The Bench Racers Journal

[Terry Bentley]

Chapter 73

Things are at a complete stand still tonight. It is late and I dont feel like going to sleep just yet. We are finally making our second practice day and time feels like the clock stopped. Becasue time isnt going forward fast enough for morning to come anytime soon. It feels more like Christmas eve a few years ago when I could not wait until morning to find out what was under the tree.

I am sitting here bored out of my mind but started thinking about just a couple of years ago how cool all of the karts were. In the back issues of Rod and Custom, HOTROD, and CARCRAFT were artcles covering the new karts. They were the next trend to set the world on fire and looked so awesome. Well at the time they really looked so cool. Comparing those early models to the modern 1961 racing karts today, they dont look all that great now.

I remember seeing the first ad from Go-Kart Mfg. It is like a dinosaur compared to the newest Go-Kart 800. That first model was nothing more than what could have easily been made in someones backyard. It looks that outdated. The front axle is just a straight piece of tubing. No different than the frame rails either. With at least four inches of ground clearance.

So way back like four years ago the first Go-Kart was being sold as a kit. This was about as basic as a kart frame could be made. It seems like everyone that saw the Art Ingles kart just did a copy and sold it with a different name. Well at least the hand brake has fallen out of favor for a foot brake.



  1957 Go-Kart ad (2).jpg (Size: 830.14 KB / Downloads: 122)
Go-Kart

For $129 you could buy the complete kit including a Westbend engine. That same engine that came on McCulloch lawn mowers. For some major safety concern these were all recalled and taken out of service. Well I know one of those mowers that didnt make it back during that recall. It is now chugging right along and cutting grass with the best of any lawnmower out there.

Thanks to some slightly expensive Steens "C" oil, saved that little smoking engine from the scrap pile. This oil should be called a miracle in a can. Because it actually has kept that engine from self destructing since Steves dad had started mixing it with the gas. This oil costs about $7.50 a gallon, but sure has proven its worth. Steves mom finally got off the soap box about replacing that mower since over the last few months it has been running like top notch.

But back to the transition to the more modern kart chassis of today. After that first Go-kart came out it didnt seem to take very long before discovering the major deficiencies in design. From 1957 and into 1958 the kart took on a major transition. Now it had a dropped front axle and rear frame rails bent up instead of being straight. This lowered the chassis down a good two inches closer to the ground. I think this is a major improvement. The new model Go-Kart 400.


  1958 Go-Kart 400 (2).jpg (Size: 2.28 MB / Downloads: 122)
Go-Kart 400

So for 1958, with the frame dropped down a bunch, actually looks more like a real racing kart. Well sort of. It took another year before someone got smart enough to add side supports to the seat. Maybe after a few drivers found themselves unable to stay seated and ended up on the ground might have been a good clue.

Another improvement was ditching the welded steel bar type steering wheel and replacing with a semi-circle cast aluminum steering wheel. The same as what is commonly used on 1/4 midgets. It was still very small in diameter compared to what is available for todays karts.

Also addition was dual spot brakes for the rear wheels. Maybe a kart doesnt stop so well if the one tire with a brake is off the ground. There was still a major down side to these "dual" spot disc brakes. It was actually just a lever next to each wheel with a single pad pushing against against one side of the axle gear. Hmmm. But at least a step closer to making a better mouse trap, so to speak. The new Go-Kart 400B


  1959 Go-Kart 400B (2).jpg (Size: 1.98 MB / Downloads: 122)
Go-kart 400B

Even in to early 1960, just a little bit more than a year and a half ago, Go-Kart had made the final improvements. But the kart now looks really outdated. You can see it in the transformation of other brands. Especially from Bug Engineering and that awesome Caretta from Ingels-Borelli.


  1960 Go-Kart 400C (2).jpg (Size: 1.09 MB / Downloads: 122)
Go-Kart 400C

So the last improvements to the fading Go-Kart 400C included dual internal expanding rear brakes, a larger diameter full round steering wheel that is bolted on. Azusa pedals replaced the short steel plate style, and dual engines a very common option. One step closer to the modern karts we have today.Go-Kart 400


  1960 Go-Kart 800 (2).jpg (Size: 1.25 MB / Downloads: 122)
Go-kart 800

A few months later the all new Go-Kart 800 was introduced. Wow, what a fantastic looking kart. This as Frank would say, "Is built for all out racing." A totally new design more in line with what is selling these days. A live rear axle was the big improvement for just about all major brands in 1960.

Looking back to an older issue of HOTROD magazine, actually the August issue of 1959, I see such a wide range of karts advertised that look so out of place. If you were to see most of these today at the track, it would guarantee more than a few laughs from most of the serious racers.

There are only a few karts back then that really had a racing stance to them. Everything else was like a homemade version of something that should have never been. It is amazing how much difference there is in karts from just a few years ago. Back then, before I was even 12 years old, those karts looked so cool. How much I wanted one. But now they all look so out of date. Like finding a live dinosaur, just so out of place.

Bug Engineering seemed to have the jump on everyone else. Even their first model was a more refined version of the original Go-Kart. But not by much. By 1959 tho they had a new prototype Scorpion. It vaguely follows the general direction of newer the Go-Kart 800 frame design. But is completely different from their original Bug chassis.

I am not for sure, but looks like Bug may have been at the forefront of new innovative design of kart frames. That first model was nothing more than their adaptation of the Go-Kart 400B. On the other hand, this Scorpion is nothing like any of the models available in 1959 that I have seen in the magazines.


  1958 Bug.jpg (Size: 2.12 MB / Downloads: 123)
1958 Bug

One really big selling point in the 1958 ad for a Bug kart is the kart comes completely assembled and ready to race. Just ad gas and go. The Go-Kart was selling for about $20 less as a do it yourself kit. That means you got a box of tubing and instructions on how to assemble everything.

I would bet there were a lot of kart kits sold that never were completed. That would suck in a big way. To almost have a kart to race.....Well except it had to be welded together then all of the parts assembled first. Even worse if the kart didnt get welded and put together immediately. Not even six months later it was obsolete before you ever make the first lap.

I am picturing in my head certain people attempting to weld one of these kits together. These same people have trouble turning a water faucet the right way to open. The same people that cant fix a flat tire on a bicycle. The same people that end up with a smashed finger every time they try to use a hammer.

One thing that both of my grandparents had mentioned one time or another. "The people that can, then do. The people that cant, then teach. I had asked both of them why would you let someone teach something if they could not do it themselves? They both gave be similar answers.

Just because someone cant actually do something, does not automatically mean they dont understand the principles of how to do it. Not everyones brains are connected directly to their hands. They might try over and over, but never achieve the intended results. But can explain to someone else that is more than able to get it done correctly.      

The 1959 GKCA Nationals was the proving ground of the direction to what karts would become. Immediately the dead axle was a thing of the past. Many non competitive models were still available, but would never have a chance against what was proven to be the next evolution in karts after the nationals. All of the major brands immediately updated their models with live axles and better brakes.

Another strange phenomenon taking place by the 1959 Nationals that came as a shock. What supposedly had started out as a family sport immediately turned into a team sponsored rivalry with deep pockets. That race was no place for kids to compete. It was an all out race for the g0ld among overly competitive adults.

Anyone buying one of the thousands of karts equipped with a bushing engine and dead axle had no chance at a major sanctioned or national level race. On the local level it was still a family event. But the layed back atmosphere was getting more competitive requiring the latest aftermarket parts and serious modifications to the engines.

I noticed all of the new engine parts available. The small stock float bowl carburetors were not going to do the job as more power was being pumped out of those engines. Slicks were becoming the only way to go on a live axle kart. By the time I finally made it to the track earlier this spring, the karts I am reading about and seeing advertised in these older magazines no longer exist. Most are retired in back yards, alleys and garage sales.

Just for me to be competitive locally, I have done a lot of things to these Clintons. Improving on the original Clinton that was on the kart I got from Mr Cates is what I hope will make me and Steve capable of running in the junior bushing class. There are some fast local guys running. Several of them may even be competitive nationally, since there is a junior class for them now.