Kart Racing Workshop

[kartracer23]

Well, here we go boys & girls! Not quite completely done, but getting close...

The Story: I have a garage that I rent at the track to keep my karts in during the season, but for winter, I have to move them and do all my repairs, cleaning, etc. to get ready for the next season. last year I did it in the basement at home, but it's not really a good place. Besides, carrying two karts up and down the stairs isn't fun. Back in the Spring, I bought a building in our downtown. It's where my office and warehouse is, and I have tenants as well. Prior to this we were renting the space where my business is. One of the rooms off the garage isn't real conducive to renting out, so I decided to make it into a workshop. In the past, it's been used for our engraving equipment, storage, etc. The building was remodeled in '78 and that room hadn't been touched since them. Even in '78, they hadn't done anything with the floor - just left it part tile / part concrete.

The space is right at 500 sq. ft., and also has a good size closet and a bathroom. The bathroom needs some serious work-that's a project for next year. Fortunately, the main bathroom for the building is just outside the door. A big benefit is that this room is right off the garage, so I can back my truck in and unload. Next summer I'll put a double door going to the garage so I can take karts in and out without having to tilt them.

On to the photos...

Here are a few before photos. Floor was a mess, walls were lovely dark paneling and the doors a nice peach color.

Next are a few during photos.

 

[kartracer23]

The biggest hassle was the floor. Up to 3 layers of tile / linoleum in some areas. I would guess close to 100 man hours to clean it up.

Walls painted, floors cleaned, and doors being painted. You can see the garage door through this one.

Floor down

 

[STiKY]

Night and Day. Looking good.

 

[kartracer23]

And now some finals. Still have a few things to do like grout the tile on the bar, get more stools, and of course, move all my stuff in. Fortunately, I only live about 2 blocks from here, so it's not too long of a trip if I want to come up and work on the karts of an evening.

Bar / Seating area. I'll eventually put a sofa / tables, etc. on this side.

This cabinet is an old store display cabinet. Super heavy duty.

For the main workbench area, I just used premade laminate kitchen countertop. 14' long and super cheap. Mostly for cleaning so won't get abused too bad.

For the base of the workbench and bar, I had previously bought a large number of 7' x 4' x 18" gorilla racks. They split into 3' & 4' sections, so the 3' were used for the main bench, the 4' for the bar. Gives me a lot of storage for parts / tools, etc. Oh - I got the shelves for $30 a unit, like brand new.

As far as materials, here's a quick rundown: floor is Armstrong VCT, brushed aluminum pegboard is from Diamond Life, Can holders and glove holder from Griot's, lights above bench are Xenons from Lowe's.

The way the weather is looking right now, it may be about time to pack up the garage at the track and move on in.

 

[dipper]

very nice work. I'm going to use shelving similar to that in my garage as well.
The floor being finished makes a big difference in that workshop. It should work well for the karts.

 

[Stuey]

I spy Stanley/Zag organizers!! I have some of the 25 compartment ones, but haven't seen those little ones in years - where did you find them??!!

 

[kartracer23]

I spy Stanley/Zag organizers!! I have some of the 25 compartment ones, but haven't seen those little ones in years - where did you find them??!!

They're actually Storehouse brand - I think they make them for Stanley and all the others. HF had a special last week, the big one, the medium one and the two little ones for $29. If I remember correctly, I paid about $23 for a big one branded Stanley at Lowe's last year. I like these because they have actual hinges and not that 'plastic will flex (until it breaks)' type of hinge.

 

[cyclopsblown34]

That's a huge improvement in the room and a killer small shop/rest area.

 

[akdiesel]

That is a great transformation. Keep us updated.

 

[82_454_shorty]

Very nice! How many tires do you go through in a season anyway?

 

[Stuey]

They're actually Storehouse brand - I think they make them for Stanley and all the others. HF had a special last week, the big one, the medium one and the two little ones for $29. If I remember correctly, I paid about $23 for a big one branded Stanley at Lowe's last year. I like these because they have actual hinges and not that 'plastic will flex (until it breaks)' type of hinge.

Storehouse?

They were originally sold by Zag Industries, which at one point a decade ago was bought by Stanley. I've seen them sold brandless filled with fastener/nail combo sets, but as far as I know, Stanley has exclusive rights to the design.

 

[kartracer23]

Storehouse?

They were originally sold by Zag Industries, which at one point a decade ago was bought by Stanley. I've seen them sold brandless filled with fastener/nail combo sets, but as far as I know, Stanley has exclusive rights to the design.

Hmmm...I figured it was the other way around. I have the two of the Stanleys and the only difference is that there's a little Stanley decal in an indentation on the lid. The ones from HF just have the indentation with no decal. I just went back and looked at one and there are no identifying markings on them at all.

Doesn't look like they're on special anymore, but here's the link:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94131

 

[kartracer23]

Very nice! How many tires do you go through in a season anyway?

As many as I can. Actually, maybe 5 or 6 sets per kart. But all of those are used. There are a couple of national level series that run at my home track each year, and those guys are trying to squeeze every once of speed out of their kart. So, they'll run a set of tires for one 12 lap race, and put new ones on for the next race. Old ones go in the trash. Tires are probably good for 200 or so laps 'club racing', so all of us club racers dumpster dive for them. At about $240 a set new, free is a great price for tires with 12 laps on them. Wrap them with plastic wrap and they stay nice & soft.

 

[Stuey]

I took a look at the links a bit earier. They look very similar, but the bin numbers and configurations are different, and the lids look translucent but Stanleys are clearer. *shrug* Maybe they're clones, or they could be specially made for HF by Stanley, hence the absence of a logo.

 

[shaun]

What tracks do you race at? I'm stuck up here in MI - land of the oval. Big fan of road courses and would like to continue the karting I did in CA.

 

[Slimls]

Very nice setup!

Is your parts washer the 6.5 gallon from Harbor Freight? If so, would you recommend it?

Thanks,

Slim

 

[kartracer23]

What tracks do you race at? I'm stuck up here in MI - land of the oval. Big fan of road courses and would like to continue the karting I did in CA.

New Castle Motorsports Park (www.newcastleraceway.com). It's owned by Mark Dismore. Pretty high caliber place - Tomas Scheckter is in garage on my left, Eddie Cheever is on the other side, and Scott Goodyear is next to him. Here's a video from a recent event there:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1456296417/bclid1460782805/bctid1847311113

 

[kartracer23]

Very nice setup!

Is your parts washer the 6.5 gallon from Harbor Freight? If so, would you recommend it?

Thanks,

Slim

Yeah, it's the HF one. It's worked fine for me-no real issues. I picked it up when it was on sale - I think it was $29. Nice to be able to throw a chain or sprocket in there vs. trying to clean it with a can of WD40.

 

[shaun]

New Castle Motorsports Park (www.newcastleraceway.com). It's owned by Mark Dismore. Pretty high caliber place - Tomas Scheckter is in garage on my left, Eddie Cheever is on the other side, and Scott Goodyear is next to him. Here's a video from a recent event there:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1456296417/bclid1460782805/bctid1847311113

Dang it! All the good tracks are miles away from me! Know anything closer to the Detroit area? I've been to the Lansing track, not too much of a scene there...

 

[ersatzs2]

Nice! I take it you race at the Dismores!? Great track. Post some more pics when you get the equipment in there. Nice job on the shop.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Impressive transformation, I like it!

 

[TejasBimmer]

Very clean remodel! Now time to input the tools, the equipment...and...a pic of your kart in action.

 

[XR80David]

Very nice transition... But let's see some Karts in there!

 

[kartracer23]

Brought one of the karts back yesterday. Frame is broken, and by the time I get it welded, it would be too cold to run, so I just went ahead and brought it back to the shop. My wife's kart is still at the track, and I can sorta drive it - the pedals are about 6" further back than mine, so it's a tight fit. But at least it's something to mess around on.

Was bored yesterday, so decided to make some labels for my toolbox. I own an engraving business, so I just used some scrap material. Took me about 20 minutes to make 10 tags. Need to make a few more once I figure out what all I have in the way of tools. They're put on with magnetic tape so I can move them around if needed.

And finally, I had stopped by WalMart last night to pick up a few things. These pegboard organizers caught my eye. Super nice stuff for the money. Steel, powdercoated and all that good stuff. The three pack of little bins was $6.97, and the larger 4-compartment holder (they call it a zip tie holder) was $6.97 as well. For reference, the large bin is 6.5" wide, 2" tall, and 4" deep. Are they PitPal or RB Components quality? No. But they're about 15% of the price. They also had other styles of holders.

 

[e-tek]

VERY nice! It would be great to be able to have the money/access/creativity to build a shop right the first time, with nice materials and a good layout.
Working in here will make you work better, cleaner, smarter. It looks like a "scuderia"!

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

Nice work area!! What's the top speed of your carts? Do you build them from scratch?

 

[kartracer23]

Nice work area!! What's the top speed of your carts? Do you build them from scratch?

The karts are 'store bought'. There's enough work that goes into them, even after that. It's probably about 4 hours of working on them for every one hour of actual driving. Everything is pushed to the limit.

Top speed isn't that fast - we hit about 75 mph on the straights. It's the corners where karts really perform. The turn at the end of the straight is a 90 degree left hander - you go through it at about 67 mph. Average speed on a 14 turn , 1 mile road course is 62 mph. A kart will turn so hard that it will break your ribs (I wear a carbon fiber rib vest for protection) just from the force. Heck, Scott Goodyear broke a rib out there practicing a few weeks ago-with a rib vest.

 

[cyclopsblown34]

A buddy of mine runs shifter carts and has raced at the Indy track a few times. I have no clue what class of karts they are but he is in his forties and still races. He wadded one up around 5 or six years ago and was wheelchair bound for a while. I think he's running the larger displacement ones and his kids are running the smaller ones. His name is Scott Schrimpf from Jeff City, Missouri. i'll find out what class and karts he races. i could be mistaken but I think he has an 80cc kart and a larger displacement engined kart he or his wife was telling me about.

 

[MattB]

That shop/garage looks nice! My roommates both race karts and I'm slowly throwing one together with their leftovers. I know one of my roommates, Jordon Musser, has won some national-level stuff, do you know him by chance?

 

[PhantomEB]

Hmm I am off to Walmart to see if I can find those pegboard cups!

 

[kartracer23]

That shop/garage looks nice! My roommates both race karts and I'm slowly throwing one together with their leftovers. I know one of my roommates, Jordon Musser, has won some national-level stuff, do you know him by chance?

Yeah, I know the name from magazines & such. Not sure if I've seen him race or not. I think he's ok since he has his photos in magazines.

 

[kartracer23]

Here's a couple of updated pics with everything moved from the track to the workshop. Now the fun begins - tearing them down, cleaning everything, replacing any worn parts and then reassembly by about March 1st. May be some beer drinking going on somewhere in that time frame as well.

 

[cyclopsblown34]

I'm still in awe of the improvement you made to that ugly useless room Now it looks like somewhere to hang out.

 

[terabyte]

I see you got your C'man benches too

 

[kartracer23]

I see you got your C'man benches too

Heck yeah! You can't buy that pine cheap-o stools @ WalMart for less than the special + buy one get one free deal on these a few weeks ago. I think the lowest I've seen the pine 30" was $29. One I already had, but I got 4 more on the special.

 

[BryanD6200]

Just got into karting and love your shop.

 

[brad d]

Nice and clean shop.. I just tried a shifter down in Tucson for the 1st time at P1Kart.. what a blast hard to get use all the power when its your first few times out.. And when you **** at it like I did its tricky to be in the right gear all the time and in the power band. If I was to buy/build one it would have the newer 4 stroke motors from a CRF250 or CRF450.. this way you could be in the wrong gear and still pull through the corner

 

[brad d]

Ok the CRF450 might have a bit too much bottom end power

 

[tdkkart]

Ok the CRF450 might have a bit too much bottom end power

That guy's a F'ing IDIOT that's gonna kill somebody......unfortunately it probably won't be himself.


Sorry, I'm a big proponent of kart racing as a fun family sport, my main focus is towards a wholesome and safe sport for kids. Idiots like the one above give the sport a bad name.

 

[kartracer23]

That guy's a F'ing IDIOT that's gonna kill somebody......unfortunately it probably won't be himself.


Sorry, I'm a big proponent of kart racing as a fun family sport, my main focus is towards a wholesome and safe sport for kids. Idiots like the one above give the sport a bad name.

Any kart racer I know would simply walk away from a guy doing that. It's sad that that idiot is on a kart. No helmet, no substantial barriers, etc. If you notice, there are a couple of times the video is cut just as he goes into the crowd. A stuck throttle or brake fail would be disastrous.