scorpion go kart

[r97]

whats the fun in that? i like making stuff and well i would feel as though i had only built half a kart if i did that, just my opinion. plus if you ask me it doesn't look quit as nice. i like making stuff challenging for me, the only thing i wish i had was e-start, but i could jerry rig that easily, im also not shure how reliable moped engines are that are cost eficient because i can get an extremely reliable engine for my setup complete for 250 us dollars, like i said it just made more sense for me to do it the hard way

 

[mike75925]

lookin good. on the britt reverse trike, man, where's your floorboard? looks great otherwise.

 

[r97]

update!!!!!!!!!!!!!, sry about the wait guys ive bean in california visiting family. one of the family members i visited was my uncle, he is a big car guy and has his own mini shop with drill presses mig tig stick bench grinder angle grinders, the whole deal. anyway i was getting a little bit more practice welding out there and i found one tool i neeeeeeeeeeeeeded, next thing ya know im checking a 8" 3/4hp hf bench grinder on the plane, lol.
back to the point i got tons of work done one the kart front wheel supports steering colum supports and the whole supporting frame thing that sort of surrounds the driver, i also tested the frame for height, and i should fit perfectly standing at 5ft 8", i also cleared out all the issues with suspension travel clearance tc clearance recoil clreance chain clearance and jackshaft clearance. ontop of all that im about to order all the parts from bmi and a few other sites, im realising now my kart is extremely cheap compared to silver grizz's arachnid (a little above 1/3 the cost!). hope fully ill be heading over to home depot tomarrow to pick-up some wire brushes for the bench grinder and angle grinder, i also started a thread on the spider carts forum about the scorpion if theres any other scorpion builders out there! good luck everyone on your karts i hope to be spinning the tires before school starts (17 days )

 

[Bill CNC]

The bench grinder is a great shop tool to have, ... but I'll go one step further. A 12" Disc Sander comes in handy like no other tool when it comes to what we are doing. Talk about fast and perfect fitting parts, ... Every-Time!

When it's on sale, it's $99.00 and weigh's almost that.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inch-direct-drive-bench-top-disc-sander-43468.html

 

[r97]

thanks bill! as soon as i get the moneey and an reason for me to buy une so my parents will drive to hf ill be shure to get it, remember theres always room for more tools! i personally like hf stuff aslong as you get there higher end stuff it works great, for example i got 3/4 hp bench grinder vs the 50 dollar 1/2hp one, good buy! i stopped by home depot and picked up a 8" whire wheel for 8.70! i think thats cheeper than hf! i also got my sprocket in the mail, the sprocket has been a bit tough to find (40t finish bore #40 chain keyed 1" bore 1/2" pitch set screws) but i found it here i also tested out the wire wheel and bench grinder (which thankfully works after being at 36,000ft at 660mph in a planes cargo hold from sfo to bos for 4.5 hrs, lol, un fortunatly a red-eye, not lol) but man does it work i just ran some rusty peice of steel through from behind a door, to knock off any loose wires or peices of grinding stone, and it came out looking brand new! any way i hope to clean and grind the metal today to prep for welding!

 

[gokart14]

Lucky school already started for me so i am falling behind om my go kart build

update!!!!!!!!!!!!!, sry about the wait guys ive bean in california visiting family. one of the family members i visited was my uncle, he is a big car guy and has his own mini shop with drill presses mig tig stick bench grinder angle grinders, the whole deal. anyway i was getting a little bit more practice welding out there and i found one tool i neeeeeeeeeeeeeded, next thing ya know im checking a 8" 3/4hp hf bench grinder on the plane, lol.
back to the point i got tons of work done one the kart front wheel supports steering colum supports and the whole supporting frame thing that sort of surrounds the driver, i also tested the frame for height, and i should fit perfectly standing at 5ft 8", i also cleared out all the issues with suspension travel clearance tc clearance recoil clreance chain clearance and jackshaft clearance. ontop of all that im about to order all the parts from bmi and a few other sites, im realising now my kart is extremely cheap compared to silver grizz's arachnid (a little above 1/3 the cost!). hope fully ill be heading over to home depot tomarrow to pick-up some wire brushes for the bench grinder and angle grinder, i also started a thread on the spider carts forum about the scorpion if theres any other scorpion builders out there! good luck everyone on your karts i hope to be spinning the tires before school starts (17 days )

 

[r97]

when did you get out? i got out on the 27th or somethin

 

[r97]

ok, i was going to just spot weld the thing together today, but then realised because i had just ordered parts today it will prob take a week to get parts, so i started thinking of ways to eat-up time:toetap05:. that's when i remembered silver grizz had made a jig for his frame, i thought that was the perfect thing i was looking for, and it sure is a good thing i made a jig cause i must have spent a significant amount of time just fiddling with pieces on my bench grinder, anyway i hope to make another jig and have the whole front end tack-welded together by tomorrow!

 

[Silvergrizz]

r97, Can't tell from looking at the pictures, but I used the jig to ensure everything was square. I marked a centerline on the plywood, and also on all my metal cross pieces. I also marked a right angle line at all the points where the cross pieces went. I also drew several other offset longitudinal lines just outside of any parts that were running 90 degrees to the front or back. If everything is square, when you tack the frame, you should be able to flip it over and it will still fit in the jig. Hope this makes sence to you. You should be able to see the lines I drew on my pictures. If you've already done all this, great, if not, double check. You should be able to put a large T-square (drywall square) on the aft centerline of the frame and the front centerline should be on the same line.

Quick check: measure from outside top left corner to outside bottom right and outside top right to outside bottom left, they should be exactly equal

 

[r97]

thanks for the tips! i didn't draw the lines like that, what i have done is secured the pieces of metal to the ply-wood in the correct configurations, so when i tack weld it it wont move or change its angles when the metal cools from the tack welds, this is also a way to make sure all the pieces fit perfectly without gaps.

 

[Silvergrizz]

Sounds good, nice work on the jig. I hate making jigs, but allways glad I did once the're finished. Makes for a nice job in the long run.

 

[r97]

yea im happy i did, i would have been stuck using the angle grinder for 3 days (if i even got that far!). i think every large metal working project i do ill make a jig for.

 

[r97]

thanks again for the diagonal measuring (why didn't i think of that ) i measured it and eventually(after 1 1/2 hrs of confusion) realized that i had put a piece in backwards, lol!

 

[Silvergrizz]

thanks again for the diagonal measuring (why didn't i think of that ) i measured it and eventually(after 1 1/2 hrs of confusion) realized that i had put a piece in backwards, lol!

Glad to help, I have been on the recieving side most the time, glad I could pass along a a little tidbit.

 

[r97]

OK i just finished cleaning up the mess i made today, i spent about 5.5hrs and skipped lunch, but i got lots of work done! today i spot welded the whole frame today, then i checked the clearances and was okay, unfortunately i have nothing to do now until i get my parts!

 

[Silvergrizz]

What do you mean you got nothing to do. I'd be finishing up all those welds, grinding them back to look nice and clean, then wire bushing or power sanding the whole frame in prep for paint. Nice work, you are going to finish those welds aren't ya?

 

[r97]

idk i was thinking id wait untill parts come in so i can make shure stuff fits, but maybe ill just weld! does anyone know the distances from the center of the axle to the mounting bolts on a mcp hydrualic brake caliper, and the size of the bolts?

 

[Silvergrizz]

idk i was thinking id wait untill parts come in so i can make shure stuff fits, but maybe ill just weld! does anyone know the distances from the center of the axle to the mounting bolts on a mcp hydrualic brake caliper, and the size of the bolts?

The caliper takes 3/8 bolts. The bolts holes are spaced 2 1/4 on center. Distance from center of axle to center of bolt hole is on a 4" arc. This is based on measuring the caliper on the disc with the top of the brake pads lined up with the top of the disc for maximum grab. This is for the BMI #60510 unit that I purchased. Are you making your own caliper mount? Am I making sense with my measurements. If you draw a 4 in arc with a vertical line from the center straight up, then measure at right angles from the line 1 1/8" in each direction to intersect the arc and you have the location of the center of the bolt holes for the caliper.

 

[r97]

yes i am making my own caliper mounting bracket, prob the same as yours(if your making the one in the plans). thanks a ton for the measurements now i can finish welding that frame. ordered parts and dang! looks like i'm just hitting my budget including tools(not welder) and 20 dollars for nuts and bolts, i'm in about $1,400! un-including tc and shipping! i dint know i had that much money(oh yea i haven't bought anything for the past year and doubled the amount of work i do around the neighbor hood). my parents are helping me out to, they got the welder and are taking some of that $1400 of my chest but i'm still forking over some serious dough! i got this project as my b-day present after spending 1 yr convincing my parents to let me build a go kart or some sort of motorized vehicle. its been well worth it though and i haven't even driven my kart yet!

 

[Silvergrizz]

You have done extremely well with your budget, the only area I splurged a little was the tires and rims, but only about $200 over a regular set. Estimated cost for my build using recommended parts was $1600 US. I upgraded the engine $200, which required an upgrade in the TC, another $200. I did spend a little for a better exhaust, air cleaner and a couple of larger jets for the clone Another $150. Lets see that's $750 in extras, plus $425 in shipping costs and of course my government likes to have a piece of everything I do, another $325, so now that's a total of $1500 in extras, plus original $1600 to get to $3100 plus the exchange (average 6%) $186 and oh ya, the miscellaneous nuts and bolts, another 150, so were somewhere around $3400 and change.

The only other area where I found costs were out of line in the plans were the miscellaneous nuts and bolts. Bushings, cone bushings, little stuff like lock nuts add up real quick. I used all grade 5 bolts and lock nuts every where.