VINTAGE Racing Go Karts
- Thread starter KustomKartKid
- Start date
- Tags karts vintage
I remember Grand Prix of America in Troy, Michigan. I drove those cars, way back in the mid-70s!:laugh: The company was originally owned by John Delorean, I read an article once he got involved in that business to promote and expand awareness of the Wankel engine, which was originally planned for the Delorean car.
Can anyone help me identify these vintage kart frames?
I'm guessing that they are early to mid-60s. They appear to be made by the same manufacturer, but one is for running clockwise and the other is for going counterclockwise. They are mirror images of each other, with one having an engine mount on the left and the other on the right. Both are offset, and have wood gripped butterfly steering wheels.
The red one has Margay hubs and wheels, which were available over the counter, and the other has magnesium wheels with a Precision Wheel Inc. Grand Rapids, MI decal.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I'm guessing that they are early to mid-60s. They appear to be made by the same manufacturer, but one is for running clockwise and the other is for going counterclockwise. They are mirror images of each other, with one having an engine mount on the left and the other on the right. Both are offset, and have wood gripped butterfly steering wheels.
The red one has Margay hubs and wheels, which were available over the counter, and the other has magnesium wheels with a Precision Wheel Inc. Grand Rapids, MI decal.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I've decided that I don't have the time or space to tackle this project, but I'd consider trading them for the right vintage minibike.
I'm in Connecticut.
Hi ATKRIDER,
I'll try to post an old ad. Keep in mind this was from back in the 1960's. I got mine from a car dealer in Michigan City, named Anxious Al's. I believe it was on Highway 20. Al had at least 100 karts in various stages of construction. Thinking back, he may have bought out the Chesterton factory stock. Looks like they added bumpers in the concession pic. Same motor though, Clinton A490.
I'll try to post an old ad. Keep in mind this was from back in the 1960's. I got mine from a car dealer in Michigan City, named Anxious Al's. I believe it was on Highway 20. Al had at least 100 karts in various stages of construction. Thinking back, he may have bought out the Chesterton factory stock. Looks like they added bumpers in the concession pic. Same motor though, Clinton A490.
I found this on wiki answers:
John DeLorean founded Grand Prix of America (GPA) as chairman with his younger brother, Jack, as president about the time he resigned from General Motors in 1972-1973. The concept was seven-tenths single seat formula cars driven against the clock on a paved road racing layout track with both left and right turns. The cars started from a standstill and once one lap was completed, came to a stop, and the driver handed a ticket to the attendant between laps. The business plan was to sell franchises for tracks around the world.
The company was originally located in Troy Michigan along with its first track.
The company was primarily financed by wealthy individuals including at least one well-known entertainment personalities.
Unlike go kart tracks open to the general public, the GPA cars had fiberglass formula car style bodies, and featured independent front suspension and 10" dia. wheels, and were powered by Wankel rotary gasoline motors originally designed for snowmobiles. The cars used a centrifugal clutch with a continuously variable ratio speed-sensitive belt drive mechanism, also used in snowmobiles at the time.
The cars would hit a top speed of about 35 miles per hour on the tight course, and a lap, electronically timed, would be under a minute. A one lap ticket cost $1.00.
The custom designed timing system used photoelectric beams to automatically record lap times, and although the cars were not engaged in wheel-to-wheel racing, the timing system would support multiple cars on the track at the same time, pacing the starting times to spread out the cars.
The original twenty or so vehicles were designed and built by Antares Engineering, an engineering services firm founded by Don Gates and Mike Pocobello, both formerly with Chevrolet Engineering.
After the initial vehicles were delivered, Herb Adams joined GPA from Pontiac Motor Division as head of automotive programs. A run of about 300 additional vehicles was outsourced to Outboard Marine Corporation who manufactured them at a riding lawnmower production facility in Oshkosh, WI.
The company relocated its headquarters to Newport Beach, CA and built a track there. The company also may have built additional tracks in Dallas, TX and Phoenix, AZ.
GPA's plan to sell franchises was unsuccessful, and the company shut down in about 1974.
Malibu Grand Prix bought vehicles from the bankrupt company, hired several former employees of GPA including the timing systems designer, and is operating tracks today (2011) using the basic GPA vehicle design, although they no longer use Wankel rotary engines.
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I thought that car looked familiar. Looks like the Malibu Grand Prix cars @ Anaheim, Ca. in the early 1980's.
John DeLorean founded Grand Prix of America (GPA) as chairman with his younger brother, Jack, as president about the time he resigned from General Motors in 1972-1973. The concept was seven-tenths single seat formula cars driven against the clock on a paved road racing layout track with both left and right turns. The cars started from a standstill and once one lap was completed, came to a stop, and the driver handed a ticket to the attendant between laps. The business plan was to sell franchises for tracks around the world.
The company was originally located in Troy Michigan along with its first track.
The company was primarily financed by wealthy individuals including at least one well-known entertainment personalities.
Unlike go kart tracks open to the general public, the GPA cars had fiberglass formula car style bodies, and featured independent front suspension and 10" dia. wheels, and were powered by Wankel rotary gasoline motors originally designed for snowmobiles. The cars used a centrifugal clutch with a continuously variable ratio speed-sensitive belt drive mechanism, also used in snowmobiles at the time.
The cars would hit a top speed of about 35 miles per hour on the tight course, and a lap, electronically timed, would be under a minute. A one lap ticket cost $1.00.
The custom designed timing system used photoelectric beams to automatically record lap times, and although the cars were not engaged in wheel-to-wheel racing, the timing system would support multiple cars on the track at the same time, pacing the starting times to spread out the cars.
The original twenty or so vehicles were designed and built by Antares Engineering, an engineering services firm founded by Don Gates and Mike Pocobello, both formerly with Chevrolet Engineering.
After the initial vehicles were delivered, Herb Adams joined GPA from Pontiac Motor Division as head of automotive programs. A run of about 300 additional vehicles was outsourced to Outboard Marine Corporation who manufactured them at a riding lawnmower production facility in Oshkosh, WI.
The company relocated its headquarters to Newport Beach, CA and built a track there. The company also may have built additional tracks in Dallas, TX and Phoenix, AZ.
GPA's plan to sell franchises was unsuccessful, and the company shut down in about 1974.
Malibu Grand Prix bought vehicles from the bankrupt company, hired several former employees of GPA including the timing systems designer, and is operating tracks today (2011) using the basic GPA vehicle design, although they no longer use Wankel rotary engines.
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I thought that car looked familiar. Looks like the Malibu Grand Prix cars @ Anaheim, Ca. in the early 1980's.
Malibu Grand Prix opened a track near Portland in '79. My friends and I went there quite often. The first cars had rotary engines, but didn't look as racy as the ones in the photos above. Later they swapped 'em out for cars w/big lawnmower-type engines. MGP was fun-ish, but not getting to do multiple flying laps or dice w/your pals sorta held things back. There's a great rental kart place in the area now that just puts MGP to shame. MGP went under a few months ago and was quickly bulldozed to make room for an auto dealership. There were reports that it was going to move to a ski area on Mt. Hood, but I don't know if that panned out.
