can anyone ID this kart for me? <a href="http://s389.photobucket.com/user/Jweems/media/DSC_0616-2_zps129cb2f7.jpg.html" target="_blank"></a> <a href="http://s389.photobucket.com/user/Jweems/media/DSC_0615-2_zps4e08625b.jpg.html" target="_blank"></a> <a href="http://s389.photobucket.com/user/Jweems/media/DSC_0614-1_zpseb29cb52.jpg.html" target="_blank"></a> <a href="http://s389.photobucket.com/user/Jweems/media/DSC_0613-1_zpsf3d35d1c.jpg.html" target="_blank"></a> <a href="http://s389.photobucket.com/user/Jweems/media/DSC_0612-2_zpsae74c81d.jpg.html" target="_blank"></a>
Here is a very rare cart. It was built by Ghia in Italy for Virgil Exner's son. It is a 48 Plymouth Ragtop. It has some really cool stuff on it. Electric start, Reverse. Turnsignals. Running and brake lights. Radio. Cigarette lighter. Clutch. Looks like a Cushman transmission and engine. It even has a engine cooling fan from a rear window defogger. It has some extensive stamped parts.
White Knuckle Scramble #1 is this Saturday! Get those karts tuned up! Dean, that thing is really cool
Looking at the photo's of the old racing jacket made me think about all the early 60's I.K.F. patches I have that I never used. Every year when you signed up for I.K.F. they would send more patches and stuff like that. Back in the 60's when I was using McCulloch engines they would also send me all kings of racing stuff like posters, decals, helmet bags, and banners and other stuff. I still have all of it plus McCulloch engine parts for a 91-series of engines. I always like to keep stuff just for the memories so I still have stuff from Watkin Glen, Bridgehampton, and the old V.I.R. and Summit Point race tracks. When I look at some of the posts where someone wants to know what kind of kart they have and they show a picture it all comes back to me because I remember them all. One day back around 1970 a few of the guy's told me they were going to Ohio for a meeting to talk about starting a New association that would be called the World Karting Association. The problem in those day's was every time we received our copy of the I.K.F. karting magazine it mostly talked about karting on the west coast area and there was not much coverage about anything going on the the east coast and they did not like that. I have still have the I.K.F. magazines and all the World Karting Magazines starting from the very first one. I still get a kick out of looking at the old magazines and remember the day's of kart racing with fond memories. Jimbo
I was a west coast I.K.F. member from '64 to '74 ran C-open and B-open endures at the So. Calif. tracks Wish I had kept all of my monthlies from the I.K.F.
K-88 Ghost: It's funny there are day's when I sit out in my shop and look over all the old magazines because it reminds me of the people and places I had raced. One day I was even thinking about how many different brands of karts I have owned over the years from Margay's Bug's and Hornet's and about ten others. I also saw a post on this site from Sugar River Raceway in Wisconsin and I started thinking about a jacket they had given me back in the mid 60's which I still have to this day. Fond memories of John and Kathy Hartman and so many others who really helped built karting into what it is today. One publication I forgot to mention was Karting News which I used to sell during the early 80's at all the kart tracks we went to. I started out in sprint karts and then moved into enduro karts and then back to sprint karts only because there were more tracks to race at within a few hundred miles of home. My two sons were also involved in karting racing Briggs engines with W.K.A. for a number of years until high school basketball started changing their interests. I met so many really nice people over the years and sure had a lot of fun. Jimbo
I just found a whole pile of old karting company catalogs. Most are from the 60's up through the 80's I will take some pictures and post them for others to enjoy. Anyone out there remember Doss and Sons kart shop in Winston Salem, N.C.? There still around but the name was changed to Competition Karting years ago. I believe some of the original people are still there since the early 60's Jimbo
Just a reminder... This race is on a paved, high speed kart track, and is a LOT of fun. Details: Saturday, September 14, 2013 Concept Haulers Motor Speedway Norway, IL (about 1 hour from Chicago) VINTAGE karts and minis ONLY!! Full rules and details at: http://whiteknucklescramble.com/
Here's one of mine. A 1961 Rathmann Xterminator, aluminum monocoque chassis with rack and pinion steering and triple MC10's.
I had a Pressweld Track Rabbit with the fiberglass body. We paid $50 for it back in 1966. It came with a 2 cycle engine, it had no bottom end but once that thing got into its power range it was a rocket. My grandparents had just bought a house at the Jersey shore in Manahawkin and this was where the go cart was stored, along with a number of mini-bikes we also got. The coolest thing about this was about a mile or so thru the woods, or over the road (this part of Jersey shore was pretty desolate back then), was an abandoned stock car track from the 50's, it had banked turns and all. It was off the road a bit and unless you knew it was there, you didn't know it was there. I looked it up on the web and back in the day it was known as Manahawkin speedway. I can't tell you how much fun we had on the track, The good old days!!
Those are BM (made in Italy) 130's probably running on methanol. Each side produced about 35hp so it was a pretty serious ride. Have several still plus their competitor, B Bombs.
I'd say Alpha 11......here's a picture of a Alpha 7. http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/AK2stroke/library/?sort=2&page=1
What about the Caretta's? They're the Bugatti's of vintage kart racing. Cates were the real Texas Chaparral's. When every kart was being built by hotrod guy's, Cates were being built by a helicopter engineer. Cates had the suspended fiberglass seat long before the Europeans. The Cates in my pictures is a 1961. The Alpha isn't mine. It belongs to a buddy. He bought it new.
I remember how light Cates were. After one heat, a guy who had some sort of problem came walking back to the pit with his tucked under his arm, like you might carry a laptop these days. Many karts were pretty flexible back in those days, allowing you to hang the inside wheel way inside the turn. Cates karts seemed to work very well doing this and with the extra leverage of the wide butterfly wheel, an adventuresome driver could manhandle or dance thru most anything. I saw a Cates ad for sale on ebay listed by bobbystareyes. There was a guy who drove twin Mac powered Cates in the DFW area who's eyes would get so big you could see them half way down the track. Man, could that guy drive. Here is a pic of someone carrying a Simplex under his arm. I had one. It weighed nearly twice what a Cates did. This must be the helium-filled Simplex chassis.
Man this tread has inspired me! I got my first Go Kart in the early/mid 70's and it was well used at that time so I assume its from the 60's. I road the crap out of it from grade school well into high school then later my son road it and its still in the back of the shed at my parents house, Im going to have to dig that bad boy out and try to get it going again.
Quincy was the home of the Traeder family. Terry became a pretty famous driver for years. Some of the vintage machines were probably actively campaigned out of their shop over the years.
TnT ( Quincy ) is still active http://tntkartways.com/Home.php They have a vintage event there every year . We have been going to the vintage events since 2006 . Gus and Terry are still around . They put on a hell of a show .
I've got the '63 Barrytoy craft go kart, almost a completed restoration. Also picked up a couple of continental engines that appear to be all tricked out with hi perf stuff, will see about posting some pix.
I've had and raced rear engine, side winders, and shifters. The only thing I've never had or driven is a rear engine duel kart. Damn all these years latter I'd still like to have one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qORsk6wGlDY&feature=player_detailpage The McCulloch plant was just down the street from what became LAX (Los Angeles airport), prior to them bring the London Bridge to Lake Havasau.
Our karts at Billetproof 1961 Fox with dual AH 58 Super Power Products engines 1961 Simplex with dual AH 58 power Products engines 1961 Fox with dual AH82 Power Products This one was taken at Krome n Kandy this year We have not run the blue one yet . The other 2 get ran every year . The red one started racing again in 2006 .
Brian, Nice job on your karts. Ole Smokey is a single rail Simplex. Don't remember ever seeing one. Mine was a double rail called a Challenger (similar to pic) running a direct drive West Bend. I was trying to read what is printed on your wheel. Do you know which came first, double or single rail? Here is the answer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDVJdZNEqPU
The Jalopy Journal
