I.D. needed for 60's vintage kart please

[Mark Loraine]

I suppose the only way to I D this old kart is by its unusual front bumper, ignore the 4-cycle plate on the rear, it was an add on and has since been removed since this picture is quite a few years old.

Thanks for your input,

Regards,

Mark

[Bob Towarnicki]

Mark,
Looks like an early Alley Kat made in central PA, I think Lewistown. Sold by "Ahrens For Sports". The motor mount is not original (ignoring the 4 cycle plate) and the Nassau panel is missing. The pedals look original. It should have an H&H Mechanical Disc Brake. A better picture of the front axle and the rear bearing hangers would confirm the ID. I have three of them. My avatar is a newer version with aluminum floor pan.
Bob

[Bob Towarnicki]

Mark,
I am attaching a picture of a rough example I picked up and its current stste of revival. I plan to run it with a Mc45 at the Big One. It has the original Nassau Panel.
Bob

[Mark Loraine]

Thanks Bob,

I can't say I had'nt heard that Alley Kat name tossed around before! I will get some other pictures from storage unit and look for a brake I.D.

Nice restoration work there Sir.

Sincerely,

Mark L.

[Tom Smith]

Kart is a Bantam made by Bantam Industries Hudson, Ohio 1962
jpg2 shows how the pedals looked originally.

[Butch Kavanagh]

the motor mount area is characteristic(whew) of a bantam. rick chapman(who is a member of this site) raced a bantam in the mid 60's very successfully in the akron ohio area. i believe he just located a bantam this past weekend and to pickup soon. both rick and i grew up approx 1/2 hour from where mitchell produced bantams and quarter midgets. looking at old pics from old mags, many times its hard to id karts as they copied ideas from each other. rick's out with his son today losing golf balls but he'll see this thread. he'll tell you about the nassau panels....butch

[Brian Thomas]

The front bumper is ( I think ) A Hoffco after market part

[Mark Loraine]

I finally got some more pictures to post of the kart, been doing a lot of funerals lately.

Mark

[Bob Towarnicki]

Mark,
The other guys are probably right. The bearing hangers don't look like any Alley Kat I have seen. Also the spindles look different. It is amazing the similarities in the frame.
Bob

[Rick Chapman]

Mark,
You have a 1962-1963 Bantam A-Bomb.
As Butch said, although he was being very complimentary to my racing success since we grew up together, this was my 1st kart in 1964. I started with a Mc6, then his parents bought 2 Mc 9's and I mowed lawns for the entire summer to repay them for one. Anyway...
Thanks to a couple good friends, they found the one I just bought at a car flea market. There are only 3 other Bantams that I know of, today. A Joel Mullins, in Akron, Ohio, is just about finished restoring his, and he has an original floor pan logo decal, another fellow in Akron has one and Tom Thorin has one.
Mine is a B-Bomb. That means it has 2 engine mounts, like the ones on your kart, on each side of the frame. Mine has the original band cast brake, The axle has taper ends and 1/2 moon keys to lock the hubs on. The steering column has taper ends vs the spline ends as the new karts have and the wheels were stamped in Akron, Ohio. They came is steel or aluminum. The most unusual, and special thing about the Bantam, was the steering wheel. What makes it special is the fact that unlike an Azusa steering wheel with a single inner spoke welded to the steering wheel hoop, a Bantam steering had 2 spokes. One welded to the front of the steering hoop and the second was welded to the back of the hoof. Then the hoops met together where it bolted to the steeering wheel shaft hub.
Email Tom Thorin and he can send you pictures of his and I'll send pictures of mine after it is finished.
You have a GEM in the rough..
Where do you live?? Curious to where these have gone to..
Rick Chapman
Rixkart@aol.com
Wadsworth, Ohio