149 replies to this topic

[Cirrus]

That's definitely a Taifun. When the Goodyear Blue Streak rear tyres were introduced at the World Championships in 1971, the Taifun was the best chassis at coping with the extra grip. As a result most other manufacturers produced a Taifun copy.

 

Even Cirrus 002 (which I built Winter 73/74) copied some features...

 

 

Edited by Cirrus, 10 January 2017 - 08:22.

[eldougo]

Great Kart Alan....If that is 002 what happened to 001 do you still have it?

[Cirrus]

001 (which also had some Taifun features) ended its days against the straw bales at Blackbushe. 003 was identical to 002. My mate Nick, who built the karts with me, had that one. I raced 002 throughout 1974 and then swapped the rolling chassis plus £50 for this...

 

 

... a collection of Brabham BT15 and 21 parts which I built up and raced in 1976

Edited by Cirrus, 10 January 2017 - 08:56.

[E1pix]

Love the Brabham, Cirrus... and your chassis numbering. :-)

All I have left (if I only count the powered karts) is 005, the Emmick-Yamaha. It's sat on a shelf at my sponsor-friend's shop for 16 years now, some of it in pieces. :-(

I was bummed that Goodyear didn't continue, by my debut in '77 a company named Carlisle was outrunning them -- and by my second foray in '81 it was all Bridgestone and Burris. Your story reminds of how them four rubber donuts can change everything! In '82 I made perhaps a judgment error in building up a new Margay for the IKF Grandnationals, to replace my wonderfully-rotative 1980 Trick kart. Unknowingly, I arrived with three sets of mounted Burris tires for the week, while most others were on Bridgestones. The entire track was rubbered in the Bridges, and my tires just weren't biting to it. I've regretted not spending those extra few hundies ever since.

Even much personal setup help by one Scott Pruett couldn't overcome the cross-bonding turmoil. I was less than 0.5s from Pole, but that was like five seconds to me.

[eldougo]

Quote.......001 (which also had some Taifun features) ended its days against the straw bales at Blackbushe.

 

I had 2  kart drive's at Blackbushe in 1976,it was a good layout .Lots of fun.  

[eldougo]

This is the Kart i would love to have..

 

 

 

Edited by eldougo, 11 January 2017 - 02:53.

[barrykm]

Barrykm, that's a Taifun chassis? Looks much like my old Bug kart from about '74.

Per the motor, we called them Mac 91s here, their 100cc reed valve. Quick motors, especially on alky with a little Blendzall oil (sweetest-smelling castor ever). I started racing with a Mac 49, an 80cc marvel of outright speed. ;-)

 

Hi E1, I assumed it was a Taifun by virtue of the double steering column, I wasn't aware that any other manufacturers did the same, but then I wouldn't be either. Anyhow, my kart was a Taifun and I just loved the higher, more vertical steering wheel position,

 

The Mac 92 was a successor to the 91 which, if I recall, had A,B, and C variants. We ran on methanol at the time. Lovely engine, to this day I get a kick out of hearing an unsilenced chainsaw.... 

 

I only raced over two years, and stopped since I needed to focus on my studies...one of my great life regrets 

[E1pix]

It's never too late, Barry!!! < Thumbs Up here >

The biggest Mac I ever raced was a 101, their 125cc on alcohol. It was an open class so built to the hilt, I'd guess maybe 35 hp. It was a shop-sponsored ride so really well put together.

The funnest (?) part was it was a dirt race in the Denver Coliseum with a few thousand people in attendance. Really short track in a rodeo stadium, I think we were geared like 9:1 and the thing was truly a handful. Only dirt race but I won a heat and got 2nd in the final to a guy who only raced dirt and had for years. It was a blast.

Doug, are those dual Komet K55s? There was a class here called Expert V (5), dual rotary-valve, 135cc motors on alcohol of about 45 hp each. I'll never forget the Lake Speed quote after his first Formula Ford test, in effect "Formula Ford is just a really slow and bad-handling kart," referring to karts in general but likely with the duals in mind.

I saw the class at my two GrandNationals in '81 and '82, leaving the final turn before the straight at about 30 and running over 100 in a 600-foot straight. Absolutely blinding speed. Scott Pruett won the second one IIRC, against Mark Dismore and a tough field of guys who never had a chance to move up. As racing is...

Thanks, You Guys!

Edited by E1pix, 11 January 2017 - 05:35.

[barrykm]

Thanks E1, it's nice to dream 

[SKL]

Can't figure out how to post a picture from my computer, but I still have the Simplex Challenger kart I raced when I got it in 1961 at age 11.  I recently found a decal set for it to apply after I repaint the frame.  The magnesium wheels need some cleaning and obviously it needs new tires.  A friend (who had a similiar Simplex when we were both kids) found a rebuilt West Bend 580 engine for it which is what it came with.  Still have the original but I blew it sky high MANY years ago!

 

When my kids were little I put a Briggs engine on it so they could drive it up and down our driveway...  it was my first "car" so I can't part with it.  It will go to my boys so their kids can drive it some day.

[E1pix]

Love it, SKL!

And I, too need to get my photo transfers going on again. Today we're at a VW bus show surrounded by 500 or better, and a mint one's for sale with Gulf Porsche graphica. Meaning, love your Josef avatar!

[SKL]

A picture of me in 1961 trying out my new Simplex Challenger with a West Bend 580.  Had a track on the outskirts of our town (Cedar Rapids, IA)  and took the kart there in the trunk of my mom's Caddy.  Still have it and plan on restoring it.  Found some original decals and a rebuilt 580 engine!

[SKL]

[eldougo]

No need for a trailer when you have Mom's Caddy....

[E1pix]

I used an Opel station wagon in the late '70s while racing in Dousman, Wisconsin... but my buddy had me whooped with his kart on the roof of his Pinto!

SKL, I can't believe there's still 580s around! Too cool you still have your ride, amazing. By the way, we raced in the Rock Island Grand Prix in 2002. :-) (kart arrived in a trailer)

[SKL]

E1--  my two sons and I raced our shifters at Rock Island a couple times.  Damned scary going by those hay bales balls out!!!   Just a bit faster than the Simplex!!   A good friend of mine growing up who also had a Simplex found me a rebuilt WB 580 on Ebay and sent it to me!  Even has the Tillotson carb!!

[E1pix]

What years, SKL?

Yes, that place was intimidating. My wife and I, mostly by association and I guess from our having some speed, were the U.S. Development Team for the Biland SA250. We took this on partly from a full sponsorship, but the real drive was to go race in the Monaco Kart Cup. Sadly, our team boss didn't realize the motor wouldn't get homologated by CIK until the year after, so we never got to Go. How many more chances to race at Monaco might a 42 year-old ever get?

Yes, those bales were scary. We were running similar times to the 80 shifters, about 33 seconds for what, 0.8 miles? For others who might have interest, the layout is like a backwards L, through small-town, downtown America. I suspect we were close to 100 mph watching those rushing bales, every turn off-camber on entry and exit, and every apex going from blacktop > brick crosswalk > concrete > brick crosswalk > blacktop -- with only the apex level. Crazy stuff.

In the year we raced, the 125cc shifter "SuperPro" class -- the race determining the "King of the Streets" as they call it, was won by Scott Speed. Future IndyCar driver Nelson Phillippe won the amateur 125 Shifter class.

Finishing 7th in SuperPro is a friend of ours named Stacey Cook. His daughter Sabre has become the finest lady karter in the States, ever, and has just gotten two rides in SCCA for 2017. This is One Fast Girl, the First Lady here to win a major karting championship, and is destined for Greatness.

Hoping it's okay to post these here...

First, the Biggest Race of the year, in Las Vegas:
https://m.youtube.co...e2Mxvk&t=24485s

Onboard in her first National race in the nation's Premiere class:
https://m.youtube.co...h?v=gHYID-g4r8w

And Sweet as Pie:
https://m.youtube.co...h?v=PJmDkei-OW4

[eldougo]

That Sabre Cook is amazing go girl .    

[eldougo]

DIRTY STEVE having fun.

Edited by eldougo, 18 February 2017 - 22:51.

[E1pix]

That's just fabulous. :-)

[SKL]

 

The wheels off that kart of McQueen's look like they could come off my old Simplex.    Sitting here in the attic of my garage waiting for a restoration...

[E1pix]

With a big hill, it's race-ready now. :-)

[arttidesco]

 

There was no info to tell me either who was at the wheel or what he was at the wheel of, but it looked like a lot of fun at Race Retro over the weekend

[E1pix]

Not sure, but I think it's powered by napkin dispensers.

[eldougo]

 Even the greatest  started in Karts.[/URL]

Edited by eldougo, 09 April 2017 - 08:36.

[E1pix]

Was never a fan, but in light of recent years that just makes me sad.

[barrykm]

Lovely kart, what is it?

[E1pix]

Looks like a Birel to me… but I might be fooled by its color. 

 

Komet K78 motor? (Edit: That's no Komet, anyone know what it is?)

 

 

If Michael is 16 in that photo, say, it's about 1985. The kart also looks from right about that time.

 

 

That photo still gets to me… and the Missus… what a way to end it. 

Edited by E1pix, 10 April 2017 - 01:06.

[barrykm]

Perhaps the motor is a BM or Sirio or suchlike(?) but I'm far from knowledgeable in this department. 

[E1pix]

Thanks, Barry.

I pondered BM -- later called Atlas -- but their cylinders are vertical. Thought about TKM also, but it still doesn't look quite right.

We need more kartheads. :-)

Where's that Douglas fellow?

[DogEarred]

My first kart was a Zip with a smoky old Parilla engine which could barely pull the skin off a rice pudding.

So I invested in a new Parilla. The (famous) tuner who I bought it from said "run it in for 6 hours then bring it back for tuning".

 

After a couple of months, what with one thing or another, I had about one hour of running on it & realised it would take about a year before I could get it

tuned, let alone race it.

 

So I gave it up as a bad job & bought a 250cc.

[Cirrus]

Perhaps the motor is a BM or Sirio or suchlike(?) but I'm far from knowledgeable in this department. 

 

I immediately thought Sirio when I saw it although they became popular after the time I stopped being directly involved in karting. It's certainly not a BM F100 or F100JB - they were rotary valve engines with the carb over the sprocket. Interestingly, BM produced an engine with a port which could be opened to provide air directly into the crankcase. The brave driver could pull a lever on his steering wheel to open the valve and get extra power for overtaking and pray that the temporarily weakened mixture would not result in a seize! 

[DogEarred]

The number of people who lost the tips of their fingers enriching the mixture, due to the proximity of the carb inlet to the chain!

[E1pix]

... pull a lever on his steering wheel to open the valve and get extra power for overtaking and pray that the temporarily weakened mixture would not result in a seize!

But Oh My, how sweet they sound right before climax! ;-)

[eldougo]

Where's that Douglas fellow.

 

This Douglas fellow thinks its a kart and motor brand unknown.....Sorry.

[barrykm]

As an aside, I think MS looks a little older than 16 in that photo.

[eldougo]

Sir Striling Moss and Innes Ireland,racing karts at Brands Hatch.

[/URL]

Edited by eldougo, 23 April 2017 - 22:44.

[Pat Clarke]

I have no idea what the Schumacher kart is but the engine is the first Rotax Reed engine for Intercontinental A.

The engine to have, in both reed and rotary valve versions at the time.

 

Pat

[eldougo]

Stefan Bellof ....1976 after winning the International Karting Championship at Luxembourg.

 

Edited by eldougo, 19 May 2017 - 11:54.

[E1pix]

Sir Striling Moss and Innes Ireland,racing karts at Brands Hatch.
[/URL]

Oh sure, we go backpacking and you start the thread afire!!! LOL

Great image! But I am curious... how can Moss hold the lead with his eyes closed like that???

Thanks Doug.

[E1pix]

Thanks for answering that, Pat!

The Bellof photo is amazing... and sad. He had "Legend" written all over him.

[eldougo]

I guess he got straw dust in his eyes because he,s not wearing goggles .

Edited by eldougo, 19 May 2017 - 23:16.

[E1pix]

Here's to hoping he re-opened them at some point. :-)

[eldougo]

Another great looking Kart from Yesteryear.

 

 

Edited by eldougo, 05 July 2017 - 06:19.

[E1pix]

Is that a KittyKart?

(sorry Doug, couldn't help myself -- photo not loaded or I can't see it)

[SJ Lambert]

 

 

Nick Munting in his kart - presumably in the seventies - any bids on racetrack, chassis and engine identification?

[E1pix]

Crossing fora, I say Komet K78.

Edit: There's never an excuse for Stoopid, but the sun was in my eyes -- and I just realized it's a K55, not a K78.
This makes two mistakes in my 56 years. This cannot continue... ;-)

Edit 256: Not my day, this makes three (!), it's a DAP engine.

Let the mudslinging begin. ;-)

Edited by E1pix, 18 June 2017 - 20:39.

[Leo D]

 

 

Nick Munting in his kart - presumably in the seventies - any bids on racetrack, chassis and engine identification?

 

Engine is a DAP T-90 (Reed Induction) their first model of that type sold in Australia circa 1979/80 approx. Unfortunately there is a number plate hiding the actual carby & reed block which are located at the bottom of the Barrell (Cylinder). You can see the carby return spring if you look at about the mid point of the barrell.

Later model DAP Reeds had the induction system in the front of the crankcase.

 

Other DAP engine models were Rotary Valve induction, with the carb located on the side of the crancase.

 

As to the chassis, unfortunately most of it is hidden in this shot (hard to believe that in a picture of a kart), but from what I can see, I believe the steering gear is English (possibly ZIP), the side Nerf Bars also look "Zippish".

 

With what I see, I'm guessing the chassis is from either:-

- DPE Demon (Drew Price Engineerng Mel, AUS)

- Peter Dell (St George Kart Centre Syd, AUS)

- Zip Kart (Hodderson Herts UK)

 

-DAP might be an outside chance chassis wide, but I would suspect the other 3 would be closer.

 

As to the track....... I've stuck a pin in a map and come up with a guess of either Geelong or Deals Road, Clayton. Both in Victoria.

[E1pix]

Leo, you make us look bad, STOP IT!!!

Kidding! Thanks for clarifying. I know little about the DAPs, they didn't catch on here as others did.

If I'm not mistaken there's a dual kart above that may have the same engines and sparked the same talk. For me, I guess the first time wasn't the charm. ;-)

Thanks for the right answers. :-)

Edited by E1pix, 20 June 2017 - 15:37.

[eldougo]

Ronnie Peterson and his pooch and classic Kart.