Old red, the story so far

Thelegg

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Thought I'd start a little build log for the first kart I ever bought.
Found it on eBay with a pretty vague description it simply said "was running but kids don't use it anymore so has been left outside for a year." Starting bid was £60 so I placed a bid and won it for £60 as no one else bid.
Managed to just get it into my car with the front wheels resting on the top of the driver and passenger seat lol made for an interesting journey home.
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First things first filled it up with fresh fuel and it fired straight up which was surprising, clutch was stuck permanently engaged but did let go after a few attempts of trying to physically grab the wheels to try and stop them spinning... I know now looking back this was really dumb lol but the brakes where seized so I didn't see any other options.
Decided to address the brakes next which were cable so stripped them down without any seals to worry about and got them working.
Next step was a quick service of the engine new oil etc and put some air in the tyres ready for a ride :)
Took it up and down my drive first and it went quite well so decided to try a lap of my field which didn't go so well as the slick tyres wouldn't grip so I ended up sat still just spinning :( so future plans are to get some wet weather/off road tyres for it so I can use it in my field.
 

Thelegg

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Got some wet weather tyres fitted and it was like driving a new kart altogether :) thrashed it round my field and even my dogs liked chasing round after it lol got some vids I'll upload in abit. Few issues to address tho, so the engine seemed to lose top end speed/revs the more it ran and eventually kept cutting out so need to investigate that further I'm thinking it's a fueling issue. Next issue is the sprocket carrier is cracking in 2 places probably because it's old and can't handle the rough track around my field. The last issue which was a big one that ended all the fun was the chain jumped off but upon closer inspection I found out that 3 out of the 4 bolts holding the engine in place had snapped off. So this needs sorting out as the previous owner had used lots of nuts/washers under the engine to raise it up in order to tension the chain :/ bit of a bodge considering it was raised almost 3 inches
 

Thelegg

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So following on from the running issues and engine moving out of place I decided to strip the carb down and found the jets clogged up and then one snapped off in the carb, it was £2 for a whole new carb so that's what I did instead of buying a jet for almost the same price lol. next to sort out the engine mounting, decided I needed to be able to slide the engine to tension the chain instead of raising the engine like before. Welded in some new bits of metal with slots in and now the engine feels alot more secure :) also bought a new chain and swapped the sprocket carrier for a new one. IMG_20220704_073556.jpg
Best picture I could find but you get the idea lol
 

Denny

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That sprocket looks like it has seen better days also. Might want to consider replacing it and lube up the chain also with a quality chain and cable lube.
 

Thelegg

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That sprocket looks like it has seen better days also. Might want to consider replacing it and lube up the chain also with a quality chain and cable lube.
Yeah it was on the list of items to eventually replace, these are all old pics that I've been meaning to upload for over a year, trying to update as quickly as I can but I often only get 5 mins here n there so I just post little bits at a time
 

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Right next update to the journey!
Got it running pretty much perfect so had some mates round and we were all set up for a good afternoon of karting.
Started off doing timed laps of a circuit which was getting very competitive until it started losing top end speed again then suddenly spluttered and stopped :(
Figured we'd run out of fuel so took some fuel down across the field only to find the tank was half full still and the pipe was free flowing, pushed it back to the garage and noticed that alot of oil was coming out of the cam cover breather but didn't think much of it. Checked the spark plug completely dry so figured there must be a fuel block in the carb again. Dropped the bowl on the carb first and it was full to the brim with oil and so was the rest of the carb upon further dismantling :/ I'm not really sure what's happened but when you pull it over with the carb off and the plug out it spits oil out everywhere so piston ring gone ? Anyway seemed like the perfect excuse to buy a new bigger engine ;) new GX200 ordered should be a good upgrade from the GX140. No pics I'm afraid as I didn't take any at the time
 

Thelegg

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So been having a blast with it smiles all round but no pics or videos I'm afraid. Kinda getting greedy for abit more power tho 😜 also it still struggles around some parts of the track as it bottoms out so I've won some slightly bigger wheels on eBay which should bolt straight on fingers crossed.

On the quest for a little more power I treated myself to a stage 1 kit which should be here in a little while so next update will be fitting that :)
 

Denny

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You should also treat yourself to a 30 series TAV II CVT, with a Genuine Comet belt for long belt life. That will give you the kick in the pants that you now crave!
 

Thelegg

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Update time :) managed to get the stage 1 kit installed and it wouldn't run at all. After alot of Google help I concluded that the jets that came with the kit were the wrong sizes (to small) so rather than buying loads of random jets I bought some small drill bits and slowly enlarged the jets in the carb until it was running perfect :) turned out it was quite simple. Quick vid of it running
https://youtube.com/shorts/LrM7huo0Ynk?feature=share
As you can see the kit didn't come with an exhaust and they were mega money so decided to DIY one and yes I used an old can as a muffler 😂 Screenshot_20220630_133658.jpg
So out round the field for some test laps and was quite disappointed as it felt restricted/sluggish like it was being held back :( also realised that my clutch was knackered again so going to upgrade to a torque converter :) now all this was short lived as I got off the kart to turn it round as it didn't have enough steering lock to do a U turn lol I noticed oil was pouring out everywhere :( received_800060607101852.jpeg
For some reason almost all the crankcase bolts have worked lose and dropped out on my test laps :( they were all torqued back up to spec after opening the engine up to remove the governor so no idea why they came lose but luckily I noticed before all the oil came out so no damage done. Back in the garage to wait for my torque converter and also look into the restricted feel of the engine... After chatting with people on here in the engine section we finally diagnosed that the valve springs that came with the stage 1 kit were way to heavy so stock ones installed again and it's like a new engine! Revs so happily and absolutely fly's
 

Thelegg

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Parts have been turning up so started working on it again. Decided it needed a number plate/name
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Then tried my new bigger rear wheels on, almost a direct fit just had to grind off some locating lugs on the hubs that were preventing the new wheels sitting on fully.
IMG_20220707_201159.jpgTorque converter bolted on this was straight forward only thing I had to do was slide the axle sprocket over slightly so it lined up :)
Next I also swapped the seats as the original one had cracked in half 😂 chucked a spare land rover seat on that I had kicking about but it won't be permanently there as it's to high and has no sides so you almost fall out when cornering lol
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Thelegg

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Might of sent it abit to hard lol ripped the keyway out of the sprocket carrier 😅 now not wanting to wait for a new one and the fact that all my mates were here wanting to race round the field I done a bodge on it... Carrier was alloy so couldn't weld it directly to the axle so instead stuck some bars through the holes in it and welded them onto the axle 😂 worked a treat tho IMG_20220704_073618.jpg
On a side not my muffler(can) fell off also
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Thelegg

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Update!
Been building a new seat for it
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Will recover the cushions at some point lol comfy tho
Made a new muffler
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And fitted an oil catch tank as engine is breathing abit heavy
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And thats it all ready to race :)
 

Denny

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How do you like it with the new 30 series on there? Fun ain’t it? Please use only Genuine Comet belts on it for best service.
 

Thelegg

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How do you like it with the new 30 series on there? Fun ain’t it? Please use only Genuine Comet belts on it for best service.
Yeah one of the best things I ever done :) just makes it so much more drivable specially on corners etc where originally you'd lose power and the clutch would just take ages to get back upto speed now it fly's :) still on the original cheap belt at the moment and it came with a spare so once there shredded I'll buy a proper belt as Ive been informed before that the cheap belts are rubbish
 
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