New Member with 64 Grand Prix

[shaun myers]

New member here, just wanted to introduce myself and see if I could ask a question. First off I have been into restoring old cars and motorcyles and decided that restoring an old kart would be cool. Especially since I heard about th vintage racing here in eastern iowa. I began to ask around to find and kart and a friend of my fathers told me that he had an old dart tied up to the rafters of his old garage. I went and picked it up and spent the next few days on this site trying to identify exactly what I had. For what I found it is a 1964 Dart Grand Prix and the motor that I have is a Mac MC45. I believe that the kart is an early 64 because it has 4" wheels on the front I could be wrong but that is my best guess. I have attached a few photos. I have been working on getting the kart cleaned up and I have dropped the motor off to a friend of my fathers to get rebuilt. The main question that i have is that I would like to get some vew tires and I found the rules listed for tires and I think that I am going to buy the Chen Shin tires but I am unsure which size to buy for the rear. It now has a grooved firestone tire that I believe is a 4.5-5. Is that correct for the Kart or should I buy 4.10/3.50-5 for the rear and 4.10/3.50-4 for the front. Any help would be appreciated, including any more info on the kart.

-Shaun

[REAR]

Shaun,

Welcome aboard.

Considering your karts model and year and if your running a single engine a 410/350-5 tire is what would give you a 'period' correct appearance and good performance safely.

410/350's are rated at 3 1/2 inches wide tread width and grip well and look period correct.

Go with a 4 ply sidewall, 2 ply tend to roll over too much in the turns. Make sure that the tire also has a 'squared' off edge where the contact patch area meets the side wall of the tire. A modern style rounded or radiused edge will also offer way too much sidebite.

Don't overtire [wide] the kart. Too wide is slower in a straight line and too much side bite causes tip [flip].

Cheng Shin tires are the best bang for your buck and they are available from http://www.apskarting.com

Hope this helps and enjoy the slide...R.E.A.R.

[shaun myers]

Thanks alot for the help. I am ordering the tires and tubes today. I am sure that I will have more questions..

-Shaun

[Scott Elkes]

You did well on your research and correct with your assessment! The early part of the 1964 Grand Prix run started with the 4" front wheels and transitioned to 5" front during the model year. Survivor unrestored karts are really becoming very popular. The kart looks complete (uni-mount in box) and ALL correct. Also, the upholstery is original and appears to be in good shape. As one person stated, "they're only original once." It is something to consider if it cleans up nice. Great story about the Tecno Kart and includes discussion on the types of restoration classes for karts. http://vintagekarts.com/forum/view_topi ... orum_id=36

This is a home movie taken in the 1964 End of Season Championship. The class is "A" Jr. Modified (or Super). Your Mac 45 would fall in the "A" Modified or Super class. I raced a 1963 Dart Grand Prix (P1); the P2 racer was driving a 1964 Dart Grand Prix (5" front wheels). P3 I think was a 62 or 63 Dart A-Bone. P4 Was a 61 Dart A-Bone. The movie is grainy http://youtu.be/_u8kfNmPLcI

Scott Elkes
NW Ohio