Wifes Kart

[Desertduler]

So my wife wants me to build her a kart so I will be posting the build here if any of you are interested it will be the same construction as my wankel kart except it will be made of lighter tubing and I will make the front spindles the same as mine with full ball bearings and such, the engine I am going to use is a 1969 JLO L252L engine that is brand new that I have had for a long time.I have done some mild port work to it and I have recut the combustion chamber and set up the squish band for low end power I am going to install a VM30 Mikuni Carburetor on the engine and build an expansion chamber for the engine I have machined the crankshaft to accept a clutch.

 

[machinist@large]

Where do you find these things?

 

[Desertduler]

I have many wheels of this type so that it why I am going to use them on the front of the kart. The one on the left has a 5/8 ID bearing in it and the one on the right is one that I have machined out to accept a 3/4 ID bearing because I use a 3/4 spindle that I make. The wheels have plenty of material in the center of them to do this and still be strong enough to be safe to use, another plus is by machining the wheels out to accept the bearings I was able to true the wheel up because they were not machined true.

 

[Desertduler]

Where do you find these things?

You like that? LOL!!! I recieved this engine as payment after completely rebuilding a small block chevy for man years ago it is brand new and it was a military generator engine that was still in the box and it has a large Olive Drab colored gas tank that goes on it.
I was young and thought that one day I might build a go kart and put this engine on it and the day has come!

 

[Kelly Wood]

Nice Brent. I'll swing over sometime to check it out when you get goin on it. We still gotta run in the desert.

Oh, and Machinist: We're in Utah. We find lots of weird stuff.

 

[Desertduler]

Nice Brent. I'll swing over sometime to check it out when you get goin on it. We still gotta run in the desert.

Oh, and Machinist: We're in Utah. We find lots of weird stuff.

Sounds good Kelly

 

[Desertduler]

I will test out this little stump puller out on my kart first before I build a frame for my wives kart and I will build a tuned pipe for it also and get the engine dialed in so it will be ready to go when I get the kart completed.This engine is ported and tuned for low end grunt.

 

[Poboy kartman]

Oh, and Machinist: We're in Utah. We find lots of weird stuff.

No doubt- it's where all the weirdos were chronically breaking wagon wheels heading west......WAIT A MINUTE. ....that doesn't make sense. ..considering California- I think all the weirdos made it through. .....

 

[ak99]

Looking Good!

What capacity is the engine?

 

[Desertduler]

Looking Good!

What capacity is the engine?

Thanks,
That little engine is bolted to my wankel kart it has had a few different engines on it. That little engine is a JLO L252L utility engine vintage 1969 brand new.I have done some porting to the engine and I have reshaped the combustion chamber and milled the head down to achieve about .045 squish band clearance and the pipe I have plotted out for it is designed for low end power.My wife does not like to go too fast she gets really scared when she drives my kart but she is getting better.The engine is 246cc's.

 

[Desertduler]

No doubt- it's where all the weirdos were chronically breaking wagon wheels heading west......WAIT A MINUTE. ....that doesn't make sense. ..considering California- I think all the weirdos made it through. .....

Hey, I like weird, I could also try my 1911 Cushman 4hp Binder engine on my kart that I have and see if I can get it to run any better.

 

[Kelly Wood]

My wife does not like to go too fast she gets really scared when she drives my kart

For good reason. LOL Your kart is scary.

 

[machinist@large]

For good reason. LOL Your kart is scary.

So you're saying his wife's survival instincts are in good working order??? (Sorry Bret, I couldn't resist....)

Pat

 

[rmm727]

So...how hard is it to use that program that designed the pipe? What all did you have to input for it to output that design?

 

[ak99]

Thanks,
That little engine is bolted to my wankel kart it has had a few different engines on it. That little engine is a JLO L252L utility engine vintage 1969 brand new.I have done some porting to the engine and I have reshaped the combustion chamber and milled the head down to achieve about .045 squish band clearance and the pipe I have plotted out for it is designed for low end power.My wife does not like to go too fast she gets really scared when she drives my kart but she is getting better.The engine is 246cc's.

That's a decent sized engine and with the your mods it should perform very well!

And it's a 2 stroke!

 

[Desertduler]

So...how hard is it to use that program that designed the pipe? What all did you have to input for it to output that design?

The program is easy to use you must measure the engines exhaust duration and transfer port duration along with the size and length and shape of the exhaust port, bore and stroke of the engine and then you must have an idea what the maximum output of the engine in its present state of tune and say for instance this engine puts out around 10.5 hp @ 4750 normally due to its current port timing and bore to stroke ratio and then in the program you start to input hp figures and there is a track bar that shows you where the hp output will be the most effective like a wide or narrow power band. I chose somewhere in the middle with this engine and you can see what the pipe shape and lengths need to be for the tuned pipe.Also there is a program that shows you how to make the pipe in the configuration that you need to fit your application and you can print out the different sections of the pipe and use them as a template so you can make a paper pipe first and tape it together
and make sure it will fit where you need it to and tailor the pipe as you need to.
Here are some sample pictures of one of my Rotax 277 engines.

 

[Desertduler]

That's a decent sized engine and with the your mods it should perform very well!

And it's a 2 stroke!

I drove my kart around some with this engine installed with just a straight header pipe and it has a ton of low end power and it pulls hard off the bottom end just right for my wife so she can have some low speed thrills.
I will start making the pipe for the engine and I will dial the jetting in and see what this old engine will do, it is a low rpm utility engine that I just as well put to use. I am indeed a two stroke fan to each their own.
That is why there is Blondes,Brunettes,and Redheads,Two and Four stroke engines in this world so you can choose what you like.

 

[Desertduler]

So you're saying his wife's survival instincts are in good working order??? (Sorry Bret, I couldn't resist....)

Pat

Yeah my wife has been on a few wild rides with me and she is a good sport.
You should have seen how pissed off she was at me back in my off road buggy racing days when I strapped her in my race buggy and took her across the desert.
Now she will have her own kart and she can mash the throttle as much as she wants to or not without being scared.

 

[itsid]

Amazing, that you have more german engines over there than we have here.

I have no doubt, that you know what you're doing, but allow me to ask...
targeting 25HP with an old ILO ??
that sounds optimistic, doesn't it?

And also... 25HP on a kart isn't exactly what I would call 'slow'
I guess it'll end up (depending on the gear ratio of course) somewhere in the low 50s mph-wise or it'll hit the 1G acceleration mark

'sid

 

[Desertduler]

Amazing, that you have more german engines over there than we have here.

I have no doubt, that you know what you're doing, but allow me to ask...
targeting 25HP with an old ILO ??
that sounds optimistic, doesn't it?

And also... 25HP on a kart isn't exactly what I would call 'slow'
I guess it'll end up (depending on the gear ratio of course) somewhere in the low 50s mph-wise or it'll hit the 1G acceleration mark

'sid

I do not believe this engine would ever make that kind of power there is no way,That hp figure is what I had to enter in order to get the pipe configuration in the midrange and this engine would sign off at about 5000 rpm, I would estimate maybe another 5 to 7 hp with the pipe but I have recut the combustion chamber and set up the squish band and done some port work and blending of the ports and I have bored out the intake manifold to accept a Mikuni VM30 carburetor so I have done many things that will total up and what that would be in actual hp figures would be a guesstimate without putting the engine on a dyno
but who cares? That's what I dig is making modifications to engines and making them better even if it is a old JLO utility engine.But I can tell you that my kart is not the lightest and I myself weigh 245 and that old engine pulled me around excellent for what it is!