History (OT)..scrap yard find...1955 or 1956??? go cart??

well i've neer really posted off topic here, if improper please delete....

went friday at work to local scrap yard to dump shop scrap.....found this go cart?? in the pile..drug it out and paid scrap weight price for it...

any one here tell me where i might find out info on it??figure its a 1955 or 1956 model...found the Briggs and Stratton engine tag under 2 layers of paint and grease riveted to the back side of the seat back...ran the numbers and found the motor to have been built in may of 1955... 8 hp with a gear reduction of 6,,,,oil bath breather and other info on the tag....

 

Thats rad!!! I dig it, good find.

 

Well, it's certainly traditional...for a go-cart. What are you going to do with it? You gotta hop it up if you're gonna keep it.

 

Thanks, thats what i thought when i saw it..then got it back to the shop and started looking it over, i figured maybe older home built, late 60's or 70's.... but damn nice job...then last nite i found the B n S tag and ran the numbers to find id the year..1955.....

the brake and a rod for it are all there and in great shape...i bolted them back in place.from the brackets, it looks to have been a hand brake setup..front spindles are good, the left one needs some work to repair some prior bad repair job, but the spindle itself is fine, needs new mounting bracket fabbed and welded in..

hope to find a picture of one like it some where........the steering shaft and mounting loop has been cut out...easy to make a new one, but would be nice to fab one that looked original...

also the rear axel is wide enough on each side to have a 8" width for a tire/wheel/spacers, ect...
overall its in really good condition and well built and crafted....just thought i might get lucky here trying to find info on it.

 

Nice find. I would've dug it out too. I dig go-carts and mini bikes.

 

it's a really short cart...i'm 5'5" and can't straighten out my legs,,and the seat i can fit..but its comfortable tight...thought about streching it out, but want to make sure it ain't some collectable or something...i could drive it with the present length though.......

hop it up?? i just happen to have a huge ass motor in the corner that Randy Von Rigg Fink lent me...8 or 12?? horsepower robin..but then i'ld have to weight the nose to steer it......

 

I would go search 1/4 midgets. From the photos it really doesn't fit the description of "go kart".

 

I had a go-kart in the 70's with a 5hp. I tore the ass outta that thing in the dirt regularly. I don't remember the front end ever getting light. I think the wheelbase and weight distribution must have something to do with that. I say stick the biggest engine you can find into it. Have fun and scare yourself!

 

In the early 80s a friend bought a house and in the garage was a bunch kart stuff that he was going to throw out. I brought it home and started welding. I had an old Yamaha XS650 engine lying around so in it went. Shit off a shovel!!! Unbelievable amount of fun!!! It had 1:1 final gearing and would hit around 120 at El Mirage. Sorry I got rid of it. Hot rod that puppy and have fun!

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kinda what i ws thinkin also.......dave

 

With the lower skin on there, I say there were sheet metal or fiberglass glass panels somewhere. Quiz the yard help where you got it and maybe they can send you in the direction of the donor. May find body work at the same location it came from. Automotive archeology is more fun than... well almost as much fun.

 

Agreed. Just type "1955 quarter midget racing" into your search bar. You'll see what we mean. That was/is a quarter midget.

 

the yard it came from is one of those back in after scaleing and dump it out..they didn't even know it was back there...one of the workers was a bit pissed he didn't get it....been searching the net, seen a few pics like it ..close but no cigars....soooo...the hunt continues,,,,,,,,

 

I found some thing similar to yours and posted a couple of shots on the cageless midget thread,had a guy recommend getting in touch with a guy named Gregg Kishline,was told he's a 1/4 midget historian and collector, but haven't had a chance to contact him yet, but will have to to get some info for this winters project,Good luck with your project.....Rich

 

there is a mini bike swapmeet at Monroe fair grounds today off M50

 

Great score!!

 

Looks like an old dirt tracker but smaller. The way the rear of the frame is it looks like it maybe had a tail cowl or cover on it and maybe some panels up front. Very cool.

I mean a quarter midget, ya.

 

Check this 1/4 midget site out. http://vintagequartermidget.com/ and scroll down to homemade cars. You'll find a photo of your front suspension.

 

well my monitor is dieing and it don't like the blue backgrounds on some web sites...and the link above is one of those blues.....could i get a pic posted here???thanks......

 

I bought an old cart once, found out it was a '60s Rupp racing cart. Got $1200 which I wouldn't have gotten if I had cut and modified it like I wanted. I just looked online, places like go-karts.com or similar...

 

That is a great find.

 

I'm a bit of a computer neandertal so all my efforts to get a photo over here have failed. I'll try and print it and scan it. The front end is almost identical to yours. That 1/4 midget is definitely worth saving.

 

looking around for some rubber and wheels for this..everything so ffar comes up for modern QM...thinking a 400-8 like on my mini would be good size..give it a lil ground clearance...everything else would have it draging the pan....

 

I had a friend whose Dad bought him a Quarter midget back in the 50's...about '56...with a chassis like that and a fiberglass body. It was built somewhere in El Lay. Man I was envious. It was the rage for the kids that had them, even small towns like mine had a track and bleachers for the spectators. go-karts sort of replaced them later cuz the Dads could drive them too

 

i think i have found a suitable body for it..it is a glass body , and my rear pan, the only peice left, is aluminum..but for the money, i think i'm going to pick it up...besides, i can work and reshape glass easier then i could aluminum...

 

That is a pretty cool find. I would love to find one of these for my son! Here is a shot of the front suspension!

 

it sure does have basicly the same style of spring setup...i thought my front axel was bent on both sides at first..i got to looking and found that it is the same on both sides...and everything matches dimensionally ...looking at it tonite, if it is a home built cart....well some one really did a nice job ..every thing i could measure and check is spot on...

glad i'm a short person..hell my son is 6'3" now,,,guess dad will have to drive it..i ever get some wheels......

 

Use to race them with chainsaw engines...high winding buggers...

 

well me an Old Bob went to Harbor Freight last nite..Bob's a regular there...walked by and seen engines on the shelf..next thing i know, he's buying me one for the quarter midget project...or as he said, for either the QM or one of the mini bikes i got hangin ...told him it would be cooler with a nice vintage flathead in the QM...then he reminded me it would be covered up anyway, so why not a OHV 6.5 HP brand new motor for it..hey, i wasn't about to turn down a new free motor....he said consider it an early BD present..which sets him up for a good BD present on Halloween....he knows the cincy house has my cash flow screwed up lately so......and he likes being involed in most of the "motorised projects" i've had or been apart of for many years...and he figures i get a motor hangin out, i'ld get busy with the mods and repairs i'll have to do to the body and gaurds i just picked up off ebay....

 

sweet score..both of them