Installing the Go-Cart Hood, Seat and Back Axle

We are close to being ready to put the wheels on our go-cart, and it’s nice to see light at the end of the tunnel. While it takes time to cut, sand and attach the various parts, what seems to take the most time is painting. It generally takes two coats, and the drying time takes hours. If we were better organized we’d get things done during this time, but we’re not, so we don’t. Also, the kids seem to be on a mission to get this done, so we spent several hours on it yesterday, and by the end, I’d had enough.

A&N spent most of the morning painting the final details on the seat, and cutting the pieces for the front hood. We’ve had to adapt the final decision as we go along, because as we all know, what sounds great in theory doesn’t always work in real life. The side supports for the front hood took a little tweaking because there were clear design flaws, which we worked through with a few cuts with the miter saw. Once we had those in, we found some thin plywood and made the actual hood. A&N added a “blower” onto the hood, and suddenly their go-cart was starting to look like a hot rod. It also became clear that once everything is done, we’ll have to do some touch-up painting here and there.

The seat was a little more challenging because it really needs to be secured well to support someone sitting back on it. I ended up adding back supports in addition to the side supports that JM recommended. Probably over-kill, but it just goes to show you that I’m getting into it, as well. One complication of the back supports, however, was that we didn’t want to interfere with the logo that the kids designed, which is a very important consideration. They did a great job designing and painting their team logo on the back. We also have to leave space for the sponsors.

Once the seat was in, we screwed in the back axle with 3 1/2 wood screws, and we were close to being done. The last step will be to put in the brakes, and then the wheels. Then we’re ready to rock and roll. The plan is to ride the go-cart in the parade, but that’s too far in the future to think about. For now, we have other things to focus on, like finishing the go-cart.

Until then, thanks for reading.