The first shot is my 1966 Mustang JR gas powered at the show this weekend and the second is from the 1966 Chicago auto show with a Chevy JR like you guys have/had.
I wish I still had mine. I sold it to one of my uncles, in about 1985. He lived in Hudson ILL. (near Bloomington ILL.). So, if anyone knows of a Chevy Jr. go kart in the Bloomington / Normal / central Illinois area, please let me know. It might be the same one.
My first enduro kart ran in C-Open class with two Mac's on fuel. raced at willow springs and riverside, then traded it for a Rupp Chaparral with Mac 101s.
I came to the HAMB via a Racing site for the Vintage Open Wheel Car & Vintage Modifeds pages. I've lurked but never had anything to add...until now. I was a kid when the initial go kart craze hit. We had 2 dirt ovals near our (then) small town. Like every other kid I wanted one, but never was that lucky. A couple of years ago I was at a flea-market and saw an old used and abused kart chassis for $35 and thought "I should get that, I can use the Grand-kids to sell the idea to Mama". Naturally, she saw right through that but said "Go 'head on, just don't complain if you hurt yourself". Get hurt in a go-kart? Unheard of ! Anyway, shortly after that my job went away. I was able to convert my severence package into additional years of sevice and retired @ 52. Much earlier than planned, but it was the only option where I knew exactly what I was getting. Mama's job is good (and safe), we're ok financially but the discretionary spending fund is smaller which means the kart project is pay-as-I-go. I either do some side wrench work, or sell something I don't need. No money put on credit card or taken from the bank account. It's taken a while, but time is something I have plenty of. Here's the Kart as it came home. It's an early 80's Manco yard kart. I took it to the shop and cleaned it up,looking better but the front bumper is mangled and the "axle tube" is bent at both ends. Still, it has potential. Test fit for a donated 5hp Briggs, still missing one wheel. Manco's had a tapped wheel for a spacer that the sprocket bolts went through. They don't make 'em anymore, found a pair on evilbay after about a year. In this pic I have the wheel from the other side on to get an idea how the clutch will line up. Still need a lot of fiddly bits. Two years later - found original Manco pedals, cut the axle tube off and replaced it, added new spindles & hangers.Replaced the tires, made the brake linkage, narrowed a bumper off a racing kart. Briggs turned out to be t-totally shot so I replaced it with the blue clone motor.Spray bomb paint job turned out Ok, Mama did the seat. As the lil ones will be driving it occasionally, for now it's stock internally. An old buddy that used to race donated a nice aluminum floor tank and pulse pump, so Stage II will be coverting to a remote tank, adding a header & air filter and re-jetting the carb. Buddy also has numerous hot rod parts and engine re-building equipment so the old Briggs is at his place, to be built and stored for future use. When the Briggs goes on, I'll probably covert to a live axle and add a disc brake set-up and switch to slicks. The scrub brake is OK for now but with more Hp comes the need for better brakes! That's where we are now but projects are never really complete, are they? Besides, no matter how much I upgrade it'll still handle like a yard kart...good thing ol' buddy has two champ kart rollers I can get cheap.....looks like it's time for a few side jobs and sell some more junk.
Wow, a few very nice karts in this thread! Found this one last week and took it home. Home-built in the 60´s here in switzerland, with differential and central-drumbrake. Seat is adjustable, suits kids and adults. Was driven with a motorbike-engine with a 5-speed gearbox. I´m now searching for the fitting engine...
Looks to definitely be a mid to late 60's Rupp narrow hoop A Bone that either had a body on it or was beefed up for commercial (rental) use. Looks to have turbine wheels, though hard to tell straight on. I'm no expert, but I wouldn't say it's particularly valuable because it doesn't have the body and it is significantly heavier than the race version of the A Bone. That doesn't mean you can't build it into something to bang around on, though. The turbines and the pedals are correct for vintage racers and are worth more than the kart itself. Here's a pic of an A Bone frame I have for comparison. furyus
Now this looks like a fun ride. Not mine ,stole the pic from ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VINT...e91deQQitemZ280722575838QQptZGoQ5fKarts#v4-38
I raced go carts in the early '60's. I had a "bug" cart and a Moss cart. The hot engines back then were Mac 5's and Mac 10's, the single engine carts were fast and the dual engines were terrifying.
I love looking at the old kart pictures. The Hornet enduro kart was made in Waco, Texas and was one of my favorites. I ran A/open light with a mac for a number of years. I have piles of the old karting magazines from the late 50's through the mid 60's and in the late 60's we changed from running IKF races to the WKA races around 1970 when the formed the new association. I have a collection of WKA magazines from when they started up into the 90's My first kart had a Clinton engine and then I moved up to a Power Products 580 before changing to run the Mac's. In the 60's McCullough would send you all kings of free stuff like helmet bags and gloves and I still have the old Mac posters from the 91/B1 and the 101 day's. Sure had fun racing karts for years. Jimbo
Anybody traveling from the Detroit area to anywhere near Minnesota ? I just bought a Lancer kart ( bucket list ) and need to get it home . We would compensate someone for their efforts . Thanks Brian
I stumbled upon a small bike/car show/swap meet yesterday in PA. This kart spoke to me. I don't know much about karts, but I recognized the Margay name on the wheels, and the "MCC" on the brake pedal as McCulloch. The owner didn't know anything about it, other than he wanted it gone. So I helped him out and took it home. My daughter is gonna dig the krap out of it, so my plan is to strip it down and restore it for her. I stripped it down today and sent it off to the sandblaster. I have to have it done and ready for her by February, for her birthday. Anywho, here it is as I found it. Gotta find a vintage 5hp motor for it, probably just pick one up from the local mower repair shop. Should be a hoot!
I raced modern karts on dirt for a while and I have to say the vintage karts are more fun around the track. You drive with your right foot and butt!
I don't know if this has been posted before, but in case you haven't kept up with how far modern 125cc shifter karts have come, here's a video produced a couple of years ago by Bob Bondurant School Of High Performance Driving in Phoenix, Az showing a 125cc shifter kart racing a 2005 Z06 Corvette. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiQSogcRytw
Here is mine. I don't know much about it. I'm guessing it is from the 70's or 80's? I literally pulled it out of a dumpster. It was complete minus one wheel. I have since bought one off Ebay.
mine is only one-wheel drive. How tough would it be to set it up where both wheels turn? I'd assume a lot are set up this way...
Post up a picture of your current rear setup so I can see what you have to work with. It shouldn't be too hard.
The Jalopy Journal
