Homemade go kart

Me and a friend got tired of being bored and we don't have money to go out so we decided to build a go kart from scratch using materials we found around the shop. We custom built every single part on this go kart, from the steering to the brakes. This project took 3 days and at a total cost of $0.

Step 1: Materials

What you will need:
Square/Round tubing for frame and support
Seat
Steering wheel
Flat stock
Round rod
Assorted bolts

Comments

[kyle_is_bored]

follow me plz plz plz plZ hehe LOL

[kyle_is_bored]

awesome job but needs more defence

[rhys25690811234]

thanx, please follow me did you say you need pedals oe a gas tank or even how to link and connect this stuff??

[rhys25690811234]

is it electric

[sco_oter]

no its gas

[rhys25690811234]

is it electric

[holdens_can_suck_it]

Hi when you say, add a clutch what happens right now with out a clutch?

[cchartré-bouchard]

What measures are in centimeters

Nice go kart

[toxictwin]

Awesome job,

[yayo23]

well as i know you said you used parts around the shop but what did you get your parts off to make your frame

[sco_oter]

The frame was cut from square tubing from behind the shop

[jamob]

how well does it work>

[mahdisamiei]

it`s very good

[yholiyat]

Very awesome project, me and my friend are doing this over the summer and we hope i works out. But can you post any videos or links to videos of you riding it, just for a little engorgement and taste of it.

Very awesome and thank you!

[Litewatefitr]

Very cool, man. Impressive build. Would you be willing to send me your plans? I also have a bunch of steel laying around and just picked up a welder... I'm itching to let 'er rip. thanks! Have a good one!

[Hippymike96]

Is there welding?

[goldenshuttle]

Great work indeed; and it looks almost as good as company made I give u thumbs up.

[ak3580]

where did you get your base model ????????????

[sco_oter]

We googled racing kart frames and searched till we found one we liked.

[garytoast]

How is it free then?

[sco_oter]

Its free because i didn't buy anything for this project.

[garytoast]

So you made the frame

[sco_oter]

I made everything on the go kart except the engine, wheels, and steering wheel and those i salvaged from two mini likes, an edger, and my car.

[jcksparr0w]

Thanks for this. i now know what i need to do to my frame to make the steering work!!! Thanks again!

[Noodles For Free]

I just wanted to say that you have a seat and asorted bolts in the materials list but no wheels! This is a new turn of events in the mobility world. Grab the balloons! we're going up!

just kidding though. cool project

[Phil B]

Do you think there is a weight limit for the rider? If so, what do you think it would be? It appears from the flux dust that you did not use a MIG welder, but either a flux core wire feed welder or a stick welder. Which did you use?

This is a nice project that should provide much enjoyment for a long time. Thank you for sharing it.

[sco_oter]

I believe the weight limit is around 200lbs. I used a cheap walmart stick welder. It would support more weight if I had a better welder. Thanks for your reply.

[Phil B]

I noticed the drawing of the pattern you used as a starting point and saw that there was an extra angled 1" x !" brace on each side that would add strength where the front half of the frame is welded to the back half, but you did not use those in your build. I was wondering if the frame would have a little less strength to support weight because those angled braces are not included.

In my limited experience it is not easy to get a good weld on square tubing when using a stick welder. It is very easy to burn a hole, especially when making what amounts to a "T" joint.

Thanks for your response.

[sco_oter]

I changed that angled piece to be parallel with the front/back of the kart so the seat had something to weld to. I had my friend do all the welding and he's a certified welder and we didn't burn any holes in the metal. I have tried welding square tubing with a stick welder before and I burned holes in it everywhere but this tubing was 3x thicker than the tubing I was welding on so it was less prone to burn through.

[Phil B]

I had a project made of 1" square tubing. The tubing had fairly thin "normal" walls. Many of my joints were "T" joints. The end of the one piece would melt away with relatively little heat, but the linear side of the other piece required much more heat to weld. I used 1/16" electrodes at around 60-65 amps. I tried to keep most of the arc on the linear side of the one piece and tried to weave over onto the end of the other piece just enough to make a good weld, but not enough to make it blow a hole. Part of the trick was starting the arc. When I had the welder current high enough to start an arc, it was too high to weld without blowing holes. When I had the welder current dialed back where I did not blow holes so easily, it was very hard to start an arc. (I was using a Miller Thunderbolt with an infinitely adjustable crank wheel, not a welder like a Lincoln "tombstone" where settings click in with no fine adjustment between settings.) This is an old trick I read when I first got a welder and helped me keep the welding current lower while still starting an arc easily.

[rimar2000]

Phil, I am now using a method I invented: because the electronic mask allows me to use both hands, I add a black iron wire like an additional electrode, like in Oxy-Aceltylene welding. That trick allows me to weld relatively thin sheet or tubes, without holes. Two weeks ago I picked a little carousel from the street, carried it to my home and fixed it some rotten iron parts and reinforced the weldings. Now it is at one of my granddaughters's home, she is very happy.

[Phil B]

I do not believe you have an oxy-acetylene torch, so you must mean that you hold the wire in the puddle made by your electrode. Clever.

[rimar2000]

Yes, it is so as you say. I put the black wire over the sheet to weld or the hole to fill, and then start the arc on it. When the wire melt, I push it until the welding or filling is accomplished, then cut the wire with the arc. Pulling a little when it is clear red, is enough sometimes. I have used different thickness, 1 thru 6 mm, successfully, depending on the thickness of the piece. To fill holes, always is better perform little tacks, allowing the iron to harden for a split second before restarting the arc. Otherwise, the hole enlarges.

[profpat]

rimar.

kumusta usted?

i made a small electric arc welding machine from 2 scrap microwave ovens transformer for my tnin sheets works.. i still make holes, what is your electronic welding mask?

gracias, via con dios!

[rimar2000]

Here is very difficult to get scrap transformers, people does not throw them to the waste.

My welding mask is like this: https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRQrdk4dZGMQaBwafjOB25fPiyrBszlk2A7WQ4BjqPKOYq5lqGxZQ

[Phil B]

Thank you. The extra thickness of the tubing explains a lot. Perhaps you mentioned that and I overlooked it.

[profpat]

nice project,

I did build a similar one like this years ago, i mounted a 5hp Briggs and Straton one cylinder 4 stroke engine used for general purpose agriculture, since i did not use any clutch system but direct chain drive to the rear wheels(like yours), once you do a full stop, the engine dies, i had to modify the drive chain to a belt type system, with a third pulley acting as a clutch, when never i tighten the slack of the belt with a lever mechanism the carts rear wheels engage to the engine..hope i can still find the drawing i made..

[sconner1]

Looks like you'll have to push-start the engine without a centrifugal clutch or torque converter.

[sconner1]

Dude. back off.
This is home made fun, not a competitive racing kart.
Great job guys.

[t.rohner]

Very nice instructable

But if you ever blasted on a track in a real competition go kart(not the rental BS), you would know the difference.

A "real" go kart has a highly tuned 2 stroke engine with 100-125 ccm that turn up to 17'000 RPM and crank out around 30HP.
When i raced these beauties, the crankshaft bearings lasted about 15 hours, then they had to be replaced...
Given that, the frame needs to be highly stable and all the other parts also need to be of excellent quality.
On a sunny summerday, you can scrape away the rubber of a warmed up tire with your fingernails.
A real competition tire lasts one race, you can later use it up for some training rounds.
With these tires, you can almost turn on the spot with 60 Mph. (10-60Mph in 3 seconds)

Of course, the go karting started the way you show in your instructable.

A actual competition cart costs about what you pay for a compact car, only the running costs are much higher ;-)

[the mechanical engineer]

wow! i love your build, but I do have a few questions and comments. first, how does it start? Does the motor have a centrifigual clutch on it or do you just run and jump on it to get going? also, how was the sprocket attached to the engine? was it already on there or did you have to devise a way of attaching it. And as for comments, I have toyed with the idea of using bike chain and sprokets to drive the rear shaft, wich would allow you to use the rear cassette off of a mountain bike, which can have up to 7 different gears, and the rear derailleur, wich would allow you to shift gears to gain mechanical advantage for your speed. just something to think about.

[sco_oter]

It does not have a slip clutch although I need to put one on, you can push start it if you can push it fast enough. The sprocket was already on the engine.

[mr.incredible]

Nice job. I agree with some of the comments here. Some of your weld joints are a bit suspect.

Since you obviously have the tools, you could strengthen your frame with some well placed braces. A floor would help to strengthen and protect against rocks, dirt and mangled feet.

You could easily build foot pedals for the brake and throttle. Just make sure you put the correct pedals on the correct side. Even if you have to cross over the cables in front of the pedals.

It is not too late to change out your rear end. A solid rear axle would give you better traction for starting and stopping. You can save up a little money and pick up a 70 or 110cc motorcycle engine with 3 speed clutchless shifting. There are a lot of Chinese, Honda knockoffs out there. Just Google it.

[dimmaz88]

Awesome, great effort using stuff you had to hand. I need to learn how to weld, I am yet to try.

I'd love one of these go karts!

[rimar2000]

Very good project, congratulations!

Although I think that some points of the structure are a bit weak. As Phil B said, the weldings are critical. Many times a welding seems well done until the critic instant.

You must have always in mind the "triangle rule": the unique strong structure is the triangle.