

 

[JustLearning]

Unless you're a gluten for punishment stay away from the outdoor power equipment. Many have a tapered shaft and are only compatible with whatever they were powering, and you'll never get a clutch to fit. The predator certainly is not period correct, but the rest of your kart might not end up that way either. For the money, you are getting a brand new, trouble free, garunteed engine. I own several of them, and while I'm not a fan of buying Chinese crap, most of the products in the go kart world come from there. Tough dependable little power plant. Aside from looking funny ( though I don't think so ) you really can't go wrong. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I appreciate the insight and advice, pancho!! The more I think about it, the more I think I'll go with the predator. I think it's going to be enough of a project fixing it up for now. I can always pull off the predator and throw a different engine on at a later time.

 

[Hellion]

The more I think about it, the more I think I'll go with the predator....

It's your choice. Pancho described a possible nightmare scenario if you don't know what to look for but most garden tiller engines or the 4-stroke edger engines, for example, will be suitable for your kart. Easy peasy, and the bonus for most garden tillers (and a lot of ancillary equipment) is that they have crazy low hours, only used for an hour+ per year, if that. Figure people try gardening for a few years then quit, or the next season it won't start and they're at an impasse.

You have plenty of time to refurbish your kart frame and start adding parts back before you even need an engine.... OR you can do it quick, be driving within a week and leave the "patina" intact. Maybe you should do it as a Mad Max kart.