How to Build a Go Cart

Riding on your go cart with the wind in your hair may be a lovely daydream. The sport of competition may be bubbling over inside of you. Both of these can be wrapped up in a small car powered by a motorcycle engine. Building your own Go Kart is a challenging project, but it is one that you feel accomplished with afterward. This article will show you how to build your own Go Kart.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper
• Pencil
• Chalk
• Measuring Tape
• Plans
• Round or Square Tubing
• Welding Equipment or Welder
• Hacksaw, Electrical Metal Saw or Machine Shop
• Tubing Bender
• Extra Pipe
• Sheet Metal
• Steering Assembly
• Engine Mounting Plate
• Seats
• Brake and Throttle Kit

Designing Your Frame

1. Go outside and sit on some concrete and pavement.

2. Imagine yourself sitting in your Go Kart and draw around your body, leaving enough room for you to feel comfortable.

3. Decide if you want to have a one seat or two seat Go Kart. For this article we will be handle a two seat.

4. Stand up and measure your chalk outline across at the widest part as well as through the center. Record these numbers and multiply the width by two and adding six inches. This is your overall width of your kart. Add 1' to the length of your kart and mark on your plans, 6" in the front and in the back.

5. Design your frame however you like it. Use the scale of 1" = 1' for ease of mathematics.

Building Your Frame

6. Measure your pipe and lay out on the concrete floor (if you do not have a welding table) placing your cross pipe at the 6" marks from either end. Weld them into place.

7. Weld a pipe 8" longer in width than you need to the front of the kart's over hang to form your front bumper.

8. Weld a pipe 4" longer than the width of the frame to the rear overhang.

9. Measure 2' from the center of the pipe you just welded and mark off the end points. Weld 1 4" tube vertically at each mark and tube between them.

10. Weld a pipe the same actual length of your car 4" from center on the passenger's side.

11. Measure 1 1/2' from the front of the main frame and weld a piece of tubing across that point to the edge of the frame and the pipe you just welded.

12. Weld sheet metal the actual length and width of your car, not the added 1' to the length.

Putting it all Together

13. Weld into place your engine mounting plate.

14. Install your steering kit according to instructions provided.

15. Following the plans in your kit install your brake and throttle kit.

16. Weld in your seats to a comfortable position.

17. Install your engine to the engine plate and connect the chain.

18. Attach your wheels.

Tips & Warnings

• When building your kart you can use a mixture of tubing. Square tubing for the frame and round for the axles for instance.
• Keep the rider's size in mind when building your kart - the support weight for a small child is different than that of a grown man.
• Go Karts can roll over easily so consider adding roll bars for safety. Measure from the center of the cart front to back and your height sitting. Add a few inches for clearance and that is your overall length of pipe that you will bend and weld into place. Repeat with bars across the cart.
• Increasing ground clearance by an inch or two may be a good idea but too much can cause you to roll over easier.
• When working with any power tools use extreme caution.

Resources

• In Depth Do-It-Yourself Go Kart Plans
• Great Source for Parts

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