Vintage Go-Karts

Thats a Rupp GoJoe . Highly collectable

 

Pre 61's were drum brake / 1010 mild steel / 4" front wheels....mine has the disc and made from Shelby seamless / 5" front wheels.

 

I had a '60 Simplex MkII and the sprocket was integral to the drum. You may have a newer one and I think they are adaptable. If you go to the Vintage Kart sites and ask about a Simplex everyone will point you towards a guy who is THE expert on all things Simplex. I can't remember his name, but he was able to send me info and diagrams on my kart, including ways to convert the drum-sprocket to something not so rare and difficult to work with.

 

Hellfish,
Thanks for the response. I got lucky and found the sprocket I was looking for and it was the integral type. I think the expert you're thinking of is Tom Thorin. Tom is a great guy, he's helped me out with a few parts.

 

Kind of just stumbled into this deal. Anyone tell me what I have?
Thanks,
SPark

 

Dart Kart by Rupp manufacturing. Maybe around 63 /64
They made a few different models.
Google images will help you narrow it down.

 

Thanks, confirmed my thoughts. Seller had no idea, I had been searching last night and came to that conclusion but wanted somebody that knew them better to say it. You gotta love Craigslist finds!
SPark

 

I just noticed this thread, I'm gonna start looking around for these and the old mini bikes. Reminds me so much of the 60's when I was a kid. Loved those things ! Thanks to all the info mentioned here !


Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.

 

Am I the only guy on the HAMB that is still racing these?
I'll be running next weekend in Bakersfield at a VKCA event

 

If I can find a pic I'll post the go cart I had when I was a kid , it looked like a 193? Ford boat tail speedster it even had a chrome grill shell . I sure wish I still had it.

 

Thanks Guffey. That really nails it down much tighter. Saw very few pics with the front axle gussets and front bumper when I was looking last night. Was curious about what years the axle gussets were used.

 

The real Turbonique power. Look like the date and place where they "raced" TV Tommy IVO

 

Ivo was supposed to race the kart at Irwindale. That's not Irwindale. The kart broke, so the race never happened, but showman Tommy staged a photo anyway. Tom was never one to miss a PR opportunity.

 

Well, I'd name that thing "Death Wish".

 

Doesn't look like there's room for a clutch, wonder if it's a direct drive.

 

Rathmann Xterminators!!

 

Real "Vintage"

 

This is a Formula Four. A short-lived, primarily British experiment. They had 250-750cc engines and the lowest subclass (which this one is) had no suspension, like a kart. The class gained little traction in America, and only in the 750cc class. I want one, even though I don't fit in them.

 

This car, lowest subclass with 250cc, with those tires, with those brakes
That thing looks like washing machine engine category.

 

I have always liked Karts. My old dragracing buddy Larry Putz (Rest his soul) gave me a nice running Clinton Panther engine 2-1/2 hp. I don't have anything to put it on sure wish I did. Lippy

 

Guffey that is Cool!! Lippy

 

Early on, most were. To start them, Dad (or crew) would lift rear bumper, hand on drivers helmet or seat back, and run like Hell before slamming the kart down to turn it over. Driver had one hand on the steering wheel and one hand over carb to choke (If they weren't behind you like on this Xterminator). Decelleration was handled partly by compression. Some european racers may still prefer direct drive, or think they are quicker.

 

Rob
I had the misfortune of getting bitten by the drag racing bug before I got into karting.
As a young kid in the 60's I never had a kart but a few friends did, I did have a minibike with a Mac 10 kart engine, what a terror I was on that thing.
As a grown up kid I raced 125 shifterkarts in the early 80's up and down the West coast.
A friend raced in the 250 class with a Bultaco Astro 360 flat track engine that he (claimed) as a 250, the thing had so much compression it had to be bump started in third gear.
Some of my fondest times racing were during my karting years.

 

Either karts made motorheads out of many of us, OR we already were. Shifters are a ton of fun.

 

For sure, raced many venues including through the streets of Woodburn, Cottage Grove, Ontario, all legal. RR at Westwood B.C. SIR, PIR, Laguna Seca. Sprints at Pats Acres. Inside the King Dome in Seattle, dirt raced at many Oregon indoor and outdoor events.
Oh yeh, even raced inside the state Penn. in Salem.
Good times.

 

Geez, what was it like to be Steve McQueen?