Kart wisdom from Dad

new tires with tubes since the wheels are two piece

only fill the tank near the engine.  no ballast in the other, it's a bumper

before we run it, we'll get four scales and put one under each tire. then "flex" the frame to balance it

balance the tires!

inventory the extra parts and put in new boxes (although I love those old cardboard boxes)

don't pull hard on the belt when starting.  you could flex and break the cam shaft.  you'll wished you hadn't

put the castle nut flush with the axle when hitting with hammer (i did not do that and ruined a castle nut... and almost the axle threads)

cotter pin or safety wire as you go.  don't forget

thread lock almost every bolt on the engine.. or they will vibrate out

the engine temp gauge lead goes around the spark plug against the head

He did not know why people feel the exhaust

the brake tether can just wrap snuggly around the lever and be secured with a cable lock

if your hi/lo jets are set right it will sing.  it sounds really good just before it blows up

don't get too lean

fingering the carb is not choking it.  use your finger to cut off the fuel hole to lean it out for power

set your hi / lo needles to closed.  work in half turns.  a half turn is "one".  then work on small divisions of that "one"

do we need a banana for vintage?

zip tie the throttle cable.  must be free

Larry Gioe never let anyone see him rebuild an engine.  and he always had a rag in his back pocket

look at the reeds from the bottom.  see any light?  before we put them back, we'll flip them so they flex against the frame

when running methanol (i love the smell of methanol!), immediately run a quart or half gallon of gas to clean out the alcohol.

Tighten everything.  then tighten it again

*** carb needles and other small engine parts are in a clear plastic container upper right of bench.  even with the vice above eye level.

lots of kart parts in the little cubbies, including a couple spark plugs

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Pressure test Mac
Plates cover carb hole and exhaust
Have plates and pressure gauge
Air up to 20psi or so
Let sit over night check pressure
Find leaks.  Soapy water works fine
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because it's fun!

In Memorium

My Captain is gone.  I have no where to go.

Simon Peter answered him, 

“Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life."

John 6:68

Lyle Ernest Giles

1940 - 2012

Engine Rebuild

Today is centered around rebuilding the engine, but we must consider the brakes again.  Here is the brake lever which we tried to drill in order to hold the safety tether.

Christmas in May!!

Here are the piston rings...again, from Terry Ives.   Notice the original box... and the date.

 What a COOOOLLLL box!

 Forty-two year old rings!  That's original !

Dad uncovered the kart to find this little guy.

It's a Wolf Spider.. on top of a 9/16 inch wrench....  YOU DO THE MATH!

 OK.. off to work!  

This is looking down the cylinder from the top end.

 PORTS!  but there are some imperfections

To get rid of the imperfections we need to do some honing.

 After the cylinder was cleaned-up, we better take care of the piston and rings.

Notice the pips on the piston rod...by Dad's thumb.

First, the crank needs to go in. But make sure the bearings are all free and oiled.  We had to work out what held the crank in place... ah!  the yellow cover.

Putting on the cover.

 Crank is in.  Rings... Ready to go.  But wait, not so quick.

The rings must have the correct spacing as noted in the owner's manual.  Special tools are required.
The set Dad reached for first in his tool box had not been used in 40 years and were rusted/corroded. I took a chance and checked the kart tool box. After digging around for a couple minutes, there they were. (I knew/hoped he would have them!) Two sets...somewhat rusty under 40 years of dirt, rust, and dust.  This one has spanners .016 and  .020 inches.

 So a few seconds on the wheel and they are almost perfect.

 RINGS!  Easy does it!  Don't move quickly.  Don't bend them!

Here they are in the grooves.

 It is hard to see, but the yellow cover is nearly blocking the cylinder.  It needs to be twisted so the short skirt allows the arm to be placed into the cylinder, then the twist the piston back into position.  IMPORTANT: the arrow stamped in to the top of the piston needs to be nearest the exhaust ports.

Once the piston is in, the careful work starts to get the rings in.  Slide in to the bottom ring, compress the ring from the bottom up to close the gap.  BING!  Just a little pressure and it pops in.

The bottom end, with crank shaft and piston arm.

 Ready for needle bearings!

 Need a little dab of grease.  Make sure there is no grit or grime or dirt... like this little black dot of dirt.

 Needle bearings!  There are 24 bearings... COUNT THEM AND COUNT THEM AND COUNT THEM.

Use a magnetic screw drive to move each bearing to the crank.  Place in the space between the crank and the piston arm.

 Bearing is just peeking out on the bottom.

 Magnetic screwdriver makes the work easier.  GO SLOW!  COUNT THE BEARINGS!

 It looks easy, and it is. But I dropped one bearing into the crank case.  Found it and put it back.

 When half the bearings are in, put the other half in.

Here is the bottom end all together.  Turn the crank (on one direction) to make sure the grease is working in and there are no gaps.  But there was a slight gap. Turned the engine on end and shook.  OOOPPPSSS!!!  a needle bearing popped out.  So do it again.

Turn the bolts to just tight.

 AHHH, my first crack at using a torque wrench.

 With the bottom end done, the head can go on. Just watch which way the it is aligned.  But to tighten the head screws with the torque wrench we needed a longer straight allen wrench.

 So we improvised.  Here is my brother Steve giving a hand cutting a spare allen wrench.  Dad, where are hacksaw blades?  The tightened down just fine.

Well, someone needs to hold the hot end of the sacrificial allen wrench

 Here are the Giles Boys on their way to town for some Kopper Koat.

 The bottom end being put together, but wait...

 Where are the bolts to hold the bottom end together??  OH YEA!  the engine mounts hold it all together.

 Ahhh... I need more torque wrench!

 With the engine together, it was time to start the timing.  Here is the old box with the timing wheel.

 Goes on the the crank.

 Then there was lots of reading aloud from the owner's manual.

 Might be easier to read if it was turned around.  YEP!

Time ran out! so that's how we left the engine.  

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Here are some pix of us working...

Becky knows her engines... 

Showing progress to Becky

Just 'cause...