What do I have?

[Newbkarter]

Well I think I'm gonna buy a stock box project race ready engine. It'll go good with our plans. We are also powder coating wheels yellow so we will have a yellow and black kart. Figured it was fitting since it is a wasp after all

 

[rwd4evr]

whats up with the motor on it? if your a machinist and thats a raptor build that. more reliable than a clone IMO(and you already have it). with that girdle on it,its probably worked up pretty good already. may just need a rebuild.

 

[falcon52]

Yeah don't get me wrong man, if you can get the engine running that is on it I would do that. They are very strong motors especially when built. Only thing is with the clone is you get a fresh start and cheap(er) upgrades but you may not have to worry wbout it if you can get the flatty going.

 

[Newbkarter]

Are parts readily available for the raptor or hard to come by? Wasn't aware that this motor was that much better. I haven't tore into motor, checked spark or anything but i do know its not locked up. Hopefully we get to tear into it more Tomm. Been a long work week waiting to start on this thing lol. Thanks again everyone for tips and help. Greatly appreciated

 

[rwd4evr]

i'm working on a couple karts right now, just remembered i have an old five horse briggs I/C flathead a couple days ago.gonna use it on my margay for the time being. i've done some research. the raptor is a 5 horse briggs I/C with some go fast stuff from the factory. raptor 1 was just a decent piston and rod. raptor 2 was piston, rod and maybe some head /valve work. raptor 3 is #2 plus dual ball bearing crank. you can find stuff on ebait BUT be wary of people saying its raptor stuff when it isn't. raptor parts are in a yellow and black box and say briggs motorsport on them. rods will have a integral dipper and say r1, r2 or r3 on them and the cap. most kart shops still have some raptor stuff too. just google it. wiesco pistons are out there too. from what ive found a stock raptor rod is good to 6-7000 rpm depending who you ask. i'l be getting a raptor rod and piston hopefully. arc billet rods are about 50- 70 bucks. since your motor has that block girdle on it, i would say its got some good stuff in it and very well could be an alcohol motor. what carb is on it? got some motor pics?

 

[Newbkarter]

I honestly haven't checked out the carb close enough to tell you anything about it. I picked it up from my cousin for 125 bucks basically for the chassis thinking it was fair but now I'm thinking I robbed them lmao. They said that yes it was an alcohol motor when I bought it. I just figured at that price it was locked up which is why I only checked that when unloading it. I got a few parts with it and hopefully it'll fire. Only thing I know for sure I need is a brake caliper and maybe a trip back to their house to give em a few more bucks so I don't feel bad

 

[falcon52]

You're a better man than me lol. Family or not I would have chalked that up to them not researching what they had.

 

[Newbkarter]

Like I said tho I was told it was an alcohol motor and all it needed was brake caliper. Everyone knows how that goes tho so I figured worst case scenario that it needed a new motor which is why I was just gonna buy a new one. Kinda hoping I was wrong and my cousin just gave me the deal of a lifetime. If you knew their brother you'd understand why I figured worst case scenario lmao.

 

[Newbkarter]

Lol I didn't say for sure that I was gonna give em more money. It's the thought that counts lol

 

[rwd4evr]

since your so broken up about the deal, i'll give you a buck fifty for it and you can give the25 bucks to your cousin

 

[Newbkarter]

Unfortunately I'm having problems finding methanol in my area. Checked motor out earlier and it seems like it'll run. Has compression and getting spark but have no fuel to test it out. As you can guess this is killing me lol.

 

[anderkart]

You can start your methanol engine on gasoline. It'll run extremely rich and puff black smoke but It wont hurt anything to test-run it for a minute or 2 off gas.

Most guys that race methanol powered karts (including me) drain the methanol from their fuel tank, then start/run their engine on gasoline for a short while after every day of racing. The gasoline helps flush all the methanol out out of the fuel system; so the moisture (that methanol tends to absorb from humidity) wont end up corroding the carb.

 

[Newbkarter]

Thanks for the advice. Wish I would of checked this earlier lol. Was gonna try gas but was kinda scared to. I know what I'm doing in the morning now.

 

[Nodroz]

Why don't you have a look at the current engine first, before ordering a new one? The engine might be in a good condition, or can be fixed with very minor parts or replacements.

The engine you have there might be really good. Worth checking it out before getting a new one!

EDIT: Sorry, I didn't read the 2nd page... just noticed now.

 

[Newbkarter]

Holy hell it runs. Ran hose to a 20oz bottle of regular gas and eventually got it to run. Only ran it for bout a minute cause it was running kinda rough, I figure that's prob cause of the regular gas but still I didn't want to chance it so I shut it down. I gotta order a caliper now, locate some methanol and go cruising.

 

[anderkart]

Cool, good job getting it running!

Yep Its normal to run super ruff on gas, It'll smooth out and run a lot better with methanol.

VP-Fuel sells methanol online, or through their dealers: http://www.vpracingfuels.com/

 

[Sinbad001]

You said this was going to be a fun kart, not for racing. Racing engines usually like to be run full bore all the time and don't like to be putted around the neighborhood. How old is your daughter? Can she handle a 50+ mph race kart? Just curious.

 

[Newbkarter]

She's 13. She can handle a 80cc dirtbike doin a wheelie down the block lol. Rides around on my banshee too. I have no doubts that she can handle it. I am thinking bout still buying a spare gas engine to throw on it tho. Just seems more reasonable since like I said it'll just be a neighborhood toy. Might just throw this one in the corner or sell it to help fund new 1.

 

[rwd4evr]

you can change the jets to run it on gas most likely. even a new carb would be easier and cheaper probably. you never said what carb was on it. got a pic of it?

 

[Newbkarter]

Hey sorry guys its been awhile. Daughter lost interest in it so daddy's got a new toy now lol. Ill post new pics in the morning