The iKart build

[BigBlockRanger]

Help! there's a giant letter I in my shop!

This is the main backbone of my kart. 2" square tubing salvaged from a piece of gym workout equipment.

These are gate clevises I bought at Gebo's on Saturday. I put a few degrees of caster into them.

One more:

That is all the progress I had this evening. I ran out of MIG wire and I was DYING to get started, so I just loaded up the giant roll of fluxcore I have had for a long time and let 'er rip. The camera flash sure makes the welds look a lot worse than they really are. loool

Total cost to date: $10

 

[SpyGuy]

Going to be interesting ...... what kind of engine are you planning?

 

[BigBlockRanger]

5hp B&S, Tecumseh, HFT clone or whatever I find cheeeeeep.

I really need wheels before I can do much of anything else.

 

[newrider3]

Looks interesting so far. Kind of reminds me of a DeLorean chassis.

 

[pmat]

Looks interesting so far. Kind of reminds me of a DeLorean chassis.

haha me too

 

[ColokartDad]

start

Looks like a decent start, let's see those chrome alloy wheels next!

 

[theo]

Can you put up a sketch of how your buggy will eventually look?:arf:

 

[BigBlockRanger]

It will be like my original idea with a main "I" chassis with smaller tubing running on the outboard sides.

Like this rough sketch:

This is not a final design pic, just enough to get me started. I am also thinking of splitting the seat and making the driver's side adjustable so my kids can drive me around.

 

[Buick455]

looks good, can't wait to see it finished.. Question for ya though.. Did you square up your spindles or do they have some caster/camber? I only ask b/c my first kart was built squared up and it turns like a school bus, and the bump steer is ummm "scary" at times (mainly over 35mph), lol... I really need to fix it, one of these days.. Keep us posted



BTW. it reminds me of the bike/car thing I built as a kid with my dad, wish I knew where it went..

 

[BigBlockRanger]

No camber, but I did put a little caster into the spindle mounts to help it track straight. (as if my kids could possibly drive in a straight line... haha)

 

[BigBlockRanger]

Ordered wheels, and bought bolts for the axles. The spindles will be made from a 460 Ford piston pin and a gargantuan 7/8" bolt. The wheels are kinda odd ball in that they use 7/8" axles and have bearings in them. Maybe overkill (certainly), but the price was right.

The spindles are really going to work out neat. The piston pin is 3" long with a 5/8" hole through it. The gate clevises are 3-1/4" inside have a 3/4" hole on each end. This allows me to use a bronze flange bearing (1/8" flange, 3/4" OD, 5/8" ID) in the 3/4" holes as a wear surface. Should be very reliable for many years of use/abuse.

I am still having a hard time *not* thinking in terms automotive strength. I keep forgetting I am dealing with a couple of hundred pounds, 5 hp and 30mph instead of 3000 lbs, 700 hp and 130+ mph. lol

 

[Raywelder]

Ordered wheels, and bought bolts for the axles. The spindles will be made from a 460 Ford piston pin and a gargantuan 7/8" bolt. The wheels are kinda odd ball in that they use 7/8" axles and have bearings in them. Maybe overkill (certainly), but the price was right.

The spindles are really going to work out neat. The piston pin is 3" long with a 5/8" hole through it. The gate clevises are 3-1/4" inside have a 3/4" hole on each end. This allows me to use a bronze flange bearing (1/8" flange, 3/4" OD, 5/8" ID) in the 3 holes as a wear surface. Should be very reliable for many years of use/abuse.

I am still having a hard time *not* thinking in terms automotive strength. I keep forgetting I am dealing with a couple of hundred pounds, 5 hp and 30mph instead of 3000 lbs, 700 hp and 130+ mph. lol

Cant wait to see more progress!

What kind of ranger does your username refer too? Ford ranger perhaps?

 

[Raywelder]

Aha! I noticed your sig, It is a ford ranger, and I also see that you have an account on R-f too!
High five!

I love my ranger.

 

[BigBlockRanger]

Yeah, I don't post on there much, just mostly lurk, but I do check it about every day. I mostly hit RPS and TRS. I won truck of the month over at the Ranger Station this month.

I am dying to work on this thing, but stuff like Mother's day and my kid's baseball games keep getting in my way!!!!

 

[BigBlockRanger]

Some progress this evening. I got started on the spindles and welded on the tabs for the rear axles. I was going to use an 8" long bolt on the rears but after looking at it I decided I need one longer than that to spread the load better. I will check on that tomorrow.

I *really* need to start pre-heating the stuff I weld with this flux core wire. It just does not want to work good until the workpiece is nice and hot. Actually, maybe I should switch the polarity to put more heat into the workpiece.

 

[BigBlockRanger]

Ok here's the flange bearings installed. I got them from McMaster-Carr and then trimmed them down to 1/4" thick.

Here's how the new longer (12") 7/8" bolts for the rear axles are going to mount.

Wheels will be here tomorrow. Once they are on, the I can determine the location for the side rails, then the location of the seat and the steering shaft. This is a heck of a lot of fun.

The best part of building an "I" kart is the fact I can clamp it in my Black & Decker Workmate to work on it. lol

 

[BigBlockRanger]

Wheels came in. I got them for $20 each at Surplus center.

I bought 4 all the same because they were cheap and the fronts would need to be spaced anyway to clear the steering arm if i go the ackerman route.

They are beefy. 7/8" bore, 2 Roller bearings in each wheel that span the entire width of the hub with grease zerks. 13x6.5-6 Turf tread tires.

Too bad this weekend is already full of other stuff I have to do..... arrrg.

 

[Scorch3]

I'm looking forward to seeing this finished. Keep up the good work.

 

[Raywelder]

I'm looking forward to seeing this finished. Keep up the good work.

x2!

 

[newrider3]

Surplus Center FTW. Also, if you ever felt like it in the future you could use those flanges for a front disc brake system.