Another 'what is it' kart request for identification

#1
Hopefully someone can identify this cart 'frame'. I'm thinking it may have been made for a kart rental track since it is so heavy. Overall it's almost six feet long.
Also under some of the paint I see several 'safety' stickers. Several holes has me thinking it may have had a body on it at some point. There was also a 1/8" thick floor pan.
Thanks, John IMG_4117.JPG
 

I74

Well-Known Member
#2
Looks ''very'' stout whatever it is ….
Cool also that it has the cassette mountings for a live axel.
Also looks like you can put a pretty ''hefty'' engine on it.:p;)
 

Harquebus

Well-Known Member
#3
That kart there (kart with a 'k' ;)) is a Murray Explorer. It's American made so there's that. They were usually painted a forest green from the factory.

It's missing the roll cage (or brush guard, actually), it had no body. I think they were equipped with a Tecumseh OHV 6, 6.5, 7 HP from the factory.
They are fun karts and not intended for rental tracks. Those (concession) karts are way way overbuilt and heavy for safety and customer abuse.

Shaller makes concession karts to this day, for example... https://www.shaller.com/karts/?type=10
 
#4
You nailed it. It was probably the Explorer model. The grandsons helped me strip it down and build it into a fun kart. The rear is now a
Kawasaki KLT 200 live axle which is great. Rear tires are 19" tall so had to raise the front axle to keep it all level. Motor is from a Honda 5.5 hp
sprayer. It will eventually get full suspension on the front and a roll bar since most of our trails are pretty rough. Anyway, the boys are pumped and I'm happy we got to do the project together. If anyone is interested, I would show the 'build' project here.
 
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#9
Ten days with 9 & 10 year old grandsons was a blast even if I'm worn slick now.
This kkartt had a rough life ending up in in a scrap pile. Being a sucker for trying to breathe life into old
iron and to show the boys what ingenuity can accomplish we did just that.
The frame and wheels was sandblasted and in the process of blowing the sand out of the tubes a ton of rust
and crud came out. Close inspection show several cracks and old repairs which had to be repaired.
The front frame member was missing and the axle was badly bent and twisted. I did much if this repair at night
not wanting the boys to be overwhelmed and lose interest.
 

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#10
The rear wheels came with the project. The rear axle came from a Kawasaki three wheeler. Other than being too narrow
it was a good choice since it already has a differential, brake and sprocket in place. The 540 pitch sprocket is quite large so the motor plate had to be raised to get the clearance needed. A stronger cross member replaced the old one and plates were added to the ends of the motor plate for more supports. The big fix was to get the rear wheels to clear the frame. The lug bolt pattern of the wheels that came with the frame was different than the Kawasaki so an adapter / spacer was made.
 

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#11
Wheel spacing was done using some 6" well casing from the scrap pile and pieces of 3/16" plate. I needed 2-1/2" added
to each side. There is about 1/2" clearance between the frame and tires now. This kart wasn't made for 19" tall tires so next is making spacers at the front axle to keep things level. Next
 

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#12
I came close to building a new suspended front axle but time didn't allow so the old axle was modified and dropped 3" below the frame just to make the kart set level. At the same time the front of the frame was beefed up with steel bars driven into the ends of the original frame about 5". With just an inch or so suspension meant adding extra bracing just in case they hit something big. Next was changing the steering angle down to the new location and also making a new steering column. Tried to build this all remembering it will be changed to independent suspension next summer.
With the boys growing so fast it was important to build in adjustments of the pedals and seat. So far it's all worked out great.
 

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#13
After checking one last time everything was disassembled and prepped for paint. I had some 2-part epoxy primer for base and the boys picked 'hammered silver' for the finish as well as red for the wheels. A good combination. No comment on the upholstery, not my forte. We made a quick rotisserie that helped make quick work of the paint job. While the boys were reassembling things I was getting the Honda pressure sprayer engine cleaned up and tested. It's a bit tired but will last this year.
 

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#14
Got lucky and found a new Comet 30 TAV kit for a fair price and it fit the Honda 5hp motor with just a slight modification. It was missing the cover so back to the scrap pile for some thin aluminum diamond plate. The sprockets had been lined up prior to welding the motor plate in place so next was routing the brake and throttle cables. After test running on the bench the chain was connected to the axle. All went smooth.
We adjusted the seat and foot pedals then took it for a spin.
 

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Harquebus

Well-Known Member
#18
You did a bang-up job for sure and no foolin' around.

I like that beefy bumper on the front--that's some clairvoyant thinking there, because karts and minibikes alike suffer from a lot of head-on collisions with walls, fence posts, trees and the like.
 
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