06-13-2018, 05:44 AM (This post was last modified: 06-13-2018, 05:48 AM by tom dandes.)
I need some advice. I picked up a 1960-61 sears model 300 racing kart roller. The kart looked so cool and the price was good so I bought it for my wife so she could start in the vintage class. The problem is I cant fit in this thing and neither will my wife.
So the dilemma is the kart is a really nice roller and I would have to cut the kart in half to extend it. Or leave it alone for someone else to enjoy?
Seems to me that it would not be all that difficult to move the steering to behind the front axle, and move the pedals out to the end of the front porch.
You would not need to cut and extend the frame.
I did this on my Kalifornia Nyke, and it worked very well. See Member Collections.
You would add at least 4 inches of leg room in the process.
06-13-2018, 07:45 PM (This post was last modified: 06-13-2018, 07:50 PM by tom dandes.)
Jim I understand what you are saying but this one may be a little difficult to move like you say. There are no holes in the frame like what you would see on a dart for the brake pedal to go into. Here there are brackets actually welded to the frame and around the front axle that are part of the brake pedal. These would also have to be moved.
06-13-2018, 08:25 PM (This post was last modified: 06-13-2018, 08:26 PM by ted johnson.)
Can you not weld some 1" lengths of thick wall tubing, the I.D. of which matches the pedal pivot bolt diameter, onto the porch, and move the pedals out there? The spindles can probably be swapped, left for right so the tie rods will be behind the axle. You will, of course, have to cut the steering shaft tube out and replace it with sections of tubing for the steering shaft to run so that you can have access to the open steering shaft to weld on a new pittman arm. The brake and throttle rods will have to be replaced with longer rods. You can buy 416 stainless 1/4" rod from McMaster Carr for new rods. 416 takes threads well. Some alloys do not. McMaster's part for 1/4" rod is 89095K52. You pick the length you want when you order. Stainless may easily be polished to look almost like chrome. You can see the pedal pivots on my Photon frame. If you can't adapt the original Sears pedals, Fox pedals will give even more legroom. You can see this in the attached pic. Ted
06-14-2018, 11:45 AM (This post was last modified: 06-14-2018, 12:12 PM by Jim Waltz.)
Teddy has filled in the details of what this modification would take. On my Kalifornia Nyke I was able to flip the spindles and not have to modify them. That looks like it might work here as well. You could just drill the front porch tubes to mount pedals, but Teddy's idea would allow you to mount the pedals way out on the front porch. The biggest modification would be the steering shaft. I would probably opt for doing away with the steering shaft tube entirely, and just install all new Azusa steering shaft and associated hardware.
If you didn't go too crazy, and save the removed parts, then the kart could be restored to original condition later if that was desired. Mods like this were done all the time back in the day, so the kart would still be "period correct" if that were a concern. Take a look at what I did on the Kalifornia Nyke on Member Collections for inspiration......... (I could not drive this kart without these modifications.)
06-14-2018, 02:18 PM (This post was last modified: 06-14-2018, 02:23 PM by ted johnson.)
Jimmy's got it. You can buy a new Azusa steering shaft and hub kit. It includes shaft bushings and pittman arms, hub, bolts, nuts and cotter pins. You'd need some steel tubing to hold the bronze bushings. I use a piece of tubing or a rod the diameter of the outside of the bushings to hold the steel bushing holder tubes in alignment on your front axle and steering hoop for welding. This'll keep you from roasting the bronze bushings when you weld. Buy a long shaft kit-they have several lengths. Cut it once you find out where. Push the whole thing with loose pittman arms into the bushings and weld on the pittman arms in the right location and alignment. Remember, with rear tie rods, once the pittman arms are welded, they're there, and so is the shaft! You may be able to adapt the stock steering wheel, or buy a 12" Azusa wheel, or better yet, find a Covico wheel. Rex Marine sells them. Most kart shops sell the Azusa shaft kits. www.cometkartsales.com should have them. If you want to be able to remove the steering shaft, you'd need to make some chassis tabs and buy some plastic shaft bushings. Margay sells them. It takes some design work, but if you ever want to chrome the shaft, or paint the frame, it's nice to be able to take out the steering shaft. Ted
