Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Swoopster Kart
#1
Found the items on the internet over the years.

1961 Swoopster
   

A familiar kart and friend to many of the Forum members. It is all about the details!
1962 Swoopster (reproduction)
   
Reply
#2
Scott :  Ted told me the Swoopster is a rare bird indeed, but some years ago by chance I happened upon a 62 stripped to the bone .
Having seen Teds and his old friend Charlie's  Swoopsters.....I got in touch with the folks selling the chassis, they
were having cash flow problems so were eager to let go.  I paid their asking price + the cost of travel to rescue it.

I did my best to get the "back" story or history of this particular chassis, but apparently it was acquired through
a debt payment .....the seller was more into mini bikes and had no clue how this Swoopster wound up in Sacramento.

Having little knowledge myself of LMC karts, I asked Ted what he knew and where he found information......other then sales literature on the 1962 model there seems to be nothing much, can't even find a kart test article in any of the old magazines I've acquired .....not saying there's nothing at all, but other then Frank Weir writing about the clones Ted and Charlie had fabricated......"zip" in my research.

So maybe someone knows more about LMC and what happened to their enterprise ......it would certainly be of interest.

The best resource for Swoopster info :  http://kartingarchives.com/media/Brochur...er_wm.html

Ted got rear axle bearings that are vintage correct here : http://www.peerbearing.com/index.html

Since the old Vintage Karts Forum died.....Ted will have to update images of his Beautiful Swoopster build....no link
but maybe a Google search could find some pictures ?


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
                               
Reply
#3
That wonderful friend and implacable reporter, Frank Weir, found out a good deal about LMC Midget Motors, and talked to a couple members of the old LMC workforce. I have kept Frank's emails, but I don't want to print the content without Frank's permission, since he did an amazing amount of leg work to get the info. If I can get the time in the next few days, I will email Frank and ask him if it is O.K. to cut and paste some of his hard-won information.
Here's a couple pix of both frames after welding. Ted
Reply
#4
Randy, can you or someone shed some light on the swoopster pictures you posted?  It looks to be a few different karts
Reply
#5
Well, the orange kart is Charlie Craibe's, the red one is the "real" Swoopster of Leon Rippy's, bought from Frank Payne by Ron Cubel and restored by Ron, and of course, the purple one is mine. Here's a pic of Leon's kart as it was when Frank had it. I believe the unrestored bronze colored one is Mike Anderson's. It's also a real Swoopster. Charlie's orange kart is one of the two frames shown in the previous post. Ted
Reply
#6
(03-21-2017, 08:03 PM)ted johnson Wrote: Well, the orange kart is Charlie Craibe's, the red one is the "real" Swoopster of Leon Rippy's, bought from Frank Payne by Ron Cubel and restored by Ron, and of course, the purple one is mine. Here's a pic of Leon's kart as it was when Frank had it. I believe the unrestored bronze colored one is Mike Anderson's. It's also a real Swoopster. Charlie's orange kart is one of the two frames shown in the previous post. Ted

Hi all,
The bronze colored swoopster is mine. It is a Swoopster sprint which belong to the family who built the karts. It was the kart used by there son and still has the original 580 five port westbends fully modified from the day. Paint, upholstery, tires etc. are all original. Engines were freshened by Frank Moore and still run fine. Neat old kart should be in a museum somewhere, but it looks nice setting next to my Xterminators.
Thanks Mike


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
               
Reply
#7
I wonder if these are the only Swoopster's around today ?

Plus I just realized the difference between the Bandit, which is the exposed live axle and the Sprint enclosed axle like Mike's......

Rare history for sure......all part of Vintage Karting......Smile .
Reply
#8
Here is a video short on what Ted was running on on his Swoopster at the 2015 REARs TBO...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULG3vEbl...3&index=12
Reply
#9
How much are these original swoopsters worth?
They seem super scarce I have seen more common karts bring 20k at auction 
What about these?
Reply
#10
(01-27-2023, 09:45 PM)doughipperling Wrote: How much are these original swoopsters worth?
They seem super scarce I have seen more common karts bring 20k at auction 
What about these?

While it is a rare kart, there are many rare unrestored karts worth about a thousand or so assuming it’s all complete. For a Bring a Trailer (BAT) kart that people got all nutty over and let their egos get involved, for one, those are completely restored with absolutely the best period correct parts and workmanship.

Some of course are worth a lot but a lot of the time people are overpaying for this stuff.

Others more experienced and knowledgeable will hopefully provide input, but maybe a grand plus if all complete.

I have a couple 1961 Bug Wasps and a 1961 Bug Lighting. I paid, at different times, anywhere from $450 to $500 for each of these karts. 

For my unrestored Rathmann Xterminator, I paid $380.

Take care
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)