my 61 Bug Scorpion has H-H hydraulic disk brakes which I believe date to the 60's. I researched them and discovered the company started making brakes for karts in the mid 50's. Kelsey Hayes bought them out in 68. The seals are the same as many Harley brakes, late 60's-80's. I have not run the kart yet but these brakes are nice.. look quality. More then likely they were refitted to the Scorpion in the 60's but wonder if the Bug dealers ever sold new karts with brake options.. they may date to 61.. they are marked HH, not Kelsey Hayes. anybody know anything about them..
Bob, they were definitely not a normal factory option, however, as with most kart manufacturers of the day, Tom Pierson was pretty flexible and could be talked into sending karts out with non-standard parts. All the Scorpions we sold had the Trophy mechanical disc brake. I know of one or two that were sold by other dealers with H/A hydraulic disc brakes, especially in the later years. TJ
The concept of "standard" was a pretty nebulous thing back in the day. If the kart wasn't custom fitted before it left the selling shop, it may very well have been modified by the buyer, often before it ever got on the track. "Original" has a pretty fuzzy meaning in the vintage karting world. Even the factory brochures would show last year's model and stuff like that. All to be taken with a grain of salt - and a glass of good Zinfandel.
Jimmy's right. We had a big three stage table in the hobby/kart shop. When the karts destined for our shop team would arrive by truck, the box went directly from truck to the top of that table, where the wheels, tires and axle, and often the fuel tank would be disassembled to be replaced by an aluminum axle and Go Power or CT wheels with Carlisle tires and often a Palmini aluminum tank. In the case of Go Kart 800 or 1200's, the pedals were replaced with Bug Batwing pedals. This happened before the kart ever sat on the shop floor!
TJ