Best Handling Kart Made

[Alan Warn]

Just a thought.. Has anyone ever thought of starting a vintage racing club to actually race? You could run repop frames with Piggs & Scrapiron, Comer, or even KT 100 motors, so vintage stuff wouldn't be destroyed. Hope that doesn't make you cringe too bad, but it would be fun. I bet Robron likes that idea.

[Dean Seavers]

Alan-

The problem is that if you propose to go hardcore racing with that stuff, you can't get insurance, because vintage karts don't meet any of the current safety requirements for racing. I mean, people didn't add that safety stuff through the years because they thought it looked cool, it's because accidents demanded changes in order to keep on getting insurance. So once you add on all the nerf bars or bodywork to meet current safety standards so you can get insurance and go racing, you've already blown past "what's the point?" It just ends up being some kinda weirdo mutant kart that isn't remotely as fast and doesn't handle as well as a modern kart. I've never really understood why certain folks want to graft a new IAME motor or sticky wide tires on a vintage chassis because once you add any kind of modern parts on it, it's no longer a vintage kart- it becomes just a slower modern kart with some backwards design features, IMHO.

I think it's important to just enjoy modern karting for what it is, and vintage karting for what it is. Both serve valid and important, if somewhat divergent, functions.

Dean

[ted johnson]

Hey, Alan-I lived in Medical Lake and worked in Spokane right across the river from Gonzaga, and though I liked it there, you WERE a long way from kart central! Anyhow, keep on restoring and having fun. Vintage is mostly about fellowship and getting out on the track and having fun with others. At TBO, the kids and us older folks aren't afraid to get out there and make our stuff go as fast as it can, and lest the thought occur that old guys can't smoke the tires, you should've seen 80+ Y.O. Jerry Solt last year at Fremont! We'd all be pleased to meet you there. Some come from California, some from Arizona and some from New Mexico. L-O-N-G trip, but we keep coming back! Rob and Bob put on a great event. As far as great handling karts go, there are a lot of SAE's in the Ohio area, and man, they haul. Ted

[Dominic Salvato]

Hey Dean it's 2600 miles just to Seattle from here in Anchorage.

[Dean Seavers]

I obviously wasn't a geography major in school!

[Alan Warn]

Anchorage karting? 5 Carettas? Tell me you didn't find those in your area. Do they come with ice picks on the tires? Tundra tires? Hmmm. Oh Dean, don't insurance companies and lawyers screw up a good time? You would think a release would do the trick. Sounded like a good idea at the time. So, is everyone in agreement that the Chaparell is the best handling vintage kart from 67 to 68? How did the Hornets, Rupps, and Bugs do? Pretty competitive? (just for my own curiosity)

[Dean Seavers]

Alan-

I LOVED my Hornet-it handled really great and was a neat design. The only issue was if you'e over about 5'5" it's not a very comfortable kart. I think it made you drive your ten laps as fast as you could so you could stop and get out as soon as possible. You can't go wrong with any of the Dart Karts either, and the Bugs are a nice drive too. Granted, I was born in '67, so I've never contested a racing season in one, but they've all been a lot of fun. I think by the late 60's there probably weren't any real turkeys, since there couldn't afford to be. In the late 50's/very early 60's when it was a fad and there were a bunch of companies popping up long just enough to cash in there were some real lame karts, but I think pretty much the all the companies that made serious racing karts by the mid-60's were still around because they made a solid kart that had plenty of virtues.

Dean

[Dan Rogers]

Alan all I can add is

Mark you calendar for mid September and make the journey to Medford Or.
and come experience one of these great events!

Dan

[Dominic Salvato]

By 1967 most of the guy's were in to laydowns. And that was dominated by Hornets with Komets. I was checking out a Caretta for $750 but the jackshaft Caretta couldn't run with the Hornets. You could buy a brand new VW beetle for $1300, and a new Mustang for $2,600. Cobra's and E-Jag's were $5,995.

[Dan Flanders]

Well, let's make a comparison. $5,995 back in '67 has the purchasing power of $38,000 in 2009... For that amount you can get a pretty nice used Acura NSX or a nice new Lotus Elise. I rather have the XKE or Corbra

My dad passed up a really nice single owner Vincent Blackshadow in '71 for $1,000 because it was too expensive

Dominick didn't mention that the 2,600 miles down to Seattle aren't equivalent to the rest of the country. The Alcan is a tough road to say the least. I remember frost heaves outside of Fairbanks that would swallow a car and don't even get me started on moose. First time I nearly clipped a big bull I about soiled myself, pictures don't do justice to how big a moose is in person.

Dan