Desire to go back in time

[Sterling Brundick]

Hello gentlemen:

My name is Sterling Brundick and I live in Charlotte, N. C. and have since 1984 or 5. I am 53 years old. I was born and raised in Jacksonville, Fla. and the balance of my immediate family still resides there. I have been bitten by the karting "bug" and have a deep desire to get back into karting. My dad and several of his close friends raced karts from about 1960 to '65 (I have a few old pic's I'll post when I find them) and the name of their team was the "IVANHOE RACING TEAM" (Ivanhoe was the name of the street everyone lived on). I raced a kart briefly around 1975 or '6 before my mother put an end to it after I took out her split rail fence and rose garden. I'm pretty sure my kart was a "fox", powered by a Mac 91.

Anyway, thanks to the History Channel and that guy that restores old things, I have a desire to get back into it. I didn't know that McCullogh actually made the kart frames. I thought they just did engines. So I discovered R.E.A.R when I googled McCullogh. I have spent hours looking at all the pictures from your Big One events. I have a very old McCullogh chain saw with a 36" bar in my garage attic. And, it still works - sort of. It is not frozen up. That much I do know. It would need a carb. kit if you were to use it for cutting purposes. It is a McCullogh CP 125, Model # 600075, Serial # 10 - 11820. What does that tell you? Could it be converted into a kart engine and if so, what would it be? I also have a box with a bunch of old misc. parts from my dad's racing days, like sprokets and maybe a clutch or 2. I'll dig that out when my back will allow.

Since $$$$$$$$$$ is so tight, what I would like to do is find a kart to restore. I'm not up to speed on all the different manufacturers but there are 2 styles I like. One belongs to a Mr. Troy, is red with white seat and powered by twin Homelite 100's. The other - I have no idea but it too is red with black seat and is made with square tubeular steel. Looks like a big rectangle. It is image number 98/159 taken on 09/03/05 at one of your meets. It may also be image # IM003673. It looks like it would be fairly easy to replicate (build new).

Well, I could go on and on. I wish you all had an event here in Charlotte or somewhere close by. Ohio is a long way from me. I would appreciate any help you fellows could provide.

Thanks, Sterling

[ted johnson]

Sterling: Welcome to vintage karting. It's a good sport, and will bring you many new friends. As a guy who, along with friends, is on his third scratch-built kart, unless you have skills as a fabricator, buy, don't build. You need jigging for welding, cutting and machining skills as well as tube bending capabilities. You also need scale drawings of the kart you want to replicate. Find yourself a good, solid, unbent Dart Kart or Fox or the like and restore it. You can generally find used parts for the more popular karts. As nice a resto as Jeff Troy's Homelite karts are, these are VERY hard to find parts for. A Dart or Fox or Bug will handle well enough that you won't get discouraged when you're on track with other karts. If you find you really like the sport, THEN go for that exotic or unusual machine. Good Luck! Ted

[Sterling Brundick]

Thank you Mr. Johnson for your info. Did Homelite make karts too? Also, can you tell me about the square tubeular framed kart as to who manufactured it or is that one of the exotics you refered to?

[Chris Marchand]

Welcome Sterling , I am not sure spcifically which square tube kart you are referencingn , but the most well know were made by S.A.E out of Findlay Ohio and Cates out of Texas.

There are a number of Vintage Events around the country . If you go to the Vintage Karting Association web site , click on the Calendar tab , it will tell you where they all are. Enjoy !

[Tom Smith]

Is this the type of square tube kart you were referring to? This particular one is a replica S A E kart Roger Mulkey and I made a few years ago.


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[Sterling Brundick]

Tom:

Yes sir. That's it. Are there any old frames out there looking to be restored or is that why you and the other gentleman built your own? Mind if I ask what it cost you to make just the frame?

[Tom Smith]

It was an old trashed (bent) kart that needed to be restored and then some is exactly why we made this one. Sorry I didn't pay much attention to what it cost to build just the frame because it is only the tip of the iceberg as the saying goes. It cost $300.00 to get it painted with House of Color paint was one expense. A decent paint job can then become a problem of trying to preserve it. The picture is recently after it was re-painted the 2nd time since it was built. Upholstery can cost a fair amount also. A junky old frame isn't the best option to start with. A complete original never wrecked or bent kart is what I'd suggest you keep on the lookout for. Every once in a while one pops up.

[ted johnson]

Sterling: Not so formal! We're all regular guys here. You'll find that out soon enough. The Spitfire karts were marketed by Homelite in the early dead axle and later live axle versions. You admired Jeff Troy's dual. Remember that engines like his KL100's are extremely rare. It's better to begin with a McCulloch or West Bend engine, as there are parts to be bought for them. I'm not sure who actually built the McCulloch karts for the factory. The very first McCulloch kart was the Stinger, built by Bug Engineering back in late '59 and '60. Listen to Tom and try to find a solid original kart to restore. The three karts I've built along with Ron Cubel and Charlie Craibe were scratch built because they are VERY rare frames and just not to be bought. We three are experienced fabricators, and I'm a 25+ year CAD designer. Otherwise, we'd never have done them. The kart Ron and I are currently building was "reverse engineered" from 4 small photos in a 1963 magazine. You don't need to go thru these contortions, as there are tons of vintage karts out there ready for you to restore! TJ