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Old 10-10-2022, 08:24 PM
Kerry Pinkerton's Avatar
Kerry Pinkerton Kerry Pinkerton is offline
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Default An Art Deco golf cart

We spend a good bit of time each winter at an RV resort in Central Florida. Quite a few of our friends have golf carts but I always preferred a bicycle. Years pass and knees hurt and time marches on. And yes you young bucks, it will happen to you too.

So golf carts can be interesting...and expensive. New carts are 8k and up. WAAAAY UP! Fancy carts Can be 20k. Then you can have electric or gas, two or four stroke. I know a LOT more about carts than I did. Sadly, I would have started with a different cart.

Since this will be an end-to-end thread, I'm going to talk a bit about the drive train from time to time.

I started looking for a cart I could transform. As a metalshaper, I could not possibly have a plain old cart. It has to have at least an aluminum nose...with curves...and art deco cueues...Bugatti...yeah, that's it. But realizing that it's still a golf cart so whatever I do is going to be a bit of a cartoon.

So I start looking and right away, I run across a 84 Yamaha two stroke basket case for 300 dollars and it followed me home.

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There is a top too. 3 baskets of parts. Had it down to a rolling chassis pretty quick. Btw, SMC is HEAVY!

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This is what I chose for power. Basically it is a clone of a 6.5 hp Honda similar to the Harbor Freight 212cc. This one is made by Viking Power Equiptment and come with electric start and 7hp...supposed beefed up internally.

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This is the varidrive clutch.

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Earlier I said I learned a lot about golf carts since I started this journey. One of the biggest is that 2 stroke carts don't have a reverse. They just run the engine backwards. Who knew? So this is a forward reverse gearbox I bought. It's designed for a go Kart but based on reviews, it should hold up. Some of the carts have 25hp and are driven by maniacs.

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Had to make a new motor plate, fabricate a bunch of stuff, all the usuall stuff that always happens but you never expect but should because it always does. Anyway, it runs strong, about 20 mph with the stock 8" wheels which is faster than the speed limit in the park.

Next is the body.
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Old 10-10-2022, 08:41 PM
steve.murphy steve.murphy is offline
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This will be a fun one to watch!
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Old 10-10-2022, 09:42 PM
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So the BIGGEST lesson I learned in metalshaping was to have a symmetrical hard buck for complex shapes. I didn't take the time to build hard buck on my roadster and it's cost me hundreds of hours in rework...perhaps more. I was determined not to repeat that error again.

Starting with the old SMC nose, I laid out the basic bottom layout showing the 'firewall' and the front wheels. I had a vision in my head and it started with a Bugatti horseshoe grill so I bent some aluminum flat bar and it became the core of the buck.

About this time was the Redneck Roundup at Jim Henry's shop. I ended up taking some plywood and tools and finishing the buck at the roundup. I used 1/8" aluminum TIG rod to loft the surfaces between the wooden stations.

I had plans to start shaping but other things ended up taking priority.

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I could see it in my head and the center section was pretty simple so I made it. Just to make things more difficult, it's not just a simple roll. It has enough shape to make it interesting...read that more difficult. You'd think by know I'd know better but NOOOOOOO. I started with a paper pattern but got carried away.

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Now what, I've got mainly air and no surface information. I'm a Flexible Shape Pattwrn guy. They speak to me and telle how to make the panel. The answer was invented by the late Ken Burt who came up we something we call a 'Burt Buck'.

Basically you weave strips of metal across the hard poi ts of your station buck. On top of that you lay metal tape. If you have lofted the strips correctly, you can have a pretty good surface. From there, I created a basic FSP. I prefer Glad Press N Seal for the first layer instead of low stick transfer or blue painters tape. Works for me. Once I had that, I shaped the first panel. The Burt Buck only gets you closeand you have to finish it by eye. When I was happy, I made another FSP, turned it inside out, and shaped the other side.

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[ATTACH]64636[/ATTACH

The bottom layer of the fsp is just a release agent. The strapping tape maintains all the shape. The PressN seal is so thin, you can just let it overlap with no problem. I trim with scissors before I start shaping. I also punch a few holes so I can make index marks on the panel so the fsp can be placed in the same place EVERY TIME. Where the fsp is loose in the center, you stretch. Where it's tight on the edges, you shrink. That's 95% of the process.
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Old 10-11-2022, 06:59 AM
dwmh dwmh is offline
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Looking forward to following this build (Love the Art Deco look). I too use press and seal thanks to a previous post of yours, it works great.
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Old 10-11-2022, 08:38 AM
JimRussell JimRussell is offline
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for a wilder look. Bugatti nose with George Barris influence

https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Ala_Kart
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Old 10-15-2022, 08:30 PM
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Kerry Pinkerton Kerry Pinkerton is offline
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At this point, I had the 'hood' and the right outer fender. Relatively easy panels.

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I made a Bert Buck for the lower nose. I knew it eas going to be a challenge and it was. Lots of shape and reverses in a small ares.


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Came out pretty well and actually fit the buck.

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When I'm working on a nasty panel with complex reverses, I often put a convex upper wheel on one of my Imperials. All the rollers for Viagra, my monster 66" machine have a 3/4" axles, including a set of 6" diameter. They make great upper wheels.

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After this point, it's just work. Tedious but it's stretching or shrinking znd the fsp tells me what and where. The hard buck kept me from getting the panels welded together out of arrangement. This was something that plagued me on my roadster because I didn't take the time to make a basic station buck.

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A good bit of bumping and hammer and dolly work was use to get everything to flow right. I kept hearing Cas Nawrocki telling me "It doesn't matter if it is exactly how it was created originally. It's not RIGHT until it is RIGHT!"

That said, it's a golf cart, not a Pebble Beach classic so there is a point where good enough is just fine.

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Paint is next.
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Old 10-16-2022, 04:44 AM
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Nice transformation there.
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Old 10-16-2022, 05:14 AM
Jaroslav Jaroslav is offline
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Kerry, good job. If you lightly sand it with a wire brush, you can paint it with colorless varnish. I use a clear acrylic spray top coat on some things. It will protect all samples for a long time.
Cass says it right, so it's right. That's how it turned out, that's how I wanted it. I just gave it enough energy to get it done….that's enough... Say hello to Cass.
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Old 10-16-2022, 09:49 AM
JimRussell JimRussell is offline
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Looks good Kerry
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Old 10-16-2022, 01:32 PM
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Looks good Kerry!
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