12-12-2021, 10:10 PM
Chapter 89
After taking some more measurements, me and Steve decided to keep the existing motor mount and just do a solid weld to frame. We could get really creative and figure a way to isolate it in rubber using grommets and welded tabs. But no way to know if it works out until after some track testing. So a solid welded mount similar to how it is on most live axle karts will be the easiest way to go.
Steve suggested adding two more axle bearings and modify the fixed mount to full floating similar to Franks super prototype Dart special. At first I thought he was joking around, poking fun at Frank. Since Frank always reminds us just how great his prototype special is so special.
I could see him suggesting that in fun, but it might be another option. We would have to fabricate something like the bearing hangers that comes in the live axle conversion kit. Just dont have to be so beefy like the ones with the Azusa kits. We could cut them out of some thinner steel plate and should work just fine.
Back to more decisions with the steering shaft. It is enclosed but still only 1/2 inch diameter. The steering wheel is a full circle, but all welded together to the shaft. So a larger 5/8 diameter replacement shaft is the way to go. Then Chris can choose any one of the new style steering wheels that bolts to a hub.
Of course the most obvious reason replacing the steering wheel is to get a larger diameter padded grip. This should make it so much easier to drive his kart. Not to mention how much better it looks being dished and chrome plated too.
After going over everything that we thought needed to be replaced, Chris had a fairly long list. He even had to stop and resharpen the pencil before finishing up with the list. I was not sure how much it would all cost, but Chris didnt seem to be concerned about that. He was very excited about getting all of this work done on his kart tho.
It was so much later than I had realized. It was nearly 2:30 in the morning. I noticed Chris had already fallen asleep two times. Once he almost fell off the stool at the work bench after dozing off.
So I figured it was time to call it a night. Steve had already made arrangements early on to stay over tonight too. There is no way he would be allowed to go home this late anyway. If he did, it would only happen once.
So I told Chris to hold on and put his arms over my shoulders from behind, then drug him inside to the spare bedroom. Really my oldest brothers room. But since he is in college, it is now hardly used at all. Steve does not like my oldest brother at all so refuses to use his room when he stays over.
Chris seemed to enjoy this little bit of extra attention I was giving him. At first he tried to walk with me while I was helping him in, but ended up letting his feet drag along behind while he was laughing.
I always thought how cool it would be for my brothers to treat me like this. You know like making me feel like they really liked me. But it is not likely I would have been so lucky.
Actually if that is the only thing I have to complain about.....Well I guess it really is. Just thinking about not having divorced parents like so many people do now is enough for me to have no reason complaining about anything.
Steve decided crashing on one of the easy chairs in the den. He liked those chairs a lot. Even tho we hardly ever spend any time in the house, it is the go to room when watching the television.
The next morning I had a weird feeling, or maybe was still dreaming when I woke up. After opening my eyes Chris was standing over me looking down. Hey Terry, it is almost 7:30. Are you ever going to get up?
Chris go away and let me sleep in this morning. I know this has to be a dream I am having right now. Nobody in their right mind would get up this early on a Saturday.
Come on Terry get up already. Your mom said breakfast will be on the table in a few minutes. She was laughing when telling me to come in here and try to get you up. I dont want to eat alone by myself. She is cooking bacon and eggs. Do you know how long it has been since I ate a real good breakfast like that at home? Besides Steve is watching tv right now waiting on you. He is hungry too.
Well Chris, Steve is always hungry, so get used to that. I tried to get out of my bed but as usual standing up too quick I just fell backwards. My body absolutely rejects the idea of being removed from bed this early and is rebelling with the only way it knows how.
What the heck did you do to your hair Terry? How does it stand up all messy like that? Huh do what? I looked in the mirror. No that is my usual morning hair. Whats wrong with it? I tried to focus in on Chris and realized every hair on his head was no different than last night. There is no way he can wake up in the morning and not have messed up hair.
I finally got up, for what reason is still to be determined. But breakfast does smell good. I am not usually an early morning eater of such things on the weekends, but today I will give it a try.
Actually I rarely even make it up early enough for breakfast on school days. So what is so great about getting up this early anyway? Wow breakfast does smell really good for some reason.
My mom had a shocked look on her face when I dragged my not so happy body in and sat down at the table. Steve came in slightly surprised too. Wow this is a first. I hope this aint a sign the world is going to end today or something like that.
I decided to ignore everyone and went to chowing down. Mom had followed up the meager amounts of bacon and eggs with a big stack of pancakes. Orange juice topped off the meal.
Mom made sure Chris had a large glass of milk to wash down his hearty appetite. She also made a comment about Chris eating every bit as much as me and Steve did. Well mom he is a growing boy just like your favorite son here.
Well I was just thinking how nice it would be for my favorite son to clean off the table after everyone finishes eating and maybe even wash the dishes.
Since there are a couple of extra mouths that are joining us for lunch, I need to make a trip to the grocery store. Oh really mom, who is coming over? Mom made a good solid grab and pinch on my ear lobe then reminded me to make sure the dishes are also dried before getting side tracked with anything else. Yes mom. I love you too.
Good bye boys, See you back inside for lunch about 12:00, give or take. Terry your dad will be home for lunch. So dont leave a mess out there in the garage for him to get upset about. You know he gets a little cranky when working on the weekends. Yes mom. Good bye.
OK since you guys made two thirds of the mess, both of you can help me clean up. Steve then said, No way man, I am still a guest in this house. Besides I would never make you do the dishes in my house.
Heck no Steve, but your mom sure would not have any problem volunteering me to help you do them.
Sorry, but I can at least keep Chris entertained while you get them done. Come on Chris lets head out to the garage and do some real mans work. Chris had a huge grin on his face showing those pearly whites following Steve out the back door without saying a word.
It took nearly 30 minutes before getting everything cleaned up washed and then finally dried. I was mad at both of them, but not really. I do have it too easy most of the time. So an occasional chore wont kill me.
Besides mom is likely planning to do burgers on the grill. It is more than worth sitting down to lunch with a nice home cooked cheese burger. She will probably make us a plate full of tater tots too. With melted cheese of course.
By the time I made it out to the garage would have been roughly the earliest I might normally be crawling my way out of bed on a weekend. So nothing has really changed this morning making it out to work in the garage.
Except I have been up nearly two hours, eaten a hearty breakfast, but now I am already feeling hungry again. And I have also washed the dishes, including drying them off too. That was important to include while complaining to myself right now. Especially if no one else cares to listen to me.
I walked in to find Steve and Chris had already stripped his kart completely down to the bare frame. Even cut off the steering shaft and full length tube running from the steering hoop to the front axle.
What took you so long? Dishes dont take near that much time to wash. You didnt even have that many to clean. Man you are slow.
So genius, how do we go about setting the caster on the front axle? Your dad didnt get too detailed about how it should be done. I dont want to be the one to screw things up. That is your job.
Oh yea, forgot to mention, I gotta shag after lunch. Mom has a list a mile long by now for chores to do today. That would be carried over from yesterday. And probably tomorrows chores on todays list too.
I managed to convince her that your mom had made arrangements for a big lunch, which includes yours truly here, otherwise I would have already gone home.
Wow I wasnt ready to get this involved on the kart until we had a good idea of what parts that were going to be used. But I guess it doesnt matter now. The steering shaft kit will be the same as what we put on your kart.
I thought about how to do the front end. First clamp a piece of that four inch wide channel iron under the front axle. Just mainly something to measure from, like when we fixed the front axle on my kart last time.
I had an idea of using long pieces of 1/2 inch all thread to run thru those spindle tubes that are welded on the front axle. Then we can measure high and low to keep the camber adjustment correct.
For the caster we can set up the combination square to the angle it is going to be bent back to. So did we decide what angle it should be?
Well Terry, you are going to be so proud of us. Or maybe not. We actually talked about that while you were in the kitchen doing womans work. Chris had a good idea since we didnt have a clue where to set it at. Or even really what it is good for.
Chris was fumbling thru the June issue of Karting World. It has the complete specifications to over 150 karts. Well that is what it said on the cover. I guess that is what caught our attention when talking over what to do on the front axle. So we just need to add all of them up and divide by 150, plus or minus, to get the average. Sound like a good plan?
Ha-ha, sure Steve get started writing down all 150 of them. But first I want to check out the specs on a few particular models. Hey, that is the same issue with the mods done to a Clinton engine.
Oh yea, it might be that issue, so what?
So did you bother reading any of it this time?
Well it was sort of boring. The article seemed more focused on complaining about class weights and other crap. I didnt bother reading too much farther. If that is the stuff you gotta sift thru just to find out how to modify an engine, I will pass this time.
I told Chris to start reading it while I tore down his kart. But he insisted doing the work himself. Hey Chris hold up your hands. Chris held up his dirty greasy hands smiling.
Look Terry, Chris still has all of his fingers and finger nails still attached with no bloody stains on the floor anywhere .... yet. I know the day is young and there is a lot more work to do. But this is a good start for him.
He figured out really fast the different wrench sizes. It is not like when your buddy Greg Mullins was digging thru the tools and looked at every single wrench each time to find a certain size.
I told Chris what size, and he zeroed on it quick enough. He didnt go thru all of the wrenches one at a time to find the right size. If I needed a 9/16, he didnt go looking at the 3/4 to see what size was stamped on the wrench.
He actually reached down to one that looked close to a 9/16 span and confirmed thats what it was. Now tell me anyone else you know who can do that? Well besides me of course. Name one other person. I bet you cant.
Heck, the next time he didnt even bother to look but where he had put that wrench down after using it. He might suck as a driver, but could make a great pit crew. Chris smiled really big before catching on to what Steve had just said.
I am kidding man, just kidding. Relax. Your driving doesnt suck that bad. Well it wont when you get a decent handling kart to drive. Then Steve returned a big grin back to Chris.
Is this the crap I have to put up with hanging around you guys from now on?
No Chris, it will usually be a lot worse. Steve is being very considerate to you for some reason. If you want to know how bad Steve really is, I will tell you something he likes to do.
We will go to the mall for no reason except for being really bored. So Steve will walk up to someones baby sitting in a carriage. He stares at the poor little brat and makes a horrible face that scares it so bad the kid poops in the diaper the starts balling its eyes out.
Steve bails real quick before the mom goes off on him. Then he is looking for another little kid to do the same again. All of this for his own sadistic pleasure. He gets a few brats crying that starts a chain reaction. Not much after that the mall is full of screaming babies. And they also stink up a storm.
Oh man, not that lame story again. It wasnt even funny the first time you tried to tell someone that. It only happened once and that was an accident. I doubt Chris thinks I would be so bad to freak out someones brat kid. That is just cruel. Now your oldest brother? Well that is a different story.
So Steve, did you think about stealing the kids candy when you got the chance? Chris gave out a chuckle. Well I dont believe that either one of you would do something that awful. It is just down right mean.
After taking some more measurements, me and Steve decided to keep the existing motor mount and just do a solid weld to frame. We could get really creative and figure a way to isolate it in rubber using grommets and welded tabs. But no way to know if it works out until after some track testing. So a solid welded mount similar to how it is on most live axle karts will be the easiest way to go.
Steve suggested adding two more axle bearings and modify the fixed mount to full floating similar to Franks super prototype Dart special. At first I thought he was joking around, poking fun at Frank. Since Frank always reminds us just how great his prototype special is so special.
I could see him suggesting that in fun, but it might be another option. We would have to fabricate something like the bearing hangers that comes in the live axle conversion kit. Just dont have to be so beefy like the ones with the Azusa kits. We could cut them out of some thinner steel plate and should work just fine.
Back to more decisions with the steering shaft. It is enclosed but still only 1/2 inch diameter. The steering wheel is a full circle, but all welded together to the shaft. So a larger 5/8 diameter replacement shaft is the way to go. Then Chris can choose any one of the new style steering wheels that bolts to a hub.
Of course the most obvious reason replacing the steering wheel is to get a larger diameter padded grip. This should make it so much easier to drive his kart. Not to mention how much better it looks being dished and chrome plated too.
After going over everything that we thought needed to be replaced, Chris had a fairly long list. He even had to stop and resharpen the pencil before finishing up with the list. I was not sure how much it would all cost, but Chris didnt seem to be concerned about that. He was very excited about getting all of this work done on his kart tho.
It was so much later than I had realized. It was nearly 2:30 in the morning. I noticed Chris had already fallen asleep two times. Once he almost fell off the stool at the work bench after dozing off.
So I figured it was time to call it a night. Steve had already made arrangements early on to stay over tonight too. There is no way he would be allowed to go home this late anyway. If he did, it would only happen once.
So I told Chris to hold on and put his arms over my shoulders from behind, then drug him inside to the spare bedroom. Really my oldest brothers room. But since he is in college, it is now hardly used at all. Steve does not like my oldest brother at all so refuses to use his room when he stays over.
Chris seemed to enjoy this little bit of extra attention I was giving him. At first he tried to walk with me while I was helping him in, but ended up letting his feet drag along behind while he was laughing.
I always thought how cool it would be for my brothers to treat me like this. You know like making me feel like they really liked me. But it is not likely I would have been so lucky.
Actually if that is the only thing I have to complain about.....Well I guess it really is. Just thinking about not having divorced parents like so many people do now is enough for me to have no reason complaining about anything.
Steve decided crashing on one of the easy chairs in the den. He liked those chairs a lot. Even tho we hardly ever spend any time in the house, it is the go to room when watching the television.
The next morning I had a weird feeling, or maybe was still dreaming when I woke up. After opening my eyes Chris was standing over me looking down. Hey Terry, it is almost 7:30. Are you ever going to get up?
Chris go away and let me sleep in this morning. I know this has to be a dream I am having right now. Nobody in their right mind would get up this early on a Saturday.
Come on Terry get up already. Your mom said breakfast will be on the table in a few minutes. She was laughing when telling me to come in here and try to get you up. I dont want to eat alone by myself. She is cooking bacon and eggs. Do you know how long it has been since I ate a real good breakfast like that at home? Besides Steve is watching tv right now waiting on you. He is hungry too.
Well Chris, Steve is always hungry, so get used to that. I tried to get out of my bed but as usual standing up too quick I just fell backwards. My body absolutely rejects the idea of being removed from bed this early and is rebelling with the only way it knows how.
What the heck did you do to your hair Terry? How does it stand up all messy like that? Huh do what? I looked in the mirror. No that is my usual morning hair. Whats wrong with it? I tried to focus in on Chris and realized every hair on his head was no different than last night. There is no way he can wake up in the morning and not have messed up hair.
I finally got up, for what reason is still to be determined. But breakfast does smell good. I am not usually an early morning eater of such things on the weekends, but today I will give it a try.
Actually I rarely even make it up early enough for breakfast on school days. So what is so great about getting up this early anyway? Wow breakfast does smell really good for some reason.
My mom had a shocked look on her face when I dragged my not so happy body in and sat down at the table. Steve came in slightly surprised too. Wow this is a first. I hope this aint a sign the world is going to end today or something like that.
I decided to ignore everyone and went to chowing down. Mom had followed up the meager amounts of bacon and eggs with a big stack of pancakes. Orange juice topped off the meal.
Mom made sure Chris had a large glass of milk to wash down his hearty appetite. She also made a comment about Chris eating every bit as much as me and Steve did. Well mom he is a growing boy just like your favorite son here.
Well I was just thinking how nice it would be for my favorite son to clean off the table after everyone finishes eating and maybe even wash the dishes.
Since there are a couple of extra mouths that are joining us for lunch, I need to make a trip to the grocery store. Oh really mom, who is coming over? Mom made a good solid grab and pinch on my ear lobe then reminded me to make sure the dishes are also dried before getting side tracked with anything else. Yes mom. I love you too.
Good bye boys, See you back inside for lunch about 12:00, give or take. Terry your dad will be home for lunch. So dont leave a mess out there in the garage for him to get upset about. You know he gets a little cranky when working on the weekends. Yes mom. Good bye.
OK since you guys made two thirds of the mess, both of you can help me clean up. Steve then said, No way man, I am still a guest in this house. Besides I would never make you do the dishes in my house.
Heck no Steve, but your mom sure would not have any problem volunteering me to help you do them.
Sorry, but I can at least keep Chris entertained while you get them done. Come on Chris lets head out to the garage and do some real mans work. Chris had a huge grin on his face showing those pearly whites following Steve out the back door without saying a word.
It took nearly 30 minutes before getting everything cleaned up washed and then finally dried. I was mad at both of them, but not really. I do have it too easy most of the time. So an occasional chore wont kill me.
Besides mom is likely planning to do burgers on the grill. It is more than worth sitting down to lunch with a nice home cooked cheese burger. She will probably make us a plate full of tater tots too. With melted cheese of course.
By the time I made it out to the garage would have been roughly the earliest I might normally be crawling my way out of bed on a weekend. So nothing has really changed this morning making it out to work in the garage.
Except I have been up nearly two hours, eaten a hearty breakfast, but now I am already feeling hungry again. And I have also washed the dishes, including drying them off too. That was important to include while complaining to myself right now. Especially if no one else cares to listen to me.
I walked in to find Steve and Chris had already stripped his kart completely down to the bare frame. Even cut off the steering shaft and full length tube running from the steering hoop to the front axle.
What took you so long? Dishes dont take near that much time to wash. You didnt even have that many to clean. Man you are slow.
So genius, how do we go about setting the caster on the front axle? Your dad didnt get too detailed about how it should be done. I dont want to be the one to screw things up. That is your job.
Oh yea, forgot to mention, I gotta shag after lunch. Mom has a list a mile long by now for chores to do today. That would be carried over from yesterday. And probably tomorrows chores on todays list too.
I managed to convince her that your mom had made arrangements for a big lunch, which includes yours truly here, otherwise I would have already gone home.
Wow I wasnt ready to get this involved on the kart until we had a good idea of what parts that were going to be used. But I guess it doesnt matter now. The steering shaft kit will be the same as what we put on your kart.
I thought about how to do the front end. First clamp a piece of that four inch wide channel iron under the front axle. Just mainly something to measure from, like when we fixed the front axle on my kart last time.
I had an idea of using long pieces of 1/2 inch all thread to run thru those spindle tubes that are welded on the front axle. Then we can measure high and low to keep the camber adjustment correct.
For the caster we can set up the combination square to the angle it is going to be bent back to. So did we decide what angle it should be?
Well Terry, you are going to be so proud of us. Or maybe not. We actually talked about that while you were in the kitchen doing womans work. Chris had a good idea since we didnt have a clue where to set it at. Or even really what it is good for.
Chris was fumbling thru the June issue of Karting World. It has the complete specifications to over 150 karts. Well that is what it said on the cover. I guess that is what caught our attention when talking over what to do on the front axle. So we just need to add all of them up and divide by 150, plus or minus, to get the average. Sound like a good plan?
Ha-ha, sure Steve get started writing down all 150 of them. But first I want to check out the specs on a few particular models. Hey, that is the same issue with the mods done to a Clinton engine.
Oh yea, it might be that issue, so what?
So did you bother reading any of it this time?
Well it was sort of boring. The article seemed more focused on complaining about class weights and other crap. I didnt bother reading too much farther. If that is the stuff you gotta sift thru just to find out how to modify an engine, I will pass this time.
I told Chris to start reading it while I tore down his kart. But he insisted doing the work himself. Hey Chris hold up your hands. Chris held up his dirty greasy hands smiling.
Look Terry, Chris still has all of his fingers and finger nails still attached with no bloody stains on the floor anywhere .... yet. I know the day is young and there is a lot more work to do. But this is a good start for him.
He figured out really fast the different wrench sizes. It is not like when your buddy Greg Mullins was digging thru the tools and looked at every single wrench each time to find a certain size.
I told Chris what size, and he zeroed on it quick enough. He didnt go thru all of the wrenches one at a time to find the right size. If I needed a 9/16, he didnt go looking at the 3/4 to see what size was stamped on the wrench.
He actually reached down to one that looked close to a 9/16 span and confirmed thats what it was. Now tell me anyone else you know who can do that? Well besides me of course. Name one other person. I bet you cant.
Heck, the next time he didnt even bother to look but where he had put that wrench down after using it. He might suck as a driver, but could make a great pit crew. Chris smiled really big before catching on to what Steve had just said.
I am kidding man, just kidding. Relax. Your driving doesnt suck that bad. Well it wont when you get a decent handling kart to drive. Then Steve returned a big grin back to Chris.
Is this the crap I have to put up with hanging around you guys from now on?
No Chris, it will usually be a lot worse. Steve is being very considerate to you for some reason. If you want to know how bad Steve really is, I will tell you something he likes to do.
We will go to the mall for no reason except for being really bored. So Steve will walk up to someones baby sitting in a carriage. He stares at the poor little brat and makes a horrible face that scares it so bad the kid poops in the diaper the starts balling its eyes out.
Steve bails real quick before the mom goes off on him. Then he is looking for another little kid to do the same again. All of this for his own sadistic pleasure. He gets a few brats crying that starts a chain reaction. Not much after that the mall is full of screaming babies. And they also stink up a storm.
Oh man, not that lame story again. It wasnt even funny the first time you tried to tell someone that. It only happened once and that was an accident. I doubt Chris thinks I would be so bad to freak out someones brat kid. That is just cruel. Now your oldest brother? Well that is a different story.
So Steve, did you think about stealing the kids candy when you got the chance? Chris gave out a chuckle. Well I dont believe that either one of you would do something that awful. It is just down right mean.