Margay Gearbox vs. Chain and Sprocket

[Danny Morris]

I'm restoring my Lancer GT and have a Margay single Gearbox. Should I use it or go with a sprocket setup? I've been told a big drawback of the gearbox is weight. Would I be a little faster with a sprocket? How about dependability? Looking forward to more opinions.

Thanks!

[ted johnson]

Danny: Yeah, they're heavy, and the gear friction is a bit greater than a space chain. On the other hand, you'll never throw a chain. Lots and lots of races have been won both with and without gearboxes. When they first came out, chains were horrible, and had an efficiency lifetime of about 15 minutes. Today, if they're lubed and properly tensioned and aligned, they'll last a LONG time. Your choice. The low profile and cleanliness are gearbox plusses. TJ

[George Sellon]

Danny, I think it's a personal choice, yes the gearbox is heavy and a chain is "faster" but for what we are doing with vintage and especially this site is not about going fast. It's about running the karts like back in the day as much as possible and a Margay gearbox was popular for a while in the early to mid 60's. The kart pictured in my avatar is a Blackhawk Mark VII that was built with the gearbox being the right side axle bearing. I've run it as built with the wet clutch and couldn't tell the difference from a similar kart with a chain. I just switched it over to a dry clutch for the simplicity and will run it at Brodhead this weekend. There is still a lot of clutch stuff floating around and some gear sets but the popular ratios are harder to find. The up side is gear changes are super easy and if you rebuild with new o-rings and seals they are clean and dependable. The weight is really not an issue in my opinion but either way you can't go wrong, enjoy.

[david a luciani]

hi Danny,
didn't really get into gear boxes on my last post.

heres my thoughts.
they are heavier but that means little when you're not racing.
back before karts had weights added for "fairness" shaving onces meant a better chance to win.
everything was lightened up to the point of being worn out after one race but if you want to win......

anyway today gearboxes have several pluses.
one they are clean, both in looks and in operation.

if you've ever had the pleasure of cleaning chain oil off your brand new gas tank or paint after a five minute run you'd know what i mean.
for me with my as found ratty karts the oil doesn't mean much.
to a guy with 100-150 or more hours in his restoration kart it's ANNOYING.

they were a great design so if your pockets are deep enough to buy all the gears changing ratios at the track is a breeze.
if you're fast it takes less than five minutes.
also theres a uber cool brake set up you can hang right off the gearbox that goes a long way in the hot rod look.

downside: without a doubt you need to take it apart and redo all the bearings.
the bearings are easy to source spare gear parts aren't so it will need to be done to protect the gearbox.
the vka site guys did an article on that in their book.
go over and ask and someone will help you out or maybe here.

if your mechanical skills aren't great i'd start easy with a chain , dry clutch and a mc91.
easy set up and not alot of mechanical skill needed.
also alot cheaper initially.
as you hang out at races pay attention and make friends.
later when you know your kart better you can always swap out the chain for a gear box.
when you do you can call your buddies you have if you get stuck.
or ask on the forum either way i'd wait unless you have good mechanical skills already.

dave

[Danny Morris]

Great comments and good advice. My mechanical skills are pretty good so I think I could go either way. I'll take it all in and figure out what to do. I've cleaned a lot of chain oil, but add dirt. We had a great dirt track in the early to mid 70's before it was taken by a housing development. One of my best childhood memories! Learning to powerslide was fun. I'm leaning toward the gearbox for the cleanliness and dependability. I'm more interested in a nice kart and some fun laps. Who is the guy with the Chaparral with the twin 101's on YouTube? He looks pretty serious about still winning. Nice kart too. I look forward to seeing your karts and making some new friends at TBO.

Thanks,

Danny