Twin Arachnids Build

[souperman000]

BMI, read through the thread

 

[TheWingnut]

Yeah probobly shouldve, but i didnt think anyone else asked. Thank you

 

[ArachnidBrosMN]

Yep... forward, neutral and reverse transmission made by Comet.... for the price ($245.00)... they better hold up!! More pictures from today to come later....

 

[TheWingnut]

It has a neutral too? Thats pretty kool. Ill definately consider that, considering all of the upgrade room i have

 

[ArachnidBrosMN]

It has a neutral too? Thats pretty kool. Ill definately consider that, considering all of the upgrade room i have

One MAJOR advantage of this setup, is that we didn't buy the torque converter "kits" that come with a pre-made back-plate. It looks like (from other forum posts) the back plates don't fit right on some clones (i.e. the ones we are using). All we did was make sure that the transmission had enough clearance from the back of the engine (and were'nt going to get too hot from engine)... establish a center distance between engine shaft and transmission shaft... and then order the belts!!

ALSO: with those transmissions, forward is 1:1 but reverse is something like 2.2:1. (slower) I wish the transmissions had a low-range option for forward... but oh-well, reverse is such a luxury!!!

 

[ArachnidBrosMN]

....

So... Spring cleaning took presidence over kart work for the first half of the day nopity And, after everything was removed from the barn, powersprayed, barn powersprayed, and put back inside, we got about 2 hrs of solid work done... had to seperate the front sections from the back, and weld the steering blocks onto the front of the karts. Then... well, we went out and CELEBRATED on a fun Saturday night!!

 

[CAPTAINCAVEMAN]

I am just starting this build and am indimidated because I havn't seen anybody finish this kart good luck and I will be waiting for vidios of the finished product lookes. great so far keep up the good work!!

 

[TheWingnut]

Yeah that makes sense. But where did you buy the litte bracket thing that keeps the shaft from the gearbox in place and that the driven gear is on?
The one right here...

 

[mysteryboy28]

that's a pillow block bearing. people often use those to mount axles and to make jackshafts.

 

[TheWingnut]

Thank you

 

[mysteryboy28]

They sell for around $10 each on eBay, although I didn't see any on BMIkarts.com or MFGsupply.com. Odd, because they're very common on karts.

 

[raffa83fl250]

WOW really nice project!!!

 

[TheWingnut]

Yeah i just found one on jackssmallengines

 

[Kentguy13]

I'm envious of your set up and toys gentlemen! I have had a few personal things pop up in the past couple months which have prevented me from starting this project. I am anxious to see it moving. Keep the posts coming!!

 

[ArachnidBrosMN]

Post for the hell of it!

Well, I'm sitting at home, on-call for work, and my brother is out of town...(depression has set in...ha, jk) and I'm just posting some purchase-woes I've been having.

The MAIN problems with the "Arachnid" go-kart PLANS from the creator, have to do with STEERING... and that is where we are cautiously tip-toeing through. Here's what the pictures reflect:

1. MAJOR HUGE mistake in ordering: I ordered EIGHT, 5/8" Heim Joints (used as ball-joints for the top and bottom of each spindle) from JEGS Inc. I THOUGHT I could use "LEFT HAND THREAD" and it would be "ok" (they were $4.00 apiece cheaper than right-hand thread). Come to find out: I NOW HAVE TO BUY EIGHT fine-threaded 5/8" NUTS to go with them to weld to the A-arms... and they are $4.00 APIECE.....and Ace Hardware only has 3 of them... so I need to order them from Fastenal Inc. in Rochester. NOTE: the nuts that are painted green in my pics are the left-hand-thread nuts that Ace had.

2. The picture of the Heim-Joint with the bronze bushing reflect the fact that the heim-joints (ball joints) will "BOTTOM OUT" and hit the top of the bolt after only a few inches of suspension travel, so I am going to be cutting the bushings in half to make some spacers to get more travel.

3. The front spindles we got from www.mfgsupply.com have a 3/4" threaded shaft for a bolt to hold the hub on it... but there's NO DRILLED HOLE FOR A COTTER-PIN to hold the castle-nut once we "set the front bearings". So, they will need to be drilled out.... I'm not going to trust a nylon lock-nut.

4. I also discovered that Fleet Farm sells Pillow-Mount bearings... WHAT!! and I didn't have to get them from a machine shop... hahaha, oh well... I guess we benefited a local business.

5. I'm dying to keep working on these puppies.. but I gotta wait another week!!! NOOOOOO!! More to post later!!!

 

[speed1]

You guys are doing an awesome job...

 

[r_chez_08]

:O a shop that sells pillow blocks! That shop looks awesome!
I only use a nylock to hold the front wheels on, never loosened yet.

 

[jwheels14]

You need to remember that with the 9 3/8" shocks that the plans call for the suspension will only travel 2", unless you have found some that I coudn't find that travel more. Also you may need to get some cone spacers for the heim joints, one for the top and bottom of each joint, I also added some nylon washers in there for smooth rotation. That will mean you will need longer bolts for the kingpin, I had to use 12" bolts and cut about 1/2" off as not to hit the rim on the nut end. Here are some pics of my setup, I used 11" shocks for the front same as the back to make the front travel more. I'm still waiting for a throttle cable so I have not driven this kart yet so I don't exactly how this going to work but it does not bind and moves the full range of the shocks.

 

[ArachnidBrosMN]

Thanks a million JWheels!! I'm happy to have another kart builder actively building our same kart!!

Ok... believe it or not, I never even looked at what shocks the plans are calling yet seeing as we have a lot to do before we need them... but I'm super glad that you know the travel distance of 2".

Questions: how far apart vertically did you weld your A-Arm brackets that connect the top of your A-Arms to your steering block? The plans never call for a distance, and that was one of "BillCNCs" (past builder of this kart) biggest complaints. I think that the final distance (after spacers) between our upper and lower heim joints on the spindle have to equal the distance between the upper and lower A-arm weldments... to get maximum travel... does that sound right?

Nice idea on the "set-nuts" for the heim-joint shafts... do you think we need them? I don't think I can find left hand threaded jam (thinner) nuts...

Also, were the 11" shocks you used on the front the longest-travel shocks that they sell??

Cant wait to see your kart in action man!!!... do you happen to live in northern Iowa... because we live in southern Minnesota... and there's nothing like taking a Go-Kart on 35W South....jk...

 

[jwheels14]

I bought my joints from QS componets and it looks like they have everything you would need (cone spacers, jamnuts RH and LH thread) the jam nuts are thinner and they sell all that at pretty good prices. I bought the economy rod ends, if you look at the specs that they have on the web sight they seem to be strong enough.
The 11" shocks travel 3" and that is the longest I could find without spending $70 a shock. I had to raise the upper shock mount about 1 1/2", that's why it looks different from the plans. I mounted the top A-arm 1/2" back to give it a little bit of caster. As far as the distance between the A-arms they should be the same, I'm not far off right now, about 3/8" wider at the spindle. I can take one or more of the nylon washers out if need be. I will probably have some bump steer but this is an off road kart so it should not be too bad, but as I say in my build off thread live and learn.
I live in a small town north of Story City right on I-35 not too far away from you.