McCulloch kart handling?

[philrock]

A friend has offered to sell me a McCulloch kart frame (possibly an R-1), for a great price. The axle/engine assembly mounts to the frame rails with rubber lined steel clamps. What is the reputation of this kart in terms of handling?

Phil Rockwell

[kevin brown]

Don Knots. Aka Barney Fife gives it a thumbs up. Search Don Knots on this site for a fun video
Kevin

[Scott Kneisel]

May 1961 issue of Karting World tested the new R1 kart and were very favorable regarding its quality as well as it's handling. I recently got this issue and quite frankly was surprised at the positive write up considering the bad rep this kart has for poor handling and bad under steer. Perhaps the competition in 1961 were not all that great wheras the later karts with flexible frames handle better than the stiff karts of the 50's and early 60's.

On the other side of the coin, the R1 that I restored and ran for 3 seasons on various tracks was a nice handling kart in my opinion. It was an enjoyable kart to drive both with a single or dual engine. Then again I don't drive them as hard as I did as a kid but for me at this point in my life it was definitely fun to drive.

Thats my 2 cents from my experience.

Good luck,
Scott

[Dick Teal]

I bought one new back then and put dual Mc 20 engines on it. I sold it within three weeks because it handled sooo bad. In 1961 I also had the Fox swing mount 1962 model and it was and still is fantastic but everyone knows that I'm partial to Fox karts.

I know a lot more today than back then and it could probably be made to handle with the right tires and tread width.

Dick Teal