Trailmaster Cheetah 8

[silly34]

Greetings!

Anyone swap a Tilly 212 onto a Cheetah 8? My boy wore the motor out on ours so I’m going to try and was curious if anyone had already done it.

 

[Whitetrashrocker]

What's a cheetah 8?
Did it have an 8hp engine? That would be the equivalent of a predator 301 or larger.
The 212 has a different mounting plate pattern and output shaft size.

Show us pics of your kart to help us better help you.

 

[panchothedog]

Welcome. Takes a LOT of hours to wear a motor out. I've got one from 2008. Still runs strong. Show us some pictures. If it had an industrial style engine ( like a
Tilly ) on it, it could be almost as easy as changing a light bulb. If it's a Honda motorcycle (GY-6) style engine then that takes a bit of fabrication. Actually a lot of fabrication.

 

[ezcome-ezgo]

 

[Hellion]

Takes a LOT of hours to wear a motor out.

Or you can wear one out in a month with a genuine Edwin Spangler cone filter! Yer enjun‘ll be smoking in no time.

 

[Hellion]

Show us your Cheetah, Silly. Apparently not even the consumer can get photos of the engine or engine mount on these buggies unless buying one in person (an image search turns up zilch). Even then, yours could be altered from the original specs or it could be Bubbafied if bought used. Help us help you.

Show us your original engine. How do you know it’s worn out?

 

[Whitetrashrocker]

Buggy? Most likely a GY6-type engine with an FnR box.

 

[silly34]

View attachment IMG_8974.jpeg



I’m pretty confident this will swap fine with the Tilly. Was curious if anyone else had done it. The original motor is burning oil/smoking terrible so my excuse to replace it. My boy got excited and started to take the motor apart and didn’t understand we were just going to remove the whole thing (if you notice bolts/nuts/pieces missing).

 

[panchothedog]

Looks like an industrial style engine. I

 

[panchothedog]

Looks like an industrial style engine. Can't enlarge the picture to tell for sure. If it is bolted down on a flat plate motor mount, then switching to a Tilly, Predator, or any other clone ( industrial style engine ) should be very simple. FWIW, when riding in the dirt ( as yours obviously was) a good air filter will keep the engine from wearing out so quickly.

 

[panchothedog]

BTW, pulling things apart and working with lots of small nuts and bolts on a gravel surface can lead to many lost pieces and lots of swearing. An old rug, the patio, driveway ect. There's got to be a better place.

 

[Hellion]

A Tillotson will likely fit with nary an issue but make sure you get the Tillotson 212EE or you will be losing the electric start luxury and any lighting the buggy has. I presume the Tillotson mounting hole measurement fits the typical industrial engine standard like the Predator 212 diagram below. I could not find anything for the Till but the holes could match but the geometry could be different, meaning the engine PTO is spatially different from the generic engine on the buggy. Who knows.



I would do a 1-for-1 replacement or as close as possible. Kart is dirty but it looks like the stock air cleaner assembly was in use.

 

[panchothedog]

Tilly, Predator, or 30 or so other manufactures all referred to as " Clone engines "
all have the same ( or within a few thousands ) block. I personally don't know where the name clone came from, but I'm sure it had something to do with the
Chinese copying ( or possibly stealing ) the layout of the Honda engine. Amazing how interchangeable most all of the parts are.

 

[silly34]

Looks like an industrial style engine. Can't enlarge the picture to tell for sure. If it is bolted down on a flat plate motor mount, then switching to a Tilly, Predator, or any other clone ( industrial style engine ) should be very simple. FWIW, when riding in the dirt ( as yours obviously was) a good air filter will keep the engine from wearing out so quickly.

Yup.

 

[silly34]

BTW, pulling things apart and working with lots of small nuts and bolts on a gravel surface can lead to many lost pieces and lots of swearing. An old rug, the patio, driveway ect. There's got to be a better place.

Pretty common sense, yet here we are.

 

[silly34]

A Tillotson will likely fit with nary an issue but make sure you get the Tillotson 212EE or you will be losing the electric start luxury and any lighting the buggy has. I presume the Tillotson mounting hole measurement fits the typical industrial engine standard like the Predator 212 diagram below. I could not find anything for the Till but the holes could match but the geometry could be different, meaning the engine PTO is spatially different from the generic engine on the buggy. Who knows.

View attachment 159360

I would do a 1-for-1 replacement or as close as possible. Kart is dirty but it looks like the stock air cleaner assembly was in use.

I ordered the 212EE a week ago. Just wait for it to show up.

 

[silly34]

Guys, I’m not inexperienced in things mechanical. Just not a lot of resources for this kart. Be nice to find someone who has tinkered with this model.

 

[panchothedog]

Guys, I’m not inexperienced in things mechanical. Just not a lot of resources for this kart. Be nice to find someone who has tinkered with this model.

Basic principle of putting power to the axle and then to the ground is pretty much the same for most karts. Don't worry so much about it. You'll do fine. Everyone here will jump in to help you if you get in over your head on something.

 

[Hellion]

Guys, I’m not inexperienced in things mechanical.

Oh I see. Just forge on ahead, it'll be fine and I second what Pancho said.

I don't know if anyone here has specifically done a Trailmaster Cheetah 8 + a Tillotson but I am almost certain someone has done the equivalent. Many crazily similar Chinese buggies have been dragged home as a derelict and a Predator 212 shoehorned-in.

We hope you'll share the process with the forum and take lots of photos.

 

[silly34]

Got the replacement motor today. And decided to crack into the reverse gear box since it was leaking bad on one side. I’ve ordered new seals and hope to have it back together next weekend. Oh, there was some damage from the chain hitting the cover, explains the metal particles I was seeing.