The Latest Insanity that My Son & I Are Thinking of Doing

[M.D. Holloway]

get the idea!

He wants a motor go-cart, he has a peddle one he got a few years go and I have an extra weed-wacker - 32cc engine.

Question is the transmission. I think I am going to have to get a centrip clutch set-up or something. Any ideas?

Also, if we mount the engine in the back, I think/know I will have to bring the rear wheels back and maybe even make them wider.

Again, any ideas?

[tabs]

Air cooled rear engined...hmmm where ever did ya get that idea...

[bryanthompson]

Does the weed whacker have enough power to move that thing? You could always snag a 4-5hp lawnmower engine. How about brakes?

And, tell your son that wearing flip-flops on a scooter is a recipe for disaster!

[artplumber]

Lube,
You could do this the hard way (what you are contemplating), or you could just buy something used on ebay etc. BTW what about brakes if you're planning to motorize? - Whole bunch of fabbing goin' on. I don't know that I'd trust the robustness of the steering either.

[Saintly]

shorten the steering collum, move the seat forward, legs either side of the steering, add a crash bar forward to protect the feet.
engine behind the seat
needs brakes

[Icemaster]

Bigger engine, roll cage, much better tires & wheels. Those things look like they're plastic...

Lower it - COG looks like it'd be way to high to fast at any speed faster than a pedal bike.

To make it work well and safely, you're probably going to have to fab a whole new frame. Might be easier to get a used cart.

[Wrecked944]

That is flippin' sweet. If your kid survives that thing and makes it to adulthood then he will have been the coolest kid on the block and you will be the greatest dad ever!

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by JanusCole
That is flippin' sweet. If your kid survives that thing and makes it to adulthood then he will have been the coolest kid on the block and you will be the greatest dad ever!

My son started to Autocross with me in a alcohol powered briggs kart. After a year I sold it and bought him a YZ100 Yamaha race kart from an adult. As delivered it would go from 0-60 in les than 3 seconds and top out at 110 MPH.

He was 11 years old at the time. I de-tuned it to do 60 MPH and 0-60 in less time actually due to the lower gearing. He was scared to death of it. The clutch didn't engage until high RPM and it un-nerved him. He was afraid of it.

I am in the process of fixing it up for my use in the hopes he might have a change of heart.

Lube- I hope your kid is up to this.

[yellowline]

I'd just get a go-kart kit and build it right. I don't know if a Kettler kart is the best starting point. The frame in the middle isn't extremely strong.

Great idea, though. Karting is fun, even with something that doesn't zing, like a 4-stroke Briggs. Torquey, though.

[djmcmath]

Can I redo my childhood with you as my dad? I suspect you'll reuse the seat and steering wheel, but pretty much everything else will have to be uprated. Rock on.

[Moses]

When I was a kid, I mounted one of these...



onto one of these.



My friends dad turned axles for us out of steel rods. We used wheels from a red wagon. The front axle was mounted to a 2x4 that pivoted on a center bolt. A rope tied to both ends of the 2x4 provided steering. No brakes. Throttle lever mounted on right side (like a boat). Bright floral cushions. Fast as hell. Lasted three days. What fun!

[scottmandue]

Hey... is your kid leaning on the 911!!!!


Unless you are really into doing a bunch of wrenching it would be a allot cheaper just to buy a used cart. Heck I think Kragen is selling them new!

[stomachmonkey]

Do it.

You'll have fun, your son will learn to make stuff instead of buying it which is IMO more satisfying.

Even if it keeps breaking he'll gain problem solving skills that no kit can teach him.

And a weed whacker motor should do. They used them in one of the Junkyard Wars episodes.

Scott
Scott

[M.D. Holloway]

What about the transmission? The motor will stall it the wheels aren't turning.

...tell your son that wearing flip-flops on a scooter is a recipe for disaster!

He normally doesn't even wear shoes! Many days the soles of his feet are as black as shoesoles. My Daughter is the same way. I think by the time they are 10 they will be able to walk on broken glass anf hot coals!

Hey... is your kid leaning on the 911!!!!

Yep. He has learned a healthy resepct for it. You should see the ding he put in the hood with his bike helmut! He will never do that again.

[HardDrive]

I think its awesome to see father and son brainstorming together.

What a great dad.

[kach22i]

Went to a house party a few weeks ago. The home owner's dad built this from scratch over 35 years ago, including a hand fabricated early Mustang body (which was run over a few years ago).

The kids had a lot of fun with it.

That boy is only three years old, what the heck are they eating these days?

[JeremyD]

Lube, they have one of these in Dallas - lots of parts to make a Go Kart out of...

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatDsp?storeId=6970&N=291701

[RickM]

Mike, I put a 2 cycle chainsaw engine on a standard go cart frame 30 years ago. It woked fine with a centrifucal clutch but it was a fairly large engine. Man was that thing fun.....and loud.

[notfarnow]

ahhh... father son projects...

My parents split when I was 6, and while I visted my father regularly we never really had any father-son projects. Until I was 22, and lived with him when I went to univesity. Our first father-son project sarted with dad leaning against the wall and me taking measurements... for a coffin.

Dad insisted that when he goes he wouldn't be buried in a $5000 box, so we made it out of plywood and scraps. We had a great time building it, an he keeps it in the basement. One night we managed to convince my grandmother to sit in it with a hand of solitaire, an ashtray and a gin and tonic laid out on the lid. Quite a funny picture.

[SLO-BOB]

Lube--

"Buy one"-Ughh. Totally missing the point.

Follow the k.i.s.s. method on this one. Skip the clutch-too hard to find one that will adapt to your weed whacker. Use a three point pulley and belt drive system. Attach one pulley to the weed wacker, one to the axle, and one that will take up slack on the belt to engage/disengage the drive. That pulley is mounted to a lever that will lock in place once you get it "over" the highest tension of the belt and back down the arc of movement-if that makes any sense. Think of engaging the belt drive on a mower deck on a riding lawn mower-same thing. If you can weld, this can all happen pretty fast.

This will make you Cool Dad of the year in no time-Or crazy Dad depending who you ask.

Btw-skip the chassis and brake upgrades. That stuff is for *******s. Keep it super low tech-I would mount the motor to the cart with duct tape and use twine as the throttle. Hell-I'de even leave the chain and pedals hooked up to add some "thrill" factor to the ride Okay-maybe not that.

Have fun!