My neighbor and I are taking a 1977 arctic cat snowmobile (440cc) and pulling the engine and putting it on my 5hp go kart frame. We are goin to havto kinda "rig" up some devices to hold in the medal and we are taking my old 400ex a-arms and going to "rig" them on to the frame and then try and find some shocks and "rig" that too. This this will be pieced together but hopefully will hold up and work out. Does anyone have any advice as far as doing the front end? We want it to last, and with a wicked 440 in there is will fly. I can't wait to get started on it, it will be a great summer project. Any ideas or suggestions please?

 

I dont understand why you are using the 400ex a-arms on it? Are you using them for the front?
If you are using them for the front then i guess you are trying to make a full suspended go kart (just like a quad is). If thats the case then you'd be best off totally copying the whole front end of a 400ex. Making mounts for the arms, and shocks and rig up a way of getting a steering wheel to steer the 400ex wheels. BUT getting everything right will be tough and you'll have to be a good welder to weld those mounts properly so that they are strong enough.
If you do that then you're going to have to make some type of suspension for the rear which will be even harder because most of those karts have sold rear axles. If thats your plan then you might as well just start from scratch and build a total off road buggy frame for that engine because after making a front suspension on it and making a rear swingarm suspension you wont have very much of the original kart chassis.
Personally i'd just put some big *** atv tires/wheels on the yard kart while keeping everything (frontend/rearend) stock. THEN just fabricate some mounts for the new motor and drivetrain and ride it like that.

 

Never happen.
You sound like me when I was 10 years old... then I developed some common sense!
I'd hate to be within a block of that thing when you start it up for the first time and get those "rigged-up" primary and secondary clutches spinning at 75 grand.

 

lets clarify.
go karts= small things that u see kids riding at "fun land"
oddysey= medium sized go kart
dune buggy= big go kart, suspension probly multiple seating

what one is it?

 

we were thinking it would be more like an oddysee by the fact it is only about 7 feet long. Any way, I was really looking for the posts that mike gave me so thank you mike, and as far as btodd, even if it isnt totally making sense to you so what? It will stillbe fun working on them, even if it doesnt turn out right. It will be a learning expierience and I hope to learn alot so can anyone give me some help, not criticism. Anyway, as far as the rearend was going, we were going to try and put the suspension on like the rear wheels of trucks, with the bent metal (leaf springs? not sure) and try and weld 2 ends to the frame and somehow get the bent edge onto the axel? any ideas? We werent really going to use a swingarm for this setup. Thanks

 

Built a go-kart when I was a kid. Didn't have suspension. Built it from scratch. Had rack-n-pinion steering, boat seats, foot shaped gas pedal. But best of all, we found an old TX800 Polaris behind one of the farmers barns. Rebuilt the engine and proceeded to install. On its maiden voyage, decided it was a death trap. This thing was Fast, scary fast. It was retired shortly after its inception, the three-wheelers were way more fun. Point of the story, fun to build but a pain to maintain.

 

Ahh dont let them keep you from making it...
I've seen guys with yard karts with dirtbike motors and industrial sized 20+hp briggs motors on them.
A friend of mine put a 3.5hp briggs motor on a kidddy scooter. Kinda like a goped with a big block. It once ran with three people on it at almost 40mph. (i think it was closer to 35 but just think what it would have dont with 1 person...LOL)
I say go for it.

 

lol! if you did build this it will scare you sh|tless! be careful! make sure you reinforce the frame if your planning on goin offraod. my bro has a 3.5hp cart and we took it off raod. we jumpedit and went over bumps and we ended up braking it. i hope your cart has a roll cage!

 

just for the fun of it, my friends and me put a 5hp snowblower engine on a scooter, we call it the go-cycle. nobody thought we could do it, but it is fun to drive. we where shooting a icy hill with it (smooth, it was a seldem used driveway, about 100yrds. long) and it would climb it like noting.