Old go karts.

[bonesfab]

Any one know much about old go karts? Got a call and went and picked this piece up. Pretty cool piece. An old Margay twin engine. Trying to ID it and the engines.

 

[4Waters]

They look like McCulloch MAC-91 or 101 engines

 

[sirbob]

I recently stumbled across this video.

Now I want to build one!!

Cyclekarts

cyclekarts

egarage.com

 

[endobear]

I bet that thing hauls butt.

 

[timstoy]

Any one know much about old go karts? Got a call and went and picked this piece up. Pretty cool piece. An old Margay twin engine. Trying to ID it and the engines. View attachment 1214962 View attachment 1214963

I had a go kart that was older than yours, live rear axle with a single disc brake and no front brakes. My Dad bought it as a rolling kart with no motor. Downens in Hawaiian Gardens was the local go kart and mini bike dealer and they sold Taco mini bikes and Stiens go karts. After getting tired of me completing of every body pushing the go kart my dad bought a used Mac 45 from Downens and was the start of me being a lifelong motor head! The go kart was really fast for a 11 year old and my Dad got real good at rebuilding the centrifugal clutch. Great times spending time with dad working and driving the go kart.

 

[fat rat]

if my dad was still alive he could tell you all essential mods. He raced a Go-Kart 1200 with single Mac 101 back in the early 60’s. He later became a dealer and repair shop For Go-Kart. I still have his kart today, bought B&S Raptor, I just need to pull it out and get it running.

 

[rrrr]

That looks a lot like the Margay I had in high school. I put twin McCullough MC-101s on it, which made it ridiculously overpowered.

Just like hot rods should be.

 

[JUSTWANNARACE]

Any one know much about old go karts? Got a call and went and picked this piece up. Pretty cool piece. An old Margay twin engine. Trying to ID it and the engines. View attachment 1214962 View attachment 1214963

I have no clue. But like @4Waters said they look like Mac engines as GEM was a big supplier of exhaust and upgrades for the Mac.

@bigdawgmini might have some knowledge. I know he has a couple vintage karts

 

[FreeBird236]

The engines are the right color.

 

[4Waters]

The 91's are about 9hp @ 9000rpm and the 101's are 12.5hp @ 9000rpm

 

[Shlbyntro]

looks like a 5 engine kart to me

 

[Rajobigguy]

looks like a 5 engine kart to me

4 Macs and a West Bend.

 

[bonesfab]

This one was part of the package just not nearly as cool

 

[coolchange]

Um ya. Does it have the seat that lays back for enduro and also tilts up for sprint? I’ll give ya 2k for it
Are those Kendick pumpers?

 

[bonesfab]

And then my mom shows up with this one I found on Facebook 6 months ago up where she lives and my sister and her brought it down today.

 

[Blue Oval]

Local kid I know driving his go cart past my house. You can see the 38 PQ in my side yard.

 

[fat rat]

Local kid I know driving his go cart past my house. You can see the 38 PQ in my side yard.

Needs to figure the shifting,…….not liking to take my hands off the wheel. That thing is insane, but a handful!

 

[dread Pirate]

These things are rare!!

View attachment 1215025 View attachment 1215026 And then my mom shows up with this one I found on Facebook 6 months ago up where she lives and my sister and her brought it down today.

 

[~JM~]

Any one know much about old go karts? Got a call and went and picked this piece up. Pretty cool piece. An old Margay twin engine. Trying to ID it and the engines.

That is a valuable score!

These guys could ID what you have: http://rearenginekarts.com

 

[Wheeler]

That's Baddass! You need to go dirt track it!

Too bad Trojan Speedway is no longer.

 

[bonesfab]

That's Baddass! You need to go dirt track it!

Too bad Trojan Speedway is no longer.

View attachment 1215069

My buddy had a dirt oval in his front yard 25 years ago. Most fun you could have on a Sunday afternoon. 10-12 carts, food and drink.

 

[bonesfab]

looks like a 5 engine kart to me

I grabbed what was there.

 

[4Waters]

View attachment 1215025 View attachment 1215026 And then my mom shows up with this one I found on Facebook 6 months ago up where she lives and my sister and her brought it down today.

Pics don't do this thing justice, it's badass in person. He also got some cool Snap-on kitchen appliances

 

[bonesfab]

Pics don't do this thing justice, it's badass in person. He also got some cool Snap-on kitchen appliances

A snap on popcorn maker and hot dog cooker. I think I am only missing the kitchen sink to have the whole snap on kitchen.

 

[SoCalDave]

I gotta get up there and visit you someday, you got some really cool stuff...

 

[River Dirt 2]

Start them young!

 

[gqchris]

View attachment 1215011 This one was part of the package just not nearly as cool View attachment 1215012

Seeing these pics conjure up the same feelings I had as a kid seeing one of these in person. The joy is undescribable. It meant freedom. I/we was too poor to even consider one back then, but I envied kids who had.

Somehow I stumbled upon a mini bike that was given to me by my neighbor when they were moving. I was 10. I remember it clear as day. It was not running. I knew nothing about motors, but I tore it all apart. I traded a keyboard for a carb at some tweakers house down the street. I put it all back together and first pull it fucking LIT!

I can not even replicate that feeling I got, even the throttle worked. I was hooked and a motorhead from that day forward. I cruised that death machine all over. It had no pull switch so I rigged a lawnmower cord to pull the spark plug wire to kill it.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

 

[coolchange]

Grew up in a neighborhood full off minis and karts. Neighbor had a single lane track of DG in his back yard. We had a storm drain wash behind our house, about 700’ feet of two lane wide pavement we tore up.

 

[coolchange]

First motor I ever built was a 3 1/2 techumsa. Some of the kids were getting into 5 hp Briggs. I had no money.
Pulled the gas tank/carb off and made a manifold about three inches long for a float bowl carb. Ported the block . Made a straight pipe from a VW exhaust tip that flange mounted and ground out all the threads in exhaust port for the thread in muffler. Spent hours sanding the head for virtually nothing, but got an aluminum pie tin and made a head gasket.
Didn’t have money for a clutch, but could afford a sprocket, and changed the ratio.
The 5hp guys would pull me from the start but about half track I could catch them and pass them then they would lift and say they beat me.
Those guys all bought jet boats.

 

[Eliminator21vdrive]

How about this?

 

[coolchange]

How about this?
View attachment 1215741

Kendick special by Pitts performance. I’ve sat, rather laid in that.
It would be fun to replicate it!

 

[teded]

Brother-in-law law sells go cart data systems for Mychron. Been to a few Las Vegas cart Nationals. Fun to watch.

 

[coolchange]

Only thing I used to like at Long Beach GP. Was karts and vintage.

 

[endobear]

Poaching a closed down rental cart track with my yamaha
Kt100 I think it was. Raced dirt track speed way karts for a season when I was 12.

And yes. This is the same track that was in breaking bad.

 

[bigdawgmini]

I have no clue. But like @4Waters said they look like Mac engines as GEM was a big supplier of exhaust and upgrades for the Mac.

@bigdawgmini might have some knowledge. I know he has a couple vintage karts

That is a great score... we ran a lot of this stuff in the early 70's..The frames can be worth BIG$$$ you will need to find out for sure!! I don't know much about the Mac's but the West Bend laying on the pan were GREAT motors!! We could really make them run.. I have one I bought in 1972 single spinner, we believe it is a Western Auto frame from 62/63 that is a Rupp knock off is what we have been told and to the right guy is worth a few bucks, we ran the absolute shit out of it, wrecked it, rolled it and rebuilt it more times than I can remember, now the grandkids come over and like to burn the tire off.. I think you will be surprised on the value of your score!! I will take a pic of mine and post it up..

 

[bonesfab]

This just closed on BAT. Not quite the same but damn.. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961-mcculloch-r1/

 

[Wheeler]

This just closed on BAT. Not quite the same but damn.. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961-mcculloch-r1/

That was my first go kart but only a single mac. my last kart was a Zip super kart with a 250 Rotax making 78 hp or so.

 

[coolchange]

On closer examination your kart appears to have the lay back seat. I sold one of those 20 years ago that was USED up for 1200$. It had most of a Mac 91 with it. The guy drove down from Washington to get it. Also sold a Kendick pumper for 125$
Fun fact. Kendick became Kendig after Dick left the duo. Then went on to develop the Kendig variable Venturi carburetor.

 

[monkeyswrench]

If anyone sees one of these, let me know. This is the only one I've seen, and it was in the garage of the guy who designed and built them. He was a competitor of McCullough, but also the guy that figured out how to make small crank assemblies a much easier way. He patented the process, and ended up selling it to Ryobi...for a metric shit ton. He also had pics of a buggy he built with a 2stroke ob for power!

 

[clark]

Any one know much about old go karts? Got a call and went and picked this piece up. Pretty cool piece. An old Margay twin engine. Trying to ID it and the engines. View attachment 1214962 View attachment 1214963

McCulloch refered to the MAC-10

 

[farmo83]

My Dad and uncle built a 2-seater go cart from scratch when I was a really little kid. My uncle built a frame and Dad somehow procured a motor from a big riding lawnmower and rigged it up. It ran really well. Right about the time I got old enough to drive it up and vanished. I asked Dad about it and was told my grandpa had decided to sell it. I always held this against Papaw for several years. I was older and asked him once why he sold the go kart. To my shock his response was that my dad had a little too much Jack Daniels and wrecked it. As no one wanted to fix it he sold it. I still chuckle about that too this day.

 

[poncho]

That looks a lot like the Margay I had in high school. I put twin McCullough MC-101s on it, which made it ridiculously overpowered.

Just like hot rods should be.

Had the same one, fun as hell, rough on clutches.

 

[Wheeler]

View attachment 1215839
If anyone sees one of these, let me know. This is the only one I've seen, and it was in the garage of the guy who designed and built them. He was a competitor of McCullough, but also the guy that figured out how to make small crank assemblies a much easier way. He patented the process, and ended up selling it to Ryobi...for a metric shit ton. He also had pics of a buggy he built with a 2stroke ob for power!

First I've seen one I wonder how well they work. I have this generator that's been sitting around for the past 50 years or so along with an old Mac mini chain saw.

 

[caribbean20]

Same story for most of us. Started with a mini bike or cart and thus began a lifetime passion for all things internal combustion.

Just once, before I die, I want to rip around in a shifter cart . . . and ride in a blown flatty.

 

[Wheeler]

found a pic of the mac. I guess I should get it running or sell the damn thing.

 

[bonesfab]

The other Margay I have had for probably 25 years. This is the one I used on my buddies dirt oval. Then let the daughter play in the parking lot with it. Had a Yamaha 100 on it when I got it but it would come on the power band about mid turn. Used up 5 hp Honda with a ported head and oversized valves. And a Honda 185 carb.

 

[monkeyswrench]

Sooo, how does one go about making a dirt oval track? Did they have banked turns? This sounds like some fun! As a kid I never had a go cart, but now I have 10 acres!

I also think we should plan a mini bike race or rally for next winter in Havasu. Kids can have fun, and adults as well!

 

[bonesfab]

Sooo, how does one go about making a dirt oval track? Did they have banked turns? This sounds like some fun! As a kid I never had a go cart, but now I have 10 acres!

I also think we should plan a mini bike race or rally for next winter in Havasu. Kids can have fun, and adults as well!

It was around a tenth mile flat oval. It was a little tight but it was a fucking blast. I would consider doing one in the easement behind me but Edison might shit themselves if the found it. Unless I left a kart for them to play with.

 

[rivermobster]

Sooo, how does one go about making a dirt oval track? Did they have banked turns? This sounds like some fun! As a kid I never had a go cart, but now I have 10 acres!

I also think we should plan a mini bike race or rally for next winter in Havasu. Kids can have fun, and adults as well!

Fuck that, have it at your place!!!

Same story for most of us. Started with a mini bike or cart and thus began a lifetime passion for all things internal combustion.

Just once, before I die, I want to rip around in a shifter cart . . . and ride in a blown flatty.

I got to drive a shifter cart One time. It was ridiculously over powered, and I could never keep it stuck to the ground, on the curves! The slightest push of the throttle and it would spin right out.

I suppose it would take some serious seat time to learn to drive one properly.

A blown flat would be Way more fun.

 

[Wheeler]

Fuck that, have it at your place!!!



I got to drive a shifter cart One time. It was ridiculously over powered, and I could never keep it stuck to the ground, on the curves! The slightest push of the throttle and it would spin right out.

I suppose it would take some serious seat time to learn to drive one properly.

A blown flat would be Way more fun.

Slow and steady as she goes. Yore just used to driving Fords.

Tom Nields jumped in my Zip Kart at willow without ever being in a Shifter Kart and was rivaling the times of Scott Pruett and his shifter kart. Tom drove it like he stole it.

You might not recognize the name while the Margay guys will.