How to Create a Go-Kart With a Lawn Mower Engine
Go-kart racing has been popular for decades, and McCulloch was the first company, in 1959, to produce engines for go-karts. Since then, go-kart enthusiasts have become inventive and have figured out how to create go-karts with a lawn mower engine.
Lawn mower racing has become extremely popular, especially in the UK where custom seats and trailers are being attached to lawn mowers to create a vehicle for racing. A similar invention allows you to create a go-kart using a vertical or preferably a horizontal shaft lawn mower engine.
A go-kart will be easier to build if you use a horizontal shaft engine as converting a vertical shaft engine will be difficult, if not impossible. You may be able to locate a horizontal lawnmower engine or use go-kart kits or plans.
Items Needed
- Lawn Mower Engine
- Transmission or gearbox
- Go-Kart Frame
- Sprocket Tools
- Metal plate with brackets
- Manual belt slip clutch or centrifugal force clutch
- Design a mounting bracket to hold the engine in the horizontal position.
- Weld a metal plate onto the go-kart frame. Make sure that the frame will be able to support and accommodate the lawn mower engine plus the transmission.
- Drill and tap new mounting holes with the carburetor turned on its side. Make sure you allow space for future maintenance such as oiling the engine.
- Attach the throttle cable to throttle linkage on the lawn mower carburetor.
- Bolt down both the motor and the transmission by aligning the transmission up with the gear on the rear axle.
- Use a twisted-belt and pulley system to get the power to a horizontal axle then attach a disengageable tensioner with pulley as a clutch.
- Change the sprocket size on the lawn mower transmission to a tooth gear of approximately 16.