Tractor or kart?

"HoustonRunner" (houstonrunner) 05/26/2020 at 13:06 • Filed to: None

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With the kids home most of the summer (camps will be limited) I’ve been working on ideas to keep them occupied. With twin boys (9) and two girls (11 and 13), I’m also hoping to get them interested in some wrenching.

So I had an idea of a go kart. Ultimately I’d like to have a balance of having the kids work to build something, teach them some basics wrenching (or maybe even some metalworking, which I would learn along with them), and give them something fun to do.

Where I’m currently waffling is on the “build versus buy” scale.

I could go all out and build the frame from scratch and buy the engine, steering, etc. That would mean buying all of the metal, working at my brother in law’s place (he has the cutting and welding equipment), learning to metalwork, and buying all of the “make it go” parts (engine, wheels, axle, steering, etc.).

The plans I’ve looked at from kartfab.com are pretty simple, a no suspension boxed frame. It is nice that they have partnered with a site that sells all of the needed “make it go” parts in a bundle.

Or I could buy a kart that mostly just requires assembly. The ones I’ve looked at are more advanced than I would build, with front and rear suspensions. There is some assembly, and I would probably want to make some frame modifications for added safety. And probably enhance engine performance...

From my research though, I’d end up spending a few hundred bucks more on the build-from-scratch than I would on the “assembly required” kart.

I’m also not going to kid myself, as much as I want my kids to “earn” it, I’m not necessarily looking forward to weeks of fabrication either. I’d like to get my kids excited, but not sure how much they will take to the process.

To build some momentum we did start with a lawn tractor this weekend. My brother in law has one he wasn’t using, so with the kids we stripped all of the mowing parts off and got it working. That did spark some interest, as we had to trace the non-starting issue (battery and blown fuse), then clean out the gunked up carb. On top of that they got to run around on it in the backyard for a while, so they got some reward for the work they put in .

My brother in law and I talked about making the tractor into a kart, but agreed that would be more work than building a kart from scratch. Though it does start with a solid 16HP engine.

So that is where I am right now. I’ve more or less promised the kids we would do some sort of kart, but I’m indecisive.

Chop up the tractor and hot rod it?

Buy an assembly required kart?

Build a frame from scratch?

Disappoint my kids and do nothing?

Future next gen S2000 owner > HoustonRunner 05/26/2020 at 13:16

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Assembly required kit. They aren’t welders and all that will take time. Building a kit is a good middle ground. Keep them interested - they can do most of the wrenching - and everything you would need is right there, in the right quantity and size.

Nom De Plume > HoustonRunner 05/26/2020 at 13:24

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Bigwheel Kart + slicks + 68 lb kid = no car stands a chance until the first turn.

CobraJoe > HoustonRunner 05/26/2020 at 13:40

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If they don’t have regular access to a kart, pretty much anything will be amazing for them.

As for your options:

“Buy the frame and assemble it” will give a great end result, will require the least amount of brain power and metal work (if any), and will let the kids do the most by themselves. Best for minimal involvement without the kids, unless the kids are interested and at least partially skilled in metal fabrication.

“Build from scratch” can also give a great end result (depending on the plan, if used), but it requires more fabrication and a lot more fiddly work than you’d expect. Though you can buy several parts ready to weld on (which I would highly recommend for kingpins at least). The upside here is that you can tweak the frame to fit the kids better or to add features or better match the conditions or materials available.

“Hot Rod the Mower” will likely end up being the worst “go-kart”, but it could also be the most fun and something that the kids are most proud of, depending on how involved and interested they we re. Though, it must be mentioned that if it’s a hydrostatic drive, it’s not worth keeping the transaxle, and that would require a lot of changes to the driveline . (My childhood was significantly impacted by “hot rodding mowers”) The upsides are that it is likely the cheapest by far, and will end up with a completely unique vehicle, but the downside is that many mower parts aren’t up to the abuse a kart will see on dirt.

I know from experience, the stock ride height and floating front axle and open differential is horrible for cornering at any speed, the king pins in the front won’t hold up to many bumps at speed, and the steering is probably very sloppy. However, the good points are that “gearing” it up is often as easy as putting a smaller pulley on the transmission, the frame could be lengthened or shortened fairly easily , and the frame underneath gives a great starting point to add on to (but adding some stiffening might be wise, depending on speed goals).

Here’s the trike I built in highschool over the summer , it is based around a 3 speed transaxle from an old lawn tractor, and a old trail bike that went through a tornado. It’s the best thing I’ve built so far, and it was completely built from junk around my dad’s farm.

If you’re willing to put in the work, and if you have a fun idea, the “Hotrodded Mower” could be an extremely cool end product.

OPPOsaurus WRX > HoustonRunner 05/26/2020 at 13:45

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chopping the tractor up would be cool to show how each mod changes how it performs. You also want to be able to run the things before the summers over so it you are building 4 carts from scratch, that wi ll never happen. Modding the tractor could also allow for a weekend or racing and a weekend of working.

zipfuel > HoustonRunner 05/26/2020 at 13:54

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I’d go with the kit, I have no experience in this (my kids are younger) but am finding in lockdown all the projects which require my heavy participation are a bust cos I'm too busy to devote enough time and the kids get bored when they can't be hands on. Use the practice to work up to a Locost...

HoustonRunner > Nom De Plume 05/26/2020 at 14:10

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My kids are already past the 68lb mark....

Nom De Plume > HoustonRunner 05/26/2020 at 14:14

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I’m afraid further comical and absurd replies would be taken awry.  

HoustonRunner > Nom De Plume 05/26/2020 at 14:20

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Fair enough. I’m comfortable enough with the health of my kids to take a joke, but appreciate your discretion.

shop-teacher > HoustonRunner 05/26/2020 at 14:30

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An assembly required kit would be the best place to start, IMO.  Keep the tractor around, and if they really get into it, then hot rod the tractor too!

HoustonRunner > shop-teacher 05/26/2020 at 14:49

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This is the direction I’m leaning.  Even with a kit the kids will still need to build a shed for it (really just four posts and a roof).  I’ve also been clear all along - driving time is directly proportional to how much they help.

Jb boin > HoustonRunner 05/26/2020 at 15:13

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Yet another offtopic from me but i got a smile when i saw the picture as i the exact same chassis on my lawn tractor at my secondary house which is in my case a Jonsered LT15 or LT 16 (i don’t recall exactly) with a 6 speed “manual” (it exist as well with an automatic) and a 15.5hp Briggs & Stratton engine .

U nfortunately i don’ t have pictures of mine but it’ s almost identical to that one (similar models were sold under different brands including at least Husqvarna, Bernard Loisirs and Mcculoch) except the engine and i have an additional knob on the left for the bladepack height :

—

To be ontopic : If its like mine with only a brake and no real “ accelerator” (it moves when you release the bra ke which is not the most progressive ting ) and much play in the steering, it’s definitely not the safest and funniest thing to drive, especially on bumps and uneven terrain but it remember having fun using it when i was young (and even after that ) .

And to be fair its not used on a flat and smooth surface so its probably a totally different experience than mine on your lawn and without the weight of the bladepack (its less flat than it looks on those wide-angle photos) :

And to finish on yet another offtopic : On the last photo you can see a good part of the road of the beginning of the   Curban - Venterol stage of the last two Monte Carlo on the mountains on the other side of the valley.

Nom De Plume > HoustonRunner 05/26/2020 at 15:19

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Just meant I took my one shot with illegal underage street racing over mostly empty streets right now. Which is quite a jump from their first encounter driving anything being a tired lawn tractor at 3mph.

My experience has been homemade carts were always more expensive, incredibly more work than planned, and required incredible amounts of planning/research/fabrication/??? that desperately needed to account for occupants size and weight as well as surface it would operate on. Handling (turning at speed without tipping over) at 15mph on a lumpy lawn presents very different challenges to swerving around a squirrel on realistic street surfaces at the same speed. Preserving hyper steering ability while keeping reactivity forgiving enough for inexperienced riders means starting out with that as the defining directive.

Kits/prebuilt/ala carte options always seemed very mid-century Italian vehicle; H alf finished and greatly limited unless you specified otherwise. Not to mention t he various safety and other regulations governing over what could be sold even 30 years ago, in case your were considering that option, without being sued out of business produced slicker looking yet ultimately less satisfying results. Honestly don’t think you or your kids are the intended audience for unconvincing fun. Their downsides being almost immediately apparent when putting it through the paces. They just give up and pushing further is going to eventually break something that impacts the squishy fragile something piloting it.

IMO, something equable to an electric HotWheels would be the better alternative to a combustion engined kart. If it exists. Extremely stable and at times scarily capable without having raw speed. L ack of grip that can be accessed by anyone intent on ripping around more than makes up for getting showered with rocks holding up the back end of a kart attempting to leave. Maybe you could investigate a round of helmets and a little moto cross bike. Lots of thrills and spills with all the fun of performing another round of small engine diagnosis and repair.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > HoustonRunner 05/26/2020 at 15:53

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I have 9 year old twins boys also. Go with the assembly-required kart and bolt the 16hp engine onto its frame for some serious scoot. Just make sure there’s a rollover hoop.

HoustonRunner > Jb boin 05/26/2020 at 15:54

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Looks almost exactly  the same, it is a Poulan.

HoustonRunner > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom 05/26/2020 at 15:56

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DEFINITELY a rollover hoop, and my brother in law and I will weld in some extra support and maybe even 5 point harness.

shop-teacher > HoustonRunner 05/26/2020 at 16:19

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Very good!