New Guy

[Kerry Urban]

        New guy and new to the karting craze.
I'm pretty much a regular, average  ordinary guy, well.................maybe not. I don't hunt, I don't fish, I don't golf and I could care less about football. I'm a car guy. Love to build em and drive em. Lately though the cruise nights and car shows are becoming boring to me. To many years I guess of nice car but you should've done this or that. You know what I mean.
Then 6 years ago, along comes this little guy who stole my heart. I want my Grandson to have all the things I didn't have. One of them being a go kart. So I started looking around the inter web and I come across this thing called vintage karting. Huh, now that's something I might could be interested in.
So I ended up buying what I believe is a 1960 Fox Mak-Kart. Keep in mind I don't know much about karting other than I have always thought they were very cool. Oh yeh, Im still going to put together a yard kart for the little guy but I want this one for me.
The kart I bought needs to be restored but hey, I just spent three years building a 32 Ford Roadster from the ground up so I think I can do it. Of course Im going to need direction. Im hoping some of you guys can answer the bunches and bunches of question I have about the karting world.
Im adding a few pictures of what I bought so you can see what I might need to make it worthy

[ted johnson]

Looks solid. It's a '61 in all probability. They came out with the removable seat then, and the '62 would've had swing mounts instead of solid. The wheels aren't really visible in the pix, but are definitely too wide for vintage, and you'll need hard, narrow, "square edge" tires. The Fox karts are very desirable. Any period correct McCulloch, Power Products, Homelite or West Bend is a good choice. Period Correct would be one or two of any of these: West Bend 580 or 700, an Mc6, Mc10 or Mc20,Power Products AH58 or AH82 or Homelite KL-82 or 92, or KR-82 or 92. Of course, you're free to use a newer engine like a Mc91 or Mc101 series Mac or West Bend 610 or 820. Life would be easier for you if you switch to a later sprocket hub with split sprockets. There are a couple of guys and ladies who re-upholster the Fox Satellite seat. Check the frame carefully for cracks in tubing or welds. The Fox was known to crack right behind the seatback tube. All-in-all a great kart, and lots of fun to mix it up with the other vintage karters. Any of the good kart shops such as Comet Kart Sales in Greenfield, Indiana can supply Cheng Shin, Vintage Speed or Duro tires, sprockets, hubs, brake parts and any other parts. Other guys more Fox-familiar can tell you what wheels the '61 Mak Kart would've come with. Of course, you're free to use aftermarket wheels like Go Power, Margay and the like. Have fun, and the guys on this forum will help you a lot. Ted

[David Luciani]

welcome to the forum.
i just realized reading your post we haven't got a new guy page.
the stupid admins must've dropped the ball on that maybe it'll get fixed now that it's noticed!!

you managed to get one of the great karts ahead of it's time and very versatile for vintage classes.
it can be run as a historic , mc49 , sportsman rear, rear single or dual.
it looks like the foam is intact on the plastic seat which is excellent.

my suggestion is to read everything you can on the forums.
ask us questions that's the whole point of the forum. 
take build pix and post your project another point of the forum.
and mostly have fun!!

if it was me i'd build the kart as a historic for now and start events in the historic class.
by running historic you'll be able to get familiar with running in grids and learn your karts capacity.
As you progress with skill level it'll be a simple matter to add a bigger engine to run in the faster classes.
or maybe you'll just stay in historic it's a fun class to run.

if you want the easiest engine to start a mc49 or a west bend 580 are excellent choices and not hugely expensive.
if you want more speed a mc6 mc10 mc20 or west bend 700 are great.
the more exotic engines Ted listed are also fine for historic though often alot harder to find build and maintain.

d

[ernie shores]

New guy and new to the karting craze.
I'm pretty much a regular, average  ordinary guy, well.................maybe not. I don't hunt, I don't fish, I don't golf and I could care less about football. I'm a car guy. Love to build em and drive em. Lately though the cruise nights and car shows are becoming boring to me. To many years I guess of nice car but you should've done this or that. You know what I mean.
Then 6 years ago, along comes this little guy who stole my heart. I want my Grandson to have all the things I didn't have. One of them being a go kart. So I started looking around the inter web and I come across this thing called vintage karting. Huh, now that's something I might could be interested in.
So I ended up buying what I believe is a 1960 Fox Mak-Kart. Keep in mind I don't know much about karting other than I have always thought they were very cool. Oh yeh, Im still going to put together a yard kart for the little guy but I want this one for me.
The kart I bought needs to be restored but hey, I just spent three years building a 32 Ford Roadster from the ground up so I think I can do it. Of course Im going to need direction. Im hoping some of you guys can answer the bunches and bunches of question I have about the karting world.
Im adding a few pictures of what I bought so you can see what I might need to make it worthy

Hey New Guy:
    Welcome to the world of vintage karts.
   A. The VERY first thing you need to do is attend a vintage kart event. You will see what it takes to run a kart at these events. You'll meet karters who run Fox karts and they can give you very good info. If you do attend bring your kart with you so the guys can give it a good look over. The VKA web site has the dates and locations of events.

Ernie

[thomas kelley]

i agree attend an event and see where you want to run
i have had a bunch of foxes and they are fun to race
tk

[Kerry Urban]

Thanks to the guys who have answered my post to this point.
Some good info already.
I have to say I feel pretty much overwhelmed right now but I'm sure I'll figure it out.
I am planning on driving down to Oreville in September to check things out. It's the closest track for me so I can hang around longer.
The Historic class sounds like it would be a perfect fit for me so I will restore this kart to fit that class.
I do have a couple questions now.
The owner told me this kart came.with a band brake but he converted to juice. Will I have to go back to a band brake or is the juice acceptable. Seems to me juice would be safer.
I'm guessing wheels and tires have to meet the vintage time period???
I worked in an upholstery shop out West for a friend and I do sew. Does the seat have to be a period correct material or can I sew my own to appear as the original did using materials of my choice?
Am I free to change the color of the kart or does it have to be colors of the time period?
Enough for now but I'm itching to get started on this thing.
I'm sure attending the event will give me information over load.......hope so...

[ted johnson]

The hydro brake will be fine. If the wheels are Margay, you can buy narrower rims and the hard narrow slicks. Otherwise, look for narrower wheels. You're free to do whatever you like as far as appearance goes. Do the seat and paint or powder coat whatever style and colors you like. I don't ever paint any more. Powder looks great and lasts a lot longer. Stay away from the modern spun aluminum wheels and tubeless tires. Old school here. Two (or three) piece wheels and tube type tires are the ticket. As long as the equipment looks vintage, and the parts are things that would have been O.K. in the old days, you're golden. There are a number of good sprocket hubs available. Number 35 sprockets such as Horstman, RLV and Williams work well, and definitely use a quality modern No. 35 "space" chain such as the RLV g0ld. Don't forget a good chain guard. Vince Hughes is a great source for good repopped vintage parts like chain guards. He's at: http://www.californiavintagekarters.com/  Dick Teal, who's on this forum, is a real good source for Fox kart information. He used to work there. You'll find there are lots of Fox drivers. My friend, Ron Cubel, is finishing one up with a Margay gearbox and a Mac 91B1 right now.
Dean Kanocz will be hosting a really nice event in Tucson, AZ November 2, 3 and 4th. 30.00 per day. He feeds us, too. This is a fantastic track and well worth the trip. I'll have my Photon/WB 610, and my n1ke/WB 610 there. Come on down! Here's a pic of the pits at Tucson last November. There were a number of karts that came in after this was taken. The kart on the stand is my Photon. Ted

[Mel Ruffner]

Welcome Kerry, you have come to the right place. I have asked many questions on this forum and always gotten my questions answered.Don,t be afraid to ask for help, they are always willing to help. historics is a great class and hope more run that class. tbo at Fremont Ohio is a great event for rear engine karts , very laid back and a lot of fun. Take care Mel.

[David Luciani]

Orville pa is a great track love the owner very well run operation.
you'll need to find carl hydatt when you are there he's the local  expert on foxes and has a bunch. 
also a heck of a nice guy even though he pretends to be grumpy.
d

[RolfP4]

Kerry, look me up. I plan on going to OrEville. I run a Fox. You’ See a bunch there.