go-kart w/ lawnmower engine, help!

[Clip]

hey all,

dug the old riding lawnmower out of the shed today and figured i'd use its 14hp briggs & stratton to power a homemade gokart.

problem is, the engine has a vertical output shaft. has anyone here made a successful go kart or something of the sort using one of these engines?

anyone have ideas how to transfer the power to the horizontal axis? ive got a picture in my head of what the gears would look like, if i used gears. don't know what they're called though. can someone fill me in?

 

[xarewhyayen]

sounds like a fun project, wish i could help ya. Sounds like gearing it similar to what a rear diff does for the soop if you turn the engine on its side if possible?? itd be cool to hear and see how this comes out. good luck

 

[Toyota h8r]

Why go though allll that trouble of making gearboxs n stuff? Ive made my fair share of racing tractors........yes dont laugh to hard....my personal best was 43mph on a tractor. Cost? 40 bux. A smaller rear pulley on transaxle, anda smaller belt. Im working on a new one as of right now. It has been lowered and chopped. It pulls the wheels up at 25mph. 18hp twin cyl motor on a tractor meant for a 10hp....hmmm.

 

[tte]

I'd put a 2 stroke 250cc motorcycle engine in a go kart.
Seen it done before...that thing flies...

Cheers,
Roy

 

[Clip]

id love to, but im trying to stay under budget right now ($0). i plan on getting some square steel tubing and welding up a frame, getting pedals and such from northern.

h8r, i dont want to ride as high as a mower. im gonna try and be around 8-10 inches off the ground. oh, and what's a clutch do for a kart? ive seen em in northern, but dont see a clutch pedal or anything. does it just let the engine idle til you rev it?

x, cant turn the engine on the side (bad for it...?)

whats the name for a gear like this? just a right angle gearbox?

also, if i connect the engine to the axle with a chain, can i rip a gear setup and derailleur off of a bicycle and have multiple gears?

 

[Toyota h8r]

id love to, but im trying to stay under budget right now ($0). i plan on getting some square steel tubing and welding up a frame, getting pedals and such from northern.

h8r, i dont want to ride as high as a mower. im gonna try and be around 8-10 inches off the ground. oh, and what's a clutch do for a kart? ive seen em in northern, but dont see a clutch pedal or anything. does it just let the engine idle til you rev it?

x, cant turn the engine on the side (bad for it...?)

whats the name for a gear like this? just a right angle gearbox?

also, if i connect the engine to the axle with a chain, can i rip a gear setup and derailleur off of a bicycle and have multiple gears?

first, the clutch is like an auto trans tq converter. it lets u idle w/o a petal. Hit gas and go.

second, u cant turn a motor on its side from a mower. Unless u wanna have a junk motor from no oil being "slung" i'll explain if needed later.

Third, that gear is a beveled gear.

Lastly, my mower is 6-8 inches off ground......i'll get pics tomorrow.
BTW, i have a welder and the whole racing mower cost me total 40 bux!

P.S. bike gear setup wont last for one sec at best.
your talking 1hp(human) vs 14hp (mower engine) Get my idea?

 

[Clip]

thanks for straightening me out.

did some more reading up, about retapping holes for new locations of the carb and fixing the slinger.

can't wait to see the chopped mower

looks like my best chance is using the lawnmower gearbox or going to the scrapyard and finding a whole diff/axle. some site on the web talked about using a chain and sprockets to get the desired results out of the mower gearbox. would my drivetrain then be engine pulley to gearbox pulley (belt) then gearbox output shafts to sprocket-chain-sprocket on live axle?

 

[Toyota h8r]

thanks for straightening me out.

did some more reading up, about retapping holes for new locations of the carb and fixing the slinger.

can't wait to see the chopped mower

looks like my best chance is using the lawnmower gearbox or going to the scrapyard and finding a whole diff/axle. some site on the web talked about using a chain and sprockets to get the desired results out of the mower gearbox. would my drivetrain then be engine pulley to gearbox pulley (belt) then gearbox output shafts to sprocket-chain-sprocket on live axle?

I need to look in pile o parts for something tomorrow. Old Toro rear engine riding mowers had vertical shaft engines, but had chain driven live axle. I have one actually. It used a bottom fed belt drive off motor and went to a side shaft sprocket. Then went to axle via chain. I started a rear engine go-kart once.....but motor was stolen. A plus to this lil gearbox was it had forward, neutral, and reverse.http://cgi.ebay.com/Superior-Right-...ryZ82248QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
the idea^^^

 

[Clip]

my craftsman has 5 fwd, neutral and reverse. problem is the clutch is coupled with the brake so when i push the pedal...you get the picture. that little gem is gonna go and i might just bolt one of my spare supra rotors to the axle probably just get one of the caliper/rotor kits from northern.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Craftsman-II-ri...2QQihZ010QQcategoryZ82238QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

theres my exact tractor if you add 2 hp.

 

[Toyota h8r]

my craftsman has 5 fwd, neutral and reverse. problem is the clutch is coupled with the brake so when i push the pedal...you get the picture. that little gem is gonna go and i might just bolt one of my spare supra rotors to the axle probably just get one of the caliper/rotor kits from northern.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Craftsman-II-ri...2QQihZ010QQcategoryZ82238QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

theres my exact tractor if you add 2 hp.

When you push the "clutch/brake petal" it engages the clutch first then brake. What i did to solve this is making a seperate brake petal. Thus have a clutch, brake and a gas petal. Also, the newer 5 speed tractor trannys are junk for higer speed that stock. They have no bearings and are made chaep....very cheap. you best best is to snag a 3 speed plus reverse. It is an older trans mission and has bearings. To prove the difference in thoughness......i tried both in my tractors. The way i tested them was in my 18hp tractor doing wheelies. The newer 5 speed blew first launch, the 6 speed blew on a secong launch. My 3 speeds are still going strong two yrs later.:love: Also, the newer 5 speed was tried by a friend who had a tractor go 50 mph........well....it tied up at 50mph.....causing tons of "crap" to go everywhere.
Another free mod was our headers...yes headers.
Single cyl briggs use 1in exhaust ports and twins use 3/4 ports. Common metal pipes know as galvinized or black pipe with threaded end are the ticket. I had a whole box full and decided to try it one day. Fun stuff. I'll get pics tomorrow of my mics stuff.:biglaugh::biglaugh:

 

[Clip]

i noticed the threads when i took the exhaust off last night. time to go to the hardware store

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

Sidebar, but a good one. Years ago my uncle put a 440 snowmobile engine in a homemade gocart frame. That thing was farging FAST!!! Biggest problem was cooling, like that was a surprise, but it was fun.

/hijack

 

[Toyota h8r]

http://videos.streetfire.net/search/golf+cart/0/b0af10df-4722-441e-aeff-0b63b254eed8.htm

I have a golf cart.......i have a 440 motor hmmmmmmm
I should try this at home!:biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E75NMpbJnas
I want to do this wholly cow!!!

 

[Toyota h8r]

WELP here they are.

!!!This is the before!!!

!!!AFTER!!!

YAh thats them.:biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh:

Thats where they sat all winter in the back storage lot(neighboors bitched so we have to "hide" them)

 

[Ric]

No, you can't make that work. Just put it back on the mower, reverse the pulleys, and do 45mph down the road

 

[Toyota h8r]

No, you can't make that work. Just put it back on the mower, reverse the pulleys, and do 45mph down the road

DING DING DING!!!!!!!!!! WINAR!!!!!!!!
Thats what i did sorta. kept stock front pulley. The transaxle pulley was a 8inch that now is a 2.5inch pulley. I had to get a smaller belt to compensate for difference. Save yourself a headache, race a mower:biggrinki:biggrinki:biggrinki :squint: ffwall::bigthumb::drink1:

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

lmao...

I would expect this from Kentuckians, but buckeyes... ? :icon_bigg

Does look/sound like fun. Much cheaper than a 4-wheeler too. Maybe when I get my house I'll get me one like that.

 

[Toyota h8r]

lmao...

I would expect this from Kentuckians, but buckeyes... ? :icon_bigg

Does look/sound like fun. Much cheaper than a 4-wheeler too. Maybe when I get my house I'll get me one like that.

Hey man be niice. I never had any money or anything fun, but we had a lot of mowers gave to us free. One day watching tv, i came arcoss a show about racing mowers. Thats how it all started. I had a "indy car" go kart, but it only was a worn out 3hp briggs. The tractors give me something to do when bored now that i have three projects already(cars dur).

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

^ I meant it in pure fun, dont worry.

If I seen someone go flying by on a lawnmower doing 45mph, I'd give them a thumbs up. Swear it.

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

My father in law seems to collect riding mowers for some reason. Three in his garage at home and two more at the lake. The lake we will be at this weekend... He just might like the sound of a 40 mph mower. :naughty: Yeah, this will happen. :biglaugh: