10-02-2016, 12:50 PM
02-08-2017, 09:02 PM
Duffy's kit kart got the ball rolling.....Wally Parks ...publisher of Hot Rod Magazine had his staff out writing and photographing the little wonders......it didn't take long before it got "Big" !
02-08-2017, 10:19 PM
Present day Vintage Karting ....here's Chuck Lipka getting his GK 1200 ready for a practice lap out at Adams VKA Event .
Tom Smith had this GK800 at Adams .
Tom Smith had this GK800 at Adams .
02-09-2017, 12:27 PM
When I clicked on the picture. I see Chuck's wheels are turning. That means it runs. LOL I just had to!
02-09-2017, 03:16 PM
Steve......it was a Vintage Karting Soap Opera......"As the wheels Turn.....But for how many laps ?"
The ole' Geezer Gasser was having a few issues with his WB .....I hope Chuck got it sorted out by Saturday ?
Lots of folks were having trouble keeping their engines or clutches working right .....
The ole' Geezer Gasser was having a few issues with his WB .....I hope Chuck got it sorted out by Saturday ?
Lots of folks were having trouble keeping their engines or clutches working right .....
04-30-2017, 02:44 PM
This is essentially a duplicate of a post I made on the Vintage Karting Association regarding my very early Go Kart. In fact, it may have come from the days when they were still operating out of the muffler shop in Monrovia - we lived in Arcadia, so very close to there. I asked my dad and at 94 years old, he really doesn't recall. The big difference between this kart and the 400 is the 400 was lowered and had a pedal operated brake instead of the hand brake. A little later, they added the side rails for the seat (note the difference in the pictures for the thread).
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For Christmas 1957, my father surprised me with a Go Kart kit. This is a picture of it, taken in the driveway of our house in 1959. My dad welded it together using a gas welder – he didn’t have an electric, and he was very good at gas welding. One point of interest – note that the larger hoop is in front, for the steering. The kit actually came from Go Kart Manufacturing with NO INSTRUCTIONS. It was basically by guess and by gosh. Dad thought it made sense to get the steering yolk up higher, so he put it together that way. West Bend engine driving only the left rear wheel. The brake was operated by hand (you can see it to the left of the steering hoop), and was just a bracket with some brake pad material that pressed against the large sprocket, which was welded to the wheel. Later on we replaced the hand lever with a pedal, and also put a steering wheel on it to replace the yoke. After we got a newer chassis that I raced a few times, we further modified this one, dropping the front axle, lowering the back by heating the tubes behind the seat back, and adding (finally) some side bars to the seat. It was last used on a dirt track my dad cut on the property for the radio station and tower he owned in Bakersfield. Ultimately threw a rod which destroyed the engine, and that was that. I have some other pictures of it somewhere, and when I find them I’ll post them.
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For Christmas 1957, my father surprised me with a Go Kart kit. This is a picture of it, taken in the driveway of our house in 1959. My dad welded it together using a gas welder – he didn’t have an electric, and he was very good at gas welding. One point of interest – note that the larger hoop is in front, for the steering. The kit actually came from Go Kart Manufacturing with NO INSTRUCTIONS. It was basically by guess and by gosh. Dad thought it made sense to get the steering yolk up higher, so he put it together that way. West Bend engine driving only the left rear wheel. The brake was operated by hand (you can see it to the left of the steering hoop), and was just a bracket with some brake pad material that pressed against the large sprocket, which was welded to the wheel. Later on we replaced the hand lever with a pedal, and also put a steering wheel on it to replace the yoke. After we got a newer chassis that I raced a few times, we further modified this one, dropping the front axle, lowering the back by heating the tubes behind the seat back, and adding (finally) some side bars to the seat. It was last used on a dirt track my dad cut on the property for the radio station and tower he owned in Bakersfield. Ultimately threw a rod which destroyed the engine, and that was that. I have some other pictures of it somewhere, and when I find them I’ll post them.
05-01-2017, 05:30 AM
Great picture! Thanks for sharing your story about your kart! Ironically, both my parents were serious award winning photographers, somehow I do not have a single photograph of any of my karts.
My story starts out similar as yours. I saw my first kart as a surprise from my dad in the car trunk in a few bushel baskets what kart parts not in them laid loose on the floor. The kart was saved from the scrap pile. It was a Speed Mobile. No instructions I had about 90% put together by the following day--bolted together. I didn't understand the drive system (it was more tractor-like, than car like). My dad saw that I showed great interest in the kart and we took it to the mower shop to complete the work. The karting adventure starts...
While there were no pictures, dad did take a home movie (I had no intention years ago of posting this movie short until I saw a Speed Mobile at the Rear Engine American Racers' The Big One! Event, Fremont, Ohio years ago and saw the participants great interest in the kart.)...
https://vimeo.com/49976793
My story starts out similar as yours. I saw my first kart as a surprise from my dad in the car trunk in a few bushel baskets what kart parts not in them laid loose on the floor. The kart was saved from the scrap pile. It was a Speed Mobile. No instructions I had about 90% put together by the following day--bolted together. I didn't understand the drive system (it was more tractor-like, than car like). My dad saw that I showed great interest in the kart and we took it to the mower shop to complete the work. The karting adventure starts...
While there were no pictures, dad did take a home movie (I had no intention years ago of posting this movie short until I saw a Speed Mobile at the Rear Engine American Racers' The Big One! Event, Fremont, Ohio years ago and saw the participants great interest in the kart.)...
https://vimeo.com/49976793
05-13-2017, 11:34 AM
heres a link to pix of one of mine.
It's second gen gokart 400 with direct drive west bend 700 three port engine.
go kart 400 barn find all original.
It's second gen gokart 400 with direct drive west bend 700 three port engine.
go kart 400 barn find all original.
05-13-2017, 12:59 PM
Thanks be to Pop. He looked at the first pic of a Bug in '58 and decided he liked the layout better than the Go Kart U-Weld kit, so we bought one for me, one for the kid next door and a dual A400 for Pop. They were already welded, so we didn't have to bribe Mom to weld our frames! Mine and Pop's were even painted and upholstered! Ted