Jerry Solt and the SAE kart

[quentin haines]

The SAE kart generates a lot of interest on all three of the vintage kart forums--maybe more interest now than it generated in its prime. But even more intriguing than the SAE kart is the man who invented it--Jerry Solt of Findlay, OH. At least that's what I've always thought. Jerry has attended R.E.A.R. events in the past, and he is well worth introducing yourself to if he attends next weekend's Fremont gathering.

I got to know Jerry in the 90's when I purchased a left-turn-only SAE upon which he helped me mount a Yamaha KT100 during a fun Friday evening in his shop. After that, one thing led to another, and before long he and his wife Marylyn sat down with me to do an article. What a delight it was to sit at their kitchen table and pour through their scrapbooks and get the SAE story firsthand.

Below is a link to the Jerry Solt article that resulted from our meeting and which was published in National Kart News back in 1998. I couldn't find a copy of the magazine in which it appeared, so what you will be reading is a copy of the final draft which I sent to Curt Paluzzi at National Kart News. There are some pictures at the end.

To get to the article, first click on this: http://kartingtonraceway.com/

Then, click on "Something Cool" in the upper left-hand corner of the page.

Then click on "Jerry Solt SAE" and the article should download in about 10 seconds.

Thanks for your time!

[Rob Voska]

It was Jerry's dad that built the first karts.

[Gary Wlodarsky]

Rob,,,

FYI,,,I bought my first SAE in the spring of 1960 and watched Jerry build it at Taylor street in Findlay.....with his dad giving technical advise.....Jerry did the welding and assembly...I was kinda tall even for for a Jr,,,and he measured me to fit the kart or vise-versa...wanted to make sure it fit...


gary