Background to Kartbuilding
Since the kartbuilding website which was first founded in 2000, many changes, updates and additions have taken place. The site started out as, and still remains a DIY and enthusiasts website for anything to do with designing, building and making go-karts, or karts, or carts, or go-carts as they are sometimes called.
The website was originally setup to provide “free kart plans” which there was a huge lack of at that time. Since then, other websites have offered free kart plans, however lack the extra information, tips and help which is required to make a go kart from limited part availability, or on a low cost budget. A plan for the future would be to provide a list of other kart plans available, to catalogue and critique them, providing you with extra resources and how-to’s.
Many people visiting the kartbuilding website do not realise the vast amount of information available. This can clearly be seen from the list of emails sent to kartbuilding [at] gmail.com This blog post is to provide a clear and concise overview of what’s available on the kartbuilding website.
Overview of what’s on the Kartbuilding Website
(in chronological order of their availability)
- [PLANS] Off-Road/General Purpose Kart Plans
- [PLANS] Plans for a Basic Wooden Kart with provision for a lawnmower engine
- Types of Kart Engines
- Methods of Transmission for Karts
- Calculate the Speed of a Kart (based on rpm, wheel diameter, and gear/chain ratio)
- Photos and Details of other peoples karts
- [PLANS] Racing Kart Plans in Photographic Format
- [PLANS] Complete set of Racing Kart Plans (pdf format)
- Kartbuilding Photo Gallery
- Archive of FAQ’s and Emails (emails sent to kartbuilding[at]gmail.com
- [PLANS] Wooden Go-Kart Plans (soap box carts, or simple push karts)
- [PLANS] Build a Highway Street Kart (from Modern Mechanix, 1962!!)
- Kartbuilding Blog (frequently updated)
Whats to Come
1. Plans for a “Lawnmower powered Wooden go-kart” will be finalised and completed. Currently the information for wooden karts and lawnmower engines are broken up and segregated. This new set of plans will show how to make an engine powered kart with little or no money using only timber and scrap materials.
2. Updating and Re-designing of the “Build a Highway Street Kart”. Currently these plans are in Imperial (inches), with some dimensions (measurements) quite hard to read. These plans will be remodelled in solidworks, the 2d plans and 3d model of which will be made available for download.
3. An improved and revamped “Transmission of Power” webpage. The current one is very old, incomplete and missing some pages. The transmission is one of the most important parts of a kart. Having a good and optimum transmission is the difference between a fast and slow kart, and can even compensate for having a low-powered engine.
4. Cataloguing and critiquing other free kart plans which are available on the internet, telling which plans are good for which purpose. This tends to be the greatest difference between kart builders. Some people want simple and very cheaply made karts. Others want all the trimmings, suspension, reverse etc. and are willing to spend money to do so.
5. Proper listing of parts and materials which are required. Many people ask what parts and materials are required. How much will they cost me? Can I get these parts online? These questions and many more will be made into a “Sourcing Parts and Materials” section.
For now, the best of luck with building your own karts.
Feel free to contact me and I will post comments, articles and photos as they arrive.
– Stephen