KartBuilder29's Journal

Ok so i got super busy and did not have time to make any entries. I had to wait on more of my wheels to get delivered, i only sanded the body and did a few things here and there. 2 of my other wheels came in yesterday, just need one more. I have to bend the front axle and make my front shackles 2" longer.

Here is a video on what i am doing for the front spindles.

Today I worked on boxing in the frame. A friend of mine came over and gave me some pointers on welding, after that things went smooth. The frame is completely welded, only things left to do is put in the brake mounting peg, brackets for the pedals and hinges for the leaf springs. The steering column will have to be lengthened by cutting it in half then welding a pipe in-between the two pieces.

one of my wheels came in the mail today, the fedex guy actually walked to the back to deliver it to me. Said he wanted to see what I was making, and was very impressed with the way thing looked.


In the picture you can see the pillow blocks used for the rear axle. I really like the way the went on. I didn't have to cut a hole in the frame to fit the axle through which should increase the strength of the frame.


Unfortunately the sprocket I bought does not line up with the bolt holes on the sprocket hub. The holes in the hub are farther apart than the ones on the sprocket.




so I ended up drilling new holes for the bolts and then i got to finish installing the axle. Then the free wheel hub when on. since the bearings that came it are 3/4 i had to buy a pack of 1" tapered bearings. I only needed one since a 3/4 is needed on the end of the hub to hold it in place. but here is my (almost) rolling frame.

my garage is a mess, I never got to got it organized when we moved in. But with this project under way it is getting there little by little.

Well I hit a snag in my build. The parts that I purchased don't fit the axles! Completely my fault for not paying attention at the store. I was so excited to find a northern tools that still had some go-kart parts, I purchased everything needed at 70% off. Saved several hundred dollars, I think the total was just shy of $200. The only thing i could not get was a CVT or clutch. If they had one i would have bought the clutch and then saved up for the CVT.

As it turns out the 3/4" hubs and mountable bearings don't actually fit the 3/4" axle, only a small fraction at the end is 3/4 (about 2- 3"the rest is 1". But not all was so bad, I decided to use the the hubs that come with bearings on the front spindles. This means i will have to drill holes in the front wheels just like the back wheels.

While some people cannot stand to see the bolts in the wheels, I think I have a solution to solve the atheistic issue. By using cap-nuts and cutting the bolts down i little they will look just like standard lug-nuts.

Also since the mountable bearings I have cannot be used I had to think of a different approach. The solution comes in the form of Pillow blocks. they are used in hydraulic systems and in go-karts. These actually sound like a better thing to use over the mountable ones. The have a nipple on the them to grease them up adding to there life, are sealed to prevent dirt from getting, and have a more robust feel to them.

Today i made the cuts for the spring hinges. the one in the photo are only made to practice welding. Man are they ugly!!!

I din't really get to do a lot of fabricating today, it was more a scratch my chin and try to figure this out kind of day. I purchased the steel today 1"x3"x24' for around $40. After i came home from work I loaded up the body in the back of the truck and went of to smcameron's house to see if we could figure out problem he presented with my design.

When I designed the kart I though he had used 44" axle length but he used the 36". The body on my kart is 21" wide, so if I used the standard 36 width the tires will rub the body when turned all the way. So I will not be changeing the width of the axles to 36", a wider axel should also help prevent the kart from flipping. (assuming they can get going fast enough to even worry about that.)

I went to a local Go-kart shop to start buying parts, only to find out that nearly all go-karts use a 1/2" diameter axle not 3/4. In fact the owner tried his best to warn me from using 3/4" as the bearing can not handle the stress. ??? whatever dude, you dont have the parts I want/need so! I did get e great deal on some used tie rods with the ends for $2ea and a small diameter steering wheel (used) for $15.

The only build work i did was cutting the steel for the frame and then spending 2+ hours with the grinder to narrow the eye holes for the springs for the front end. Then cutting a channel in one frame piece to bolt the springs on. (sorry for the terrible photos)

I know that this is unrelated to cyclekarts, but I am to excited not to share.

Here are some photos of my 1930 Buick Club Roadster, that is about to come to it's new permanent home... MY GARAGE!! With the CycleKart and this thing side by side will be an awesome sight.

It has been in storage for the last 30 years but was taken out and driven around the block once a week. the paint is in great condition since the paint is over 40 years old, the car is SUPER dusty just needs a bath. Also has all original parts.

The cool factor of this exact car is it belonged to my wife's Great Grandfather. That fact that we found it was amazing!