Caretta Kart ID

[Tom Smith]

Sounds like you have a 2723 surplus motor. Those were used on the earliest Carettas that had the jackshaft and Hoffco chain saw cast aluminum headers. Most likely your kart is a 1959 and would have had either a Clinton or West Bend kart motor like a 580, probably direct drive. The Palmini tank may be the original tank. It's the early type with the cast base. Bumper may have been added or maybe original. I've seen them with and without bumpers. The neatest early Caretta I've seen pictures of had radius rods on the front axle. Yours looks like another $300.00 trashed swap meet deluxe, same as mine which had a Briggs mounted on the left side so the brake was a small obstacle that had to be discarded! The puke I got mine from informed me that it was an Ingels-Borelli Los Angeles and use to have a McCulloch.

[Russ Smith]

Page 3 of Dick Day's "Complete Book of Karting" shows an example of an early Caretta with jackshaft drive. Also note cool Mac chainsaw engine (S55A?)

[Scott Grundfor]

thanks again. Any idea on the seat side rails. original or added? BTW I have a complete very nice original Super 55A chainsaw. That would look REALLY great on the back of the kart with the Jackshaft drive. What would the brake set up have been? Probably some sort of drum. The one on the Caretta with the 55A Chainsaw has a brake setup like an early dead axle twin Rupp of mine. Sort or a scrub on the face of the chain sprockets. Scott

[Tom Smith]

Picture of a very similar looking Caretta in the Trend book Lets Go Karting 1959. Some of the pitch goes thusly, The Ingels-Borelli firm located at 1854 Echo Park Ave. Los Angeles 26 Calif. specializes in building one of a kind karts to discriminating buyers, but the company bases all their special orders on a standard Caretta frame. The production model shown here with sissy rails shown as the only added accessory, offers perhaps the most legroom of any production kart, and is built of light yet strong, mild steel tubing, rather than the widely used chrome moly which sometimes becomes brittle near a weld.
More features etc. etc. and then at the bottom; As on most makes of karts, the standard engine offered is the Clinton A-400.

[Russ Smith]

Very Early Caretta used the "stomp and pray" press on the wheel sprocket spot brake. I have a set of plans that were sold by Ingals-Borelli "way back when" for the do it yourselfers. It shows the brake set-up, jackshaft etc. And, NO louvered side panels.

[Dominic Salvato]

This is a early Caretta, one of the first with sissy rails or they might have been added later. The frame rails ran straight to the dead rear axle. When I saw this kart for sale I thought the seat back had been altered but its stock.

[Scott Grundfor]

Hi Guys, attached are some photos of the Caretta. It just arrived via grayhound. I am going to restore it to the dead axle configuration. It looks like the front bumper and side rails were added later. Also looks like the original color was a red/purple metallic. The floor pan is welded to the frame and is galvanized not aluminum? It may have been stripped to bare metal when the live axle and rails were added and repainted. Also I am sending photos of another Caretta I have. It still has the enclosed axle but appears to be modified to run the sprocket in the center. It is very well done. Any guess on the year of this one? Did all Carettas have the brass "Ingels Borelli" ID plate? Also, I have added a photo of my unrestored Go Kart 400b and restored Simplex Challerger.

[Scott Grundfor]

Oops, I don't quite have this attachment thing figured out. Will ask my son and try again.