Pto centering

[ted johnson]

Richard, most of us don't wash a brand new chain before we run it, as the factory lube is quite good. HOWEVER, it doesn't last very long, and must be replenished, even in today's best chains. I clean the grunge from my chain by running it through a rag with WD40 on it. Old technology chains SUCK. There was insufficient clearance between inner roller link and the connecting side plates. Anyone who actually ran karts in the old days would never run old chain unless they were the anal type who have to have everything exactly as it was in the early days. A lot of these guys are the ones who run 91B1 Macs on their '61 Dart Karts and think the engine is "period correct". I gave up on total "period correctness" years ago. I want my vintage karts to look like 1962, and not to have technology that was unavailable in 1962, but I do run engines that were manufactured in later years, and I run carbs and manifolds from later years.
I am good friends with Jimmy Donovan, and I respect his knowledge very much. But if Jim says that 1960 style chain is better than current RLV chain, I most certainly do not agree. I well remember one of my friends snapping a Mac crank at the old Rockledge, Florida track when his chain got so short from kinking that the crank broke off at the step. The day I was at the big 103rd St. track in Jacksonville, and a fellow showed me the "new" space chain, I immediately switched. No more boiling, no more kinks, no more worn sprockets, no more friction from trying to force a chain shortened due to kinking over my sprockets. I cannot imagine why anyone who is running fast would want to run old type chain! If you want to install a 1960 chain for the kart show, great. But run it on the track? Never!
Some old clutches may have insufficient clearance between sprocket and drum for space chain. There you are stuck, unless you switch clutches. I would definitely go the switch clutch route and keep the space chain! TJ