What "brand" and model is this?

[afremont]

I had someone offer to sell me a kart, but I haven't been able to see it in person yet. This is it and he wants $200. Seems reasonable enough, but I'm a bit concerned about leg room for myself. Anyone recognize this thing or know anything about it so that I can find the dimensions? I have longish legs (36" inseam). It's mostly for my daughter, but I need to be able to enjoy it as well.

EDIT: Does that look like a B&S engine? He says it starts but won't stay running. He also said the carb had been rebuilt (who knows when) and the "tank pickup" was replaced. It looks suspiciously like my edger motor from what I can tell and it uses a B&S carb that integrates with the fuel tank. I'm guessing the carb isn't pumping for some reason.

 

[ghost civic]

that looks like it could be a carter go kart, not sure which model.
I have a single seat carter go kart. It looks about the same size (length) and I am 6' tall and have to remove the 2 roll bars in order to drive it. even then, the steering wheel is in my lap.
But it is possible that one could me longer since it is a 2 seat model.
this site has a list of carter models...but you would have to click on each one until you find the right one http://www.gopowersports.com/go-kart-breakdowns-user-manuals/carter/
My carter runs/drives/stops and ive been offered $250 for it. That one I "think" is a live axle where mine is a single wheel drive. That, plus being a 2 seat...id say it is surely worth $200. And if he wants $200...that means you can get it for $150!

 

[afremont]

Yeah, I went and looked at it. It's pretty short, even for my daughter. It won't run without pouring gas in the carb or using starting fluid so the carb isn't pumping fuel for some reason. It could be the pickup in the tank, but I'll have to take it all apart to figure it out. It's got a flat on the driver's side rear. It's tubeless, but he has a new tire for it. The clutch seems okay, but he thinks it needs a set-screw for some reason (it's what somebody told him). He said it won't run without pulling. I think it's just idling too fast and the clutch is engaging. It could be a bad spring in it, I suppose, but I'll have to figure that out once I get it running. It's a single wheel drive. It is made by Carter, it's a SuperWheels model.

I told him I'd take it, but he has to deliver it. I'm going to give him the whole $200 just because there seems to be a major premium on anything resembling a complete kart here in houston, especially if it runs at all. Plus there seems to be some integrity problems with people selling them.

It has a band brake which is okay by me. At least it seems to work. I didn't make sure the throttle was hooked up right, I don't think it is in retrospect since it has the same type of control as my edger with little slide levers for choke and throttle. He's not mechanically inclined so he doesn't seem to really understand the whole centrifugal clutch thing.

There is one just like it on the local CL for $650. It's in a little better shape, but really....

 

[Poboy kartman]

I couldn't tell you how many times we've had members say..."I cleaned the carb...but it still doesn't work ".....and we say..."Well, it's still dirty....clean it again...." "But I've done it twice..." Then we walk them through the process and....."Thanks guys....that was it....it's running great now"....

Post up some pics of the carb and give us the #'s off the shroud...it could be a diaphragm carb....and cleaning won't help....but a new diaphragm for a couple of bucks will....

 

[afremont]

It's pretty much like the carb on my edger that is integrated to the fuel tank. It has a pipe coming from the "valve cover" going to the carb above the choke plate. I suspect it is a "pulsa jet", but I'll know more when I actually get it home and start messing with it. After reading a bit on them (I mostly have tecumseh carb experience so far), it is possible that the plastic pickup tube has fallen off since he was talking about how hard it was to assemble. Apparently you need to soften them in hot water before inserting into the brass tube? At any rate, I doubt that I'll have a whole lot of trouble getting it to work once I get my hands and eyes on it.

I'll post pictures when I get the kart to the house later.

I do have a question about the split rims since it has a flat. Do you just take them apart and put them back together "around" the new tire? Do I have to use any kind of sealant? I know nothing about tubeless tires that aren't on a car or motorcycle. I have a large air compressor so seating the bead shouldn't be hard assuming that I have to do that with a split rim.

 

[OzFab]

It's pretty much like the carb on my edger that is integrated to the fuel tank. It has a pipe coming from the "valve cover" going to the carb above the choke plate. I suspect it is a "pulsa jet", but I'll know more when I actually get it home and start messing with it. After reading a bit on them (I mostly have tecumseh carb experience so far), it is possible that the plastic pickup tube has fallen off since he was talking about how hard it was to assemble. Apparently you need to soften them in hot water before inserting into the brass tube? At any rate, I doubt that I'll have a whole lot of trouble getting it to work once I get my hands and eyes on it.

That's one possibility, here's a few more:
- the pump diphragm is toast, therefore, there's no fuel reaching the carb
- a tip I learned a few years ago, this type of carb won't pick up fuel if the tank is less than 3/4 full so, before you go tearing the carb to pieces, fill up the tank & try it... it can't hurt & may save you a couple of hours work...

I do have a question about the split rims since it has a flat. Do you just take them apart and put them back together "around" the new tire? Do I have to use any kind of sealant? I know nothing about tubeless tires that aren't on a car or motorcycle. I have a large air compressor so seating the bead shouldn't be hard assuming that I have to do that with a split rim.

In my experience, a split rim needs a tube but, yes, the simplest way to change the tyre is to take the rim apart...

 

[afremont]

WARNING: Long-winded post follows. Get some coffee.

I finally got this beast home. It fires right off with starting fluid, but won't run on tank fuel. I pulled it apart enough to get the carb off the tank and it's disgusting inside. It got dark on me, or I would have finished it and posted pics. The tank has more dirt and grime in it than my entire garage. I'm not kidding. The pickup screen was completely plugged with grit and dirt. I'm not sure the tank is going to be salvageable at this point. I'm sure I can fix the carb, but the tank has a bunch of rust in it in the "well" that the overflow from the diaphragm flows into.

This carb was never off the tank as far as I can tell. It certainly hadn't been cleaned as the idle mixture screw has greasy dirt packed all over it. It's never been out of the carb as far as I can tell, it certainly wasn't out last month for a "complete overhaul" along with a tank cleaning. This guy got seriously ripped off by someone. I can't wait to find out who "serviced" it so I can steer clear of them. It appears that they may have put in a new diaphragm and that's all. It ran long enough for the guy to get it home, play with it for 5 minutes and then it wouldn't start again. No surprise there after fuel sloshed around and got all that crud to the bottom of the tank and up in the pickup screen.

I have lawn equipment that I salvaged that sat for years outside that don't hold a candle to this poor go kart's fuel tank. Absolutely amazing. At least I got a 48oz bottle of synthetic blend oil with the deal as I'm sure it's going to take 2 or 3 oil changes to clean out the crankcase. I'm glad I got spare motors for it as I'm probably going to have to rob parts off of one of them. What a mess.

I'll be out all day tomorrow with the family so pictures will be a little while. You're going to like these. Is there an official thread for engine abuse? Maybe a contest. I think I could win with this mess and I've only scratched the surface.

The fuel tank is still attached to the kart somehow. It seems that the bottom of the tank is part of the throttle cable linkage and i'm going to have to take that all apart to get the tank off and clean it out. I can't wait to see how much carp it has in it. It's a pretty good sized fuel tank compared to my left-handed edger with a similar engine setup. I don't think I can just swap it because of the throttle linkage "system".

It's got a flat tire. It's a split rim so I guess it won't be that hard to change. Do you have to seat the bead on those? Is there a trick to it? It came with a spare tire that looks pretty close to being a match for the others. It's a single wheel drive so I guess it will be ok if it's not a perfect match. It must have run pretty good at one time because the drive wheel is slick as it can be. The others look okay, but may be getting dry rotted.

My daughter is chomping at the bit to ride it. Hopefully she will get to before heading off to college. Harbor Freight has the predator on sale right now for $99. I think I'll pick one up along with a few things and toss them a 20% off coupon and see what happens. I'm sure it'll take a little fabrication and ingenuity to get it mounted and get the throttle set up right. I might hold off on installing the predator for a bit and see if I can get the original 5HP B&S running right. If so, I'll probably clean everything up good and try to flip it and put the money towards something a little bigger that has real suspension.

I saw the video of the last build-off winner with 2 predators. Man did that ever look like fun. That's the kind of performance I'm shooting for in the long run.

 

[OzFab]

To clean the engine internally, replace the oil with diesel fuel, run the engine for around 5 minutes, drain & refill with oil...

To clean the tank, pour in some thinners (it'll harden/dry out the caked on muck), shake & drain; after that, pour in a some fuel, add a handful of gravel (sharp edged, about 1/2"), close tank & shake vigerously; this will break up the scaly rust; drain, rinse thoroughly with fuel & reattach (providing there are no holes)...

 

[ghost civic]

I thought it would be a live axle one, instead of a 1 wheel drive.
Mine is 1 wheel drive and has a band brake. It has a Tecumseh 5hp motor.

does yours have a chain clutch? Mine has a belt clutch going to a jackshaft.

I thought yours looked the same length as mine, but thought that since it was a 2 seater that maybe it was longer.

around here, karts that need a decent bit or work go for around $150-$200. I got lucky and traded 2 power wheels ($50 worth) for mine. Once I got a new carb and figured out what was wrong with the throttle linkage I had it going pretty good. I must say, even with 1 wheel drive and no suspension...it is a lot of fun to drive. My 13yo daughter is almost too brave in it. She has gotten the front end in the air a few times and once managed to drive it into a ditch!

 

[afremont]

@fabroman - this tank is plastic, but seems to have metal part in it that the fuel runs back into. It was getting dark, so I couldn't see it very well. I will check it out good tomorrow when I get home. What kind of thinners do you mean? Acetone, naphtha, lacquer thinner? I have some fish tank gravel, would that work?

@ghost civic - I have a 5HP B&S that appears to be the original motor. It has a simple centrifugal clutch and chain drive, no TC or jackshaft. I put it in the bed of my truck and it is a little over 4' in total length. I'll measure it tomorrow.

I'm going to have to rig up some kind of throttle stop to limit the maximum speed until she gets the hang of it. I don't know what the max speed is yet since I haven't counted teeth or measured the tires, but it obviously has plenty of power judging by the slick drive wheel tire.

If I can't get it to run/idle good, I'll swap my edger motor over to it as it idles real nice and has a virtually identical throttle/choke setup. It's only 3.5 HP, but should be fine for her to learn with.

 

[crazykart]

As for thr throttle stop to limit speed, don't. You'll end up damageing the clutch. The best way to limit speed, especially with a cc, is through the gearing ratio.

 

[Poboy kartman]

I recently cleaned up a tank by spraying with PB Blaster and letting it sit for a few hours....rinsing with denatured alcohol....then filling with CLR and letting it sit overnight....Finally....after pouring that out....I poured in boiling lemon juice and let it cool.....then rinsed with water....came out cleaner than a lot of my dishes.....

 

[OzFab]

@fabroman - this tank is plastic

Never mind the gravel then...

What kind of thinners do you mean? Acetone, naphtha, lacquer thinner?

Basic GP thinners will do...

I have some fish tank gravel, would that work?

For the record, probably not; fish tank gravel tends to have smooth edges, you need the sharp edges to bite into the rust...

 

[afremont]

I watched a couple of videos on youtube and got some ideas for cleaning the tank. One is to use a bunch of carb cleaner to soak the varnish/yuck off the bottom along with some small nuts and bolts to shake around. Another was to use white vinegar or CLR to get the rust off the metal fuel well.

As for the aluminum carb, vinegar was a no-no as it would eat at the metal. But Purple Power made a good soaker at full strength in a plastic coffee container. I'm soaking the carb in a bucket of Super Clean right now. Suffice it say that it was filthy inside.

Here's some pictures of the tank to give you an idea of how good of a job the "mechanic" did of cleaning the tank and rebuilding the carb. I wish I'd taken pictures of the carb under the pump diaphragm before cleaning it up. Nice work huh? Really something to be proud of, isn't it? I can't imagine why it won't pump fuel.

 

[afremont]

Carter Super Wheels throttle linkage question

Okay, so I got my daughter's kart running after cleaning the carb and fuel tank even though it had been "professionally" done a month ago according to the previous owner.

After I got it back together, I started it and it went to WOT instantly. Figured that out, put the linkage rod from the governor to the throttle blade on correctly and got it returning to idle as it should.

The throttle hookup under the fuel tank looks like this one:
http://s96.photobucket.com/user/purplewindworm/media/Briggs/100_0725.jpg.html

Unfortunately, it's the side that you can't see that is missing something. It works right in that the sliding part forces the governor and throttle to idle position by the spring that you can see in the picture. When you give it gas pedal throttle, nothing much happens. Looking at the back (sorry no pic right now), it looks like a weakish spring should be tugging on the governor arm as the mechanism rotates. Does that sound like what is missing?

 

[afremont]

I got it. I figured out a way to make it work. I doubt it's exactly right, but it works. Now I have to fix a flat tire.

 

[chancer]

http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=30393
must read

 

[OzFab]

In an effort to keep the forums a bit neater, can you please keep all relavent posts to the one thread... threads marged...

 

[afremont]

@Fabroman - I created a new thread because I had a question about linkage. I didn't see it as being all that relevant to the cart model identification, but then neither was the filthy tank and carb. I actually thought I should have made that a separate thread. I'm still trying to figure out how you guys want things done on this forum. I have to say that it's been a bit confusing at times. It seems that some people want one thing, others want something else. Since you're an actual mod, I'll try to make you happy.

@Chancer - Sorry about linking to photobucket, it wasn't my picture. It just happened to be the one that I found that matched my setup. It would be a copyright violation for me to snag a copy of it and upload it as if it were my own. But I won't do it again.

 

[Poboy kartman]

@Fabroman - I created a new thread because I had a question about linkage. I didn't see it as being all that relevant to the cart model identification, but then neither was the filthy tank and carb. I actually thought I should have made that a separate thread. I'm still trying to figure out how you guys want things done on this forum. I have to say that it's been a bit confusing at times. It seems that some people want one thing, others want something else. Since you're an actual mod, I'll try to make you happy.

@Chancer - Sorry about linking to photobucket, it wasn't my picture. It just happened to be the one that I found that matched my setup. It would be a copyright violation for me to snag a copy of it and upload it as if it were my own. But I won't do it again.

It really doesn't matter if it's a spark plug or a steering wheel.....if it's the same kart , it makes it much easier if it's in one thread.
Both on the moderators and those members trying to help.