Clinton Shakedown and Breakdown
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2019 7:43 am
Finally got the mighty Clinton bolted up. Had a few problems with the throttle linkage hook up so a new cable fastener at the carb and a new bracket at the manifold had to be fabricated. Once the cable issues were out of the way everything went very smoothly as far as the actual mounting went. Mount offers plenty of adjustment, seems real strong, and the chain lined up and rolled very nicely.
With the motor mounted up its off Avon N.Y. for some testing. Its always good to see Scott and Sam along with the others who attended plus I love the track layout and the sun was actually shining for a change.
Had a minor issue with the initial morning start up because somehow the plastic carb top had developed a crack and I had a very small gas leak but that was easily fixed with a new carb top. Once the top was replaced she fired up on the 3rd pull of the recoil and she idled very nicely.
Once out on the track I took it real easy because I had quite a few unknowns I was testing. If you read the Clinton build stories you know that not only was the motor new but the motor mounting system, the carb diaphragms and gaskets, and the home brew clutch were all on there maiden run so anything could happen.
The carb was set slightly on the rich side and out of the pits the first thing I noticed was that the kart was actually moving forward and that told me the home brew clutch was working and it was working very well for that matter. The engagement speed of the clutch seemed to be nicely matched to the Clintons power band and the clutch seemed very smooth and consistent. There were zero chain issues either and that told me the engine mounting system was sound also.
Now satisfied that the clutch was in working order and the motor wasn't going to fall off it was time to play with the carb and lean her down, then richen her back up then, do the same routine a few times to check if I had a good consistent set-up and that's exactly what I had. From the test I made I would say the $2.00 carb kits worked.
The maiden voyage was over and all went well so back at my pits it was time for a visual inspection and a go through of all of the fasteners to see if anything loosened up. All is good so back out for test session two.
For session two, the motor fired up nicely, kart pulled out of the pits as it should so I figured I might as well get a little aggressive and see what this Clinton has got. After a lap to get some heat in her it was time to lean her down a bit and to my surprise she has very good performance for what it is. Motor pulled nicely out of the turns and has some good straightaway speed even on the long Avon straight. Bottom line is I'm happy with the whole package....very happy.
If everything is good the only way it can turn is to bad....As I'm running along and starting to get visions of waving at Chris Marchand as I drive around him I heard a funny tinging noise. At first I thought it was a stone or something laying on the floorpan until I heard it again and I realized something might be seriously wrong and I better get this thing shut down.
Once off the track I noticed that the paint was chipped on the fan shroud and there were some dents in it also. I quick peek through the inner side cover inspection hole revealed some chipping on the flywheel so I was done until further inspections could be made. Upon removal of the fan shroud it revealed that a flywheel fin had broken off.
Overall, This was a very enjoyable build and I'm very happy with the results of all of the components. A new flywheel and some paint and I'll be ready for TBO.
Here are the links to the build steps.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4829
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4833
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4838
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4842
Special Thanks again to Terry Sullivan and John McCorvey for all of their help in this project.
R.E.A.R.
With the motor mounted up its off Avon N.Y. for some testing. Its always good to see Scott and Sam along with the others who attended plus I love the track layout and the sun was actually shining for a change.
Had a minor issue with the initial morning start up because somehow the plastic carb top had developed a crack and I had a very small gas leak but that was easily fixed with a new carb top. Once the top was replaced she fired up on the 3rd pull of the recoil and she idled very nicely.
Once out on the track I took it real easy because I had quite a few unknowns I was testing. If you read the Clinton build stories you know that not only was the motor new but the motor mounting system, the carb diaphragms and gaskets, and the home brew clutch were all on there maiden run so anything could happen.
The carb was set slightly on the rich side and out of the pits the first thing I noticed was that the kart was actually moving forward and that told me the home brew clutch was working and it was working very well for that matter. The engagement speed of the clutch seemed to be nicely matched to the Clintons power band and the clutch seemed very smooth and consistent. There were zero chain issues either and that told me the engine mounting system was sound also.
Now satisfied that the clutch was in working order and the motor wasn't going to fall off it was time to play with the carb and lean her down, then richen her back up then, do the same routine a few times to check if I had a good consistent set-up and that's exactly what I had. From the test I made I would say the $2.00 carb kits worked.
The maiden voyage was over and all went well so back at my pits it was time for a visual inspection and a go through of all of the fasteners to see if anything loosened up. All is good so back out for test session two.
For session two, the motor fired up nicely, kart pulled out of the pits as it should so I figured I might as well get a little aggressive and see what this Clinton has got. After a lap to get some heat in her it was time to lean her down a bit and to my surprise she has very good performance for what it is. Motor pulled nicely out of the turns and has some good straightaway speed even on the long Avon straight. Bottom line is I'm happy with the whole package....very happy.
If everything is good the only way it can turn is to bad....As I'm running along and starting to get visions of waving at Chris Marchand as I drive around him I heard a funny tinging noise. At first I thought it was a stone or something laying on the floorpan until I heard it again and I realized something might be seriously wrong and I better get this thing shut down.
Once off the track I noticed that the paint was chipped on the fan shroud and there were some dents in it also. I quick peek through the inner side cover inspection hole revealed some chipping on the flywheel so I was done until further inspections could be made. Upon removal of the fan shroud it revealed that a flywheel fin had broken off.
Overall, This was a very enjoyable build and I'm very happy with the results of all of the components. A new flywheel and some paint and I'll be ready for TBO.
Here are the links to the build steps.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4829
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4833
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4838
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4842
Special Thanks again to Terry Sullivan and John McCorvey for all of their help in this project.
R.E.A.R.