Tobias wants a lawn mower to take apart and put back together. Willing to spend up to $25.
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I have one that runs but needs fixed up. It’s missing the air filter and filter cover. Carb needs cleaned and possibly rebuilt. The self propelled portion needs checked out, might have a broken tooth in the gearbox.
What’s the make and model. I want to make sure we can get the parts needed to repair it at a reasonable price. I think he wants to build his own gocart but he hasn’t given me all the details yet.
It’s a Toro GTS Recycler.
Mowers use a vertical shaft, which are not the best motors to use for a go kart.
The only way I know of how to use a vertical shaft for a go kart is with a riding mower transaxle. Pulleys/sprockets will have to be changed for the correct gear ratio (speed vs torque) and it’s a bit of a pain get it all working and mounted.
If he’s still interested, I can look up the part numbers that it needs to get it fixed up. Even if he doesn’t want to fix it and just wants to tear one apart and check it out, it’s his.
For a go kart, a horizontal shaft is MUCH easier to use as it hooks to the axle much easier.
There’s motor plates, centrifugal clutches, torque converters, axles, sprockets, chains, bearings, and other parts that are readily available.
The harbor freight predator 212 (hemi) is a popular inexpensive ($100) choice for smaller karts. It’s about 5 or 6 horsepower stock, plenty to start with. It’s a clone of a Honda with lots of aftermarket parts available to get it up to about 8 or 9 horsepower.
New motors have a throttle governor that can be removed and might satisfy the curiosity to crack open the motor.
I suggest checking out youtube for some how-to videos and gopowersports.com and bmikarts.com for parts. I don’t recall any places locally that really carried parts.
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My Dad made a “flying stool” with a weed wacker for an engine. The structure was frighteningly minimal, but that sucker was scary fast even with a larger person as pilot. (I called it a flying stool because it really went fast and was basically a stool with an engine and a pipe to steer. One accident and I would have had a pipe through the guts… so make it safer than that… but plenty fast enough for sure.)
Also I might have a weed wacker that I could contribute.
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I think we’re going to steer him to research and development planning for the winter. It’s soon going to be too cold outside to work on a project like this and we don’t want it inside our smallish house. Before I knew what he wanted to build I told him he needed to draw it up, make a budget, and write build instructions because he kept telling me it was to hard to explain. He doesn’t believe he works well in groups so I want him to start building those groups communication skills, so he knows how to get his ideas across.
Definitely need to do some research and planning if he plans on building or repairing one.
Examples of what others have already done really helps. Google images is a good tool to find similar designs. I suggest getting a used one, over building one. Building one takes quite a bit more knowledge, skill and time.
There’s a lot of learning experience available with a go-kart. It’s a good, real world opportunity to learn about how motors work, gear ratios, steering geometry, safety gear, etc. He doesn’t have to learn everything before he can have fun with it either.
There’s some deals to be had on fixer uppers, just have to keep an eye out. This time of year is usually a good time to find a good deal as people don’t want to store them over the winter. There’s also mini bikes that offer a similar experience.
If there’s any questions on this, let me know. I’ve fixed up a few go karts.
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I will definitely have him read this thread. I’m definitely encouraging him to be smart about it. I have him coming to the RC plane meet ups as well. I’m personally hoping he goes more for that now and possibly the go cart when he’s 14-15 that a couple years away.
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I’ve been planning to build one of these so a vertical shaft could be used to build a fun machine!
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