Ah, it looks like you have the bare bones skeleton of a Mini Cars®, manufactured by F.W. Associates, Inc. and about 1970-1980's era.
They all had car, van, Formula 1, etc., bodies and were designed for promotional use. They were not "go karts" in the traditional sense but were only designed to go about 10-15 MPH. You can tell they were meant for low speed by the basic quality of the frame and the steering linkage [very "janky" and low-precision]. Sold and marketed mainly to businesses that needed a way to show off their brand. I think the Shriners were among the few who utilized them in parades and such. I think a 3 HP Briggs and Stratton engine was the standard powerplant.
Here's a link to one that had a Bricklin body and was restored....
http://bricklin-sv-1-build-history.com/photo_16.html