The Beginning...(of the end?)
I suppose that one can trace my love for all things motorized back to my early years. This picture was taken when I was about 5 years old. This was a homemade go-kart that my dad helped me build out of an old lawnmower and miscellaneous items we had in our garage. I’m in the driver’s seat, my older brother is behind me, and my dad is in the background. (he insisted that I include a note here about his not being heavy anymore)
It wasn’t fancy or fast, but it had a motor, and a ton of torque. The power was supplied by a Toro self-propelled lawnmower with a Briggs & Stratton 3.5 HP engine and semi-pneumatic tires. My dad took the axle/blade assembly to a machine shop to have the blades removed so no one would lose a hand. The front end was part of an old tricycle (you can see the old axle sticking out from under the seat). The seat was a wood box, and the frame rails were 2x4’s. The only controls were the throttle and clutch from the lawnmower. There were no brakes, but it didn’t go fast enough for that to matter.
I saw the lawnmower at a family friend’s garage sale, and knew that it had potential. Seven dollars, and a few sandwiches later, it was mine (I was a picky eater, and my parents insisted that I eat before I could buy it). After this picture was taken, the frame rails were shortened, and the controls were mounted on the side of the seat. I put a big muffler on it, and got new tires with a better tread. Funny how things never change – upgrading the exhaust system and tires.