Hoffco Hurricane 1960?

#1
Greetings to all,

I guess I am still a newby here.

I recently sold my 1980 Manco Quicksilver with the goal of upgrading to a vintage two-stoke kart. I didn't plan on such a fast purchase of a 1960? Hoffco Hurricane. Some of you may have seen it on Craigslist in Ohio, that's were I found it. I discovered later it was listed on eBay as well.

I am restoring it not to show quality but I want a nice clean correct vintage kart. I did the shows and all the traveling many years ago with my AMC Marlin's and Corvair, not up for all that presently. Anyway, I have started to strip it down. I do not have a lot of information, or resources for the Hoffco karts. I found some stuff on the net of course. The Kart is very complete and looks mostly untouched and original but needs some better parts than what was on it. Original mean 60 years old and it show it in some areas. There may be some items missing too, I don't know. It does appear that the steering wheel is incorrect, and perhaps its missing the steering rod housing?

It has a Clinton A490 that turns nicely and seems to have strong kick back, good sign. Some of the tin is pitted like the tank and shroud/ re-coil cover. No other damage noted thus far. It has the packed aluminum mesh air cleaner that is surprisingly intact. All linkage is there and so is the throttle cable end.

I'm sure I could keep writing but let me say this. I am looking for someone to rebuild the engine and paint it the correct Apple red. The tins mentioned above would need to be replaced or somehow repaired, I do not have any spares. This would be a good start.

I am going to have the frame looked at and probably stripped and painted "power blue" according to some literature I have read. I will do this locally in the Detroit area. The wheels are pitted too but I think I can save them and have them painted silver. The optional front and rear bumpers are intact along with the side nurf bars. The rear bumper is in the worst shape, significant pitting unfortunately. No holes or rot anywhere discovered on the kart, even the front and rear bumpers.

I will address the steering components soon.

Oh, amazingly it appears to have three original tires still mounted.

That is enough for now as I need some feed back, resources, expertise, parts, and perhaps some genuine guidance. I may be a newby here but I am not a newby. I have been collecting motorcycles and cars for more than thirty years, I have owned many two-stoke street bikes and still have my 1972 Kawasaki H1 500 triple.

Kind regards and thank you for reading all of this,

Patrick
Detroit Area
 

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#3
If you want that A490 built correctly by a master, send a PM to @scrambler1 There are also a few vintage karters around who have information on that kart, but you probably already found them in your internet searches.
 
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