Where Have All the Go-Karts Gone?

I an 76 years old but in the 60s and early 70s I raced all over Texas with a group from Kerrville and Medina, I had a five kart trailer and Tex had a six kart trailer so we generally took eleven karts to the races. We raced at Green Valley Race way in the FT Worth area, Hill Top in Shreveport/Bossier City Louisiana, at most of the old wwII abandoned bases, Hondo, Castorville, Wall, New Braunfels and around Buffalo Springs lake in Lubbock. Those were pretty heady days for me, I loved the sport. Started with a bug, went to a Go Kart then to two Hornets, one with a margay gearbox and a Ackerman clutch box that was sealed and ran a mixture of ATF and STP with hartman clutch and a Mac 75 and a twin with Mac 9s. Like most young men I got married in 67, she raced some with me. We moved to Austin and ran at New Braunfels Clearsprings airport the last time in 72. I still think about the good old days but most of us have gone to the graveyard. I was at Bonneville in 2007 and saw Neil Ackerman from Houston. I used to race against him and his big brother Jim but Neil has gotten a lot faster, saw a couple years ago where he ran in the 270s at Bonneville.

 

Tom is known for his cartoon character from the early Hot Rod Magazine days- Stroker McGurk. I think Stroker Ace was in some old Burt Reynolds movie.

 

Vintage karts have never really gone away, they're just not on your radar.

We had about 20 vintage karts (Margay, Dart, Simplex, Fox, etc) at the June practice for the White Knuckle Scramble, but only about 10 were on the track before the rain hit.

Hopefully we'll have a lot more present and racing on Sept 14.

Details here:

http://whiteknucklescramble.com/

 

I've got a friend who has an old Sears and Robuck kart. His kids love it, but they are limited to riding up and down the street in front of his house. Higher horsepower and safety issues seemed to kill it. Then in Houston, a few kids got killed riding ATV's in the street and that was it.

I'm actually surprised there aren't vintage Kart races at HAMB functions. Seems like a natural.

 

My Son races Dirt Oval offset karts. His is not HAMB friendly or I'd post up a pic. LOL

 

http://www.racekarts.com/

 

I agree. Even more so than mini-bikes.

 

The best way for a few old farts to have a blast on karts is on dirt.

We have a small dirt track in a friend’s field. Several of us got together built the track and ran a water line so we can keep it wet to control the dust. About five or six times a year the word gets put out that we will be running on a particular Sunday afternoon.

Sure enough, there will be a dozen or so old men show up with our “yard karts”. About the only rules we have are no two cycle. The first year the field pretty much consisted of very basis carts with box stock five HP flatheads. Now pretty much everyone is running hoped up five HP, alcohol burning, OHVs, disk brakes, side winder frames, etc. I'm running a late 70"s Margay with a Rapture.

And don’t think you can’t get hurt on these suckers! We have had a few good spills. But it’s always a blast.

It’s truly run at your own risk. And you would be surprised how many folks show up just to watch us old guys playing like kids.

 

That's part of why we started the White Knuckle Scramble. Karting was HUGE from 1956-66 and beyond. I think the main reason we don't see more of them at events is that you pretty much need a truck, van or wagon to haul them. I stuffed my Simplex kart in the trunk of my '59 and drove it to the Iron Invasion last year, but it hung half way out and the trunk was wide open... and that's a HUGE trunk!

 

I did as a kid, my son did seriously for a few years, multiple championships, dirt speedway.

 

Tx. people, North Tx. Karters in Denton is having a vintage kart exhibition on Oct. 5th. This is the first time they have even acknowledged that vintage karts exist. It starts at 1pm so if you have a vintage kart bring it out. I don't know if they will let us run our karts or just show them, I'm waiting on more info.

 

wow, sure hi-tech (early or late) motors, etc. I am only used to the basic models with Briggs & Stratton engines - have project one trying to sell now in fact.

 

Hey, NL;

Sounds like you've got a neat area/situation for the carts. I was going to suggest using a corner of a parking lot & pylons just like the auto-cross (SCCA SoloII) events are run. Timed, one at a time, over a course. Run against each others' time, as well as your own. Hitting each pylon costs a second, etc. Idea being, of course, no "contact", therefore "safe". Maybe not as much fun as group racing, but might be a way to get an "in", where otherwise there wouldn't be one. Could turn into a decent gig for the shopping center, as an attraction. Looks like you don't need the suggestion, tho. Running wot down the alley into an open end sounds like a *lot* more fun. .

Friend of mine in southern MN has been into karts since the early 70's that I know of, (& I bet maybe started in the mid 60's), moved into racing the laydowns, although his interests now run into finding/restoring the old original styles. Last I heard, he was looking to sell some of them, due to advancing age.

1st time on a kart as a young kid, no track, just rough grass, gravel, & pavement. Damn near shook my teeth loose, & my a.. hurt - in less than 5 min. . 40+ yrs later, on a small paved track, more fun than I've had in years. Although, I did notice, after ~ 30 min fun (each go-around lasted maybe 3-4 min), that any kart I was in, that I could drift with, got taken to the shop. Upon inquiring, I was told "there's something wrong with that one". Uh-huh...

& in the Blaine MN area, a "pro" kart track shut down a few years ago. Never many people there, but always looked like fun. Prices I found out were, (hack-cough), high. Not saying they could've been lower due to operating costs, but priced 'way out of my "perceived fun" budget. Too bad...

Hope this deal goes down well for you. .

Marcus...

 

Chainsaw - an "exhibition" means they'renot letting the karts run at full speed.

Marcus - we looked into doing exactly that, but it was a huge parking lot. The cops and town officials were skeptical, the other businesses needed convincing, and most importantly, we needed insurance to be allowed to do it. The one insurance company we could find willing to allow it required a chain link perimeter to be set up with a 10 foot buffer to the track which added waaaaaay too much cost to the event. Now we're doing the Scramble at a real kart track and no problems.

 

Thanks Hellfish, that's kinda what I figured. I still haven't herd back from them yet. Either way ,its the only way to get on the track without having a modern kart. Good luck with your event.

 

Thanks hoop98, I was following this thread for a while and this is the info I was looking for...where's the track. Thanks for this link and it's pic. Looks to be in a different location than where I remember the first Katy track to be. Congrats on all the effort to build, maintain, and run any track.

http://www.racekarts.com/

 

Enjoyed reading this thread. Started racing go karts when I was 10 with a Dart Kart and Power Products engine. Quit racing a few years back. Still have an Emmick lay down, mid 90's model.

Also have two MC 101's less carbs from the 70's. Anyone know what they are worth these days?

 

Here's one of my vintage (multiple engine) karts that I thought you guys might enjoy seeing.
A 1961 Rathmann Xterminator, aluminum monocoque chassis, rack & pinion steering & triple MC 10's.

 

Aircraft technology displayed in the above (Jim) Rathmann Xterminator came from the same Chance-Vought facility (later LingTemcoVought) in Grand Prairie, TX that spawned the skills of top fuel legend Bobby Langley and MANY other Texas craftsmen. The results are all over this forum. Thanks LTV.
There were some great kart tracks around the Golden Triangle (Dallas-Ft. Worth-Denton) and I am thinking the closest asphalt track to Chance Vought was the track in Irving just north of 183 on Esters Road. "Back in the day" there was often a fast kart "sitting" at rental tracks and if the operator thought you wouldn't crash it, you could pay a little more and step into the world of quick karts. After that, you were hooked. Gateway motorsport!!

 

Hum,,,, Where did all the go-karts go? pretty sure mine went to the junk yard when i was done with it!

fenderless

 

Sadly, I think go karts have been replaced by the internet, I-phones and cable tv.

 

This is my first enduro, picked it up from a guy in Azusa, in '63.
raced it mostly at Willow Springs and Riverside. Then I found a Rupp Chaparral
using McCulloch 70s then 101s in C-OPEN. Had to give up racing due to work
and a family .

 

Wow, that is freakin' cool!!!

 

Supercharged you might call Kart nation @ MSRHouston. The road course in Angelton has a 1200 meter road course just for Karts. They might have a vintage class.

 

I have said it again earlier in this thread, and I'll offer it again. If anybody in the Phoenix area wants to have a Go-Kart night at my place downtown and run the alley course behind my place, be it ever so humble, let me know and we'll get something going.

Otherwise, my other thought is to get a bunch of 3 or 5 horse typical Karts together for a very loose racing league. Let's find a small dirt oval somewhere (or paved) and drive similarly equipped Karts and race for fun. Some of the most fun I have had in a long time was earlier this summer when Tri-Power Guy and myself brought our 3hp Briggs powered Karts out to the Central Ave MacDonald's on our Saturday cruise night. We broke them out and found a part of the parking lot that was a perfect oval and hot lapped for about 20 mins. before the management asked us to pack them up. That little taste of how fun this could be really has haunted me a bit all summer!

 

ONLY TIL YOU GET ON ONE! Right, Louvers? Then, you begin the process of NEEDING a faster one. Gateway Motorsport!!!

I started out with a Bird Engineering kit running a Clinton A-490, then a Simplex with a West Bend 580 and a half-helmet. While in Houston, I raced a Margay with a Mac 91A at Airline. Isn't that where the track was? My last was an Emmick with two 100cc Dap reed valves. That was FUN! The last I drove was a CRG shifter with 125cc Pavisi at Banning, CA. I'm not done yet.

 

Oh absolutely! I traded a Triumph motorcycle oil tank for mine about 4 years ago at a swap, and grabbed an engine from a customers tiller he was going to throw in the alley. I bought a clutch for myself for my 44 birthday when I was totally broke, and it has been the "home entertainment center" ever since! My girlfriend works for Channel cosmetics at Nordstrom's here in town, and when her cute young crew of employees come over, about half want to race the Kart. Every neighbor has been on it, including our 96 year old gal down the street. For awhile we were doing our version of Top Gear's "Star in a reasonably priced car" and timing friends and family over our course and recording the times.... These things are a blast! Equally as fun as my mini bikes!

 

I know what you mean! I started picking up mini bikes and karts and having a blast and I am 58 years old!!!

 

Here's the reply I got on the vintage kart exhibition in Tx.
Richard, Yes, Non members are welcome to the Vintage race. Yes, you will be able to get on the track and race with the other vintage karts. No, the tech is not the same as the current karts, and really we do not tech them, but the kart must be safe, and you will need all your driving gear including a full face helmet.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: richard gary <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 8:56 PM
Subject: vintage kart exhibition
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>


Hi, wanting info on the vintage kart exhibition. Can non members bring their vintage karts, how much to enter? Are non members allowed to run their karts or is this a vintage kart show only ? If I can run my vintage kart what safety equipment do I need and is tech the same as modern karts? Any other vintage kart activities planed? Thanks ,Richard.












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North Texas Karters are planning a vintage event at their track north of Denton and south of Sanger (at west end of same property where Auto Ranch and dragstrip are located) Mike McAlister is the lead member for this effort. His love of karting and years of racing experience are perfect for bringing back the fun of vintage karts. Check out ntkarters.com and look for aerial views at Kart Race Tracks in Texas.