Red Devil Kart Restoration: 2018

Sometime ago I received a comment from a subscriber to this blog named Christopher stating he had photos of this Hartman kart at Sears Point in 1987. Christopher... I don't know how to contact you. :-( I would love to have them. Thank you!

Please email me at: todd@acipolle.com

AND... Please share how you know it is this kart. There has to be a good story.

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It’s been a long winter...and even longer since my last post.

The tanks were next project. Like the frame they were powder coated, so I used the Airplane Stripper again. It came off fairly easily. (as always, click on the images for larger views)

This is after just a few minutes of Airplane Stripper. Great stuff!!

The number panel took a second and third coat.

Evidence of the original classic Hartman Blue anodizing


Evidence of the original classic Hartman Blue anodizing

A vintage image of one of Kathey Hartman's karts from the early 1980s with Hartman blue tanks...
and her initials in the front foot guard.

A clean tank... showing the dull surface from sandblasting before the red powder coating. YUK!

I was also experimenting with what finish to have on the frame. All Hartman karts left the factory unpainted. I have heard it was a weight issue... John Hartman counted every ounce! (just wait until we discuss brakes!)

The test area was behind seat on the axle tube. Left side is buffed with ever finer Scotchbright pads. Right is the same buff except with WD-40. The vintage images (see Kathey's kart above) shows a good shine but not a mirrored surface.

One thing Rick strongly suggested was to cut off the metal tabs on the foot guard. They were designed for holding early bodywork not allowed in vintage classes. At speed they would cut a person like a dull knife. They came off pretty easily with a angle grinder. It takes a good eye to see where they were.

My plan is to buff the entire frame with a fine Scotchbright pad, clean it well with a tack cloth, then denatured alcohol, and finally apply Sharkhide Metal protector.

Then on to polishing the tanks. I watched lots of Youtube videos showing how to polish aluminum and decided to use an old sander to start the process starting at 220 grit with WD-40.

After progressing through 330, 400, 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit, I used a soft wheel on a drill with rouge to get a mirrored surface.

Wellllll..... maybe not. This image was shot from a few inches away. There is a reflection, but it is clouded by billions of small pits from the sandblasting before powder coating. Thanks a lot, former owner!

Here is a close-up of the surface. The "big" pit is about 1/16" wide.

I finally figured out I needed to start at a lower grit to work out the tiny pits. After Christmas I created my own velcro sanding pads by cluing sandpaper to a felt sheet then cutting them out. Pam's Dad gave me a wonderful Rockwell oscillating tool for Christmas which came in very handy. Much better then that old heavy sander.

These shots are of the small tank after starting at 80 grit, progressing to 2000 grit. Not absolute mirrored but very satisfactory... and satisfying! I am still working on the large tank. It is just not getting the same finish after two sandings.

The first week of December I took the Hartman frame to the upholstery shop expecting to have the seat done before Christmas. But due to the holidays, the upholsterer's dealing with health issues and death of one of their parents, it took until mid-March to have it completed.
It is not 100% what I expected and am thinking of taking it back for some alterations. I probably just need to chill out about it.

Transporting to the drive-way and truck. I just image I am pulling an old roadster out of Gasoline Alley :-)

While the frame was away, I cleaned-up the front brakes, including the hubs and bolts on the wire wheel.

bottom - as found top - cleaned

Front brake hubs. Notice different colors. Black is original Hartman. Silver is a knock-off... I think. see below.

Brake disks back on. Notice the "knock-off" has three holes per bolt. The Hartman hub has only one.

The bolts not only hold the disk on the hub, but also serves to keep it lined up just off the stationary brake pad. Thankfully, I came across this forum post concerning the Hartman Brakes: SteveO giving Hartman brake insights

I won't go into the details... but that John Hartman was whiz of an engineer!