go kart 800 questions.

[david a luciani]

hi all,
the weather in ct is finally warm again so i was able to resume the de-four stroking my go kart 800.
i had alot of cut grinding to do and i didn't want to torch the house in the middle.
anyway i posted progress pix on photobucket.com under drottoconndave if anyone wants to look.

now i have a couple of questions
theres a motor mount on the kart that i thought might be original. now i'm not so sure.
it's definitely for a two stroke but it looks added and i've never seen one on a gk800.
of course i'm no expert so if someone could help i would be grateful.

2nd after i got the massive hunk-o-iron off the frame i found old weld marks roughly ground away.
these seem to be in the correct place in my mind for the original motor mounts. comments?

thanx for any help in advance dave

DSCN0152.JPG

gk 800 free of four stroke mess yah

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[Dan Flanders]

Hi David-
This should help clarify a few things. Much easier when you've got a base line to start from
In your second picture, you can see the remnant of the old welds for the dual flat mounts.

<Click to enlarge>

[Rob Voska]

I'd leave it on. It's a base mount for a mac. Original, simple, different, paid for. Clean it up some to make it look nicer and you'll have something diffrent that everyone else.

[david a luciani]

guys,
thanx for the help.
the pix are a great help.
the mounts that were used aren't hard to copy,but Rob has a good point.
i think that i'm leaning towards having my welder clean up the main weld .
i'll make up a new brace that's flat instead of mangled for a cleaner look.
i did forget to mention that one rear rim has a chip and both are missing the inner rims.
does anybody got any spare bits they'd part with?

thanx dave
btw i need to build me a time machine so i can get those great prices on the parts sheet.

[Dan Flanders]

Hi David-
I agree with Rob, clean it up and leave it. It is period and certainly beefy enough.

Don't be fooled by the prices, back in '61 the dollar had the equivalent purchasing power as $7.14 in 2008 dollars. Multiply everything by 7.14 and you get a better idea on prices.

Dan

[david a luciani]

well now,
by that math number 7.14 x 170.75 = $ 1217.15 for a complete new kart!
yer right that's about what a perfect , flawless Go Kart 800 would go for today!!!
Now where is my mad scientist hat anyway?
i've gotta build my time machine already, times a-wasting.

just kidding
thanx for all the help dave

[Jeff Troy]

Hi, Dave,

If any of this helps you, your kart is probably a 1961. The original 1960 had no front bumper and used a mechanical disk brake with the disk mounted inboard of the left engine mounting pad. 1960 and 61 both had welded-on mounting pads, and (I believe) the floating mount began with the Go Kart 1200 version. I'm also pretty sure that the '61 used a drum brake on the outer left axle.

The wheels are Asuza Feather-Tork. Very nice. I think these were an available option for the 1960, and might have been standard fare on the '61.

I have plenty of photos of the original mounts on my 1960 if you need them. Just send a private e-mail to jefftroy@aol.com.

Good luck with the kart, and warmest regards,

[jmendoza]

I'm gonna take flak for this, but Dave, cut that abortion of a mount off of there! It allows no left to right engine adjustment, it's cracked, it puts all the stress on one spot of the frame, and it looks like hell. I'm willing to bet it would break just past the welds if you ever put any real power, like a MC-101 or WB 820 on there. It is also apparent that the single point of attachment on the tube would allow the engine to roll left to right as the chain tension varied and/or the axle flexed, it's not a very rigid or structurally sound set-up.

The two original engine pads add some gusseting strength to the frame and since the GK 800 has a pretty narrow rail to rail frame width in the rear, a little exra stiffness will not hurt anything. As it sits now, it's lacking the original rigidity the mounts added. Besides all that, it would be original, which adds not only to it's appeal, but value. Add to that you would have the option of running a left, or right hand engine, or twins..

Fix it right, or wind up fixing it again, the choice is yours. OK , now all the hecklers can chime in and give me hell!

[david a luciani]

to everyone
the offbeat motor mount is what saved this kart.
my cousin had gone to look at a fun kart in the paper and rejected it.
his description of the motor mount led me to the kart.
the fellow that sold it assured me that the kart was no more than ten years old.(his sales pitch!!!!)
i just smiled and paid him what he wanted.

i think it reflects a vintage attitude about doing what you think will work.
so for now i'll just leave it on.
i doubt i'll be running a 101 on this frame as i have a mac ten that eventually will live on it.
hopefully it won't bust the frame.
the kart is gonna get rattle canned a set of margay star rims and run this year as i like it and it's the closest to finished.

the original rear rims will need new backs but i think i can fab them up as the fronts are stamped steel inners and i assume the rears should be too.
eventually i'll finish the prep work and powder coat it.
by then i should know whether the motor mount is viable.
since this one will be sold when i'm gone i'm not too worried about the value anyway.
anyway thanx for all the input.
dave