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mcculloch r-1 karts were they all yellow was there any other options ..

Hi Steve,
Here is my take on colors:

Yes the R1 was offered in yellow only, same with the F1. Both had all black seats.

In 1962 when the R200 and R300 came out, the color was changed.

The R300 was Bahama Blue and the R200 was a Maroon color.

I have talked to some folks that say they remember a 1962 McCulloch ad that showed the R300 in the Maroon color but I have never seen one. It could be that Mac offered a couple different colors in 1962, the seats had a colored panel matching the frame color but they were interchangeable between the 2 karts so it would have been easy to switch colors.

I have a friend that has an original R300 and under the blue was the McCulloch Yellow so they must have used up the R1 frames by just welding on the steering stops and re-painting them. I don't think McCulloch wasted anything and used up any old stock. I have seen engines that are not typical. I have an Mc7 block that has a completely smooth intake area rather than the milled down ribs like is typical. The block is stamped Mc7 so my guess is that they had some Mc8 blocks that came in early and they used them for the last run of Mc7's. Ron Cubel told me that he has see Mc6 blocks with 4 mounting bosses on the PTO side and they are original blocks. It is sorta like you can't always tell what is what because the configurations did change. Pretty wild. McCUlloch was not a Japanese company that is for sure, each engine was a little different.

hey scott thanks..the reason i ask is in some litature i have. i seen a maroon 300 with looks to me like a silver and maroon seat..?? its hard to see exactly the colors.. kinda crappy like black and white picturs .. i have a matched pair of mc 10s that came from mcculloch kart dealer ..nos .he swears they been sittin there since the day he took them out of box ..both have chrome mc 45 style head sheilds .?? you think its possible ..they came like that .. P.S. how do i tell what yrs mcculloch karts are ..the rear end is removable on all 4 of the ones i have ..

does anyone have any pics of r-300 in bahama blue.I have a r-200 trying to deside what color to paint it maroon or blue kart is ready for paint.Cant deside maybe corvett 03 burgundy,

Steve,
The R1 and R300 had double tube frames and removable rear sections.
The F1 and R200 had single tube frames and non removable rear sections. The F1 had welded engine mount and the R200 had a swing mount and also a removable front pan section. The R200 was probably the best handling and most flexible McCulloch kart.

John, here is a 1962 ad for an R300 in Bahama Blue.

john . let me know what you decide on for color .probably dosnt matter .but if you go blue ..ill go maroon.. or vise versa..i deffinatly am having something other than yellow ..if i liked mcculloch stuff better id have one of each color .but im only doing one kart and selling the other 3 .. P.S. i have a blue mac kart i didnt think it was orig.color but it might be i can send you pics.

John, I've got some ads from early Karting World mags with the Red and Blue(200/300)colors but I cannot send them at this time. May or June for sure. Tom

I'm not trying to cause confussion, but my R-200 frame was blasted and the last bits of paint left are yellow. The wheels are also yellow. Of course it's hard to tell what may have been done over during it's nearly 50 year life.

mike im no expert but im pretty sure r-200 came yellow for the most part .i now vic has very nice maroon one .but pretty rare i think ..

All the photos I have seen of original unrestored R200's show them in the maroon type color. The manual makes no mention of yellow being used. The R100 was also the maroon color. The first year it was produced it was called the F1, (welded mount) then the model was changed to R100. The R200 model with swingmount showed up in the second model year as did the R300.