Valuable Vintage GoKarts

I've been eyeing gokarts for awhile now, and I reguarly find listings for "old gokart" usually for cheap. I'm not really looking for a shifter kart. I want something my kids can ride that maybe I can fit on as well. 

Thing is, how do I know if that old gokart is from the 90's and really worthless, or from the 70's and actually worth putting some time into restoring? 

What brands are valuable and worth my time? Bonus points for pictures of said karts. 

My tastes run somewhat older...   This 1965 Rupp Dart Cart sold on Bring A Trailer back in 2018 for $6,600.  It has a 5hp B&S engine.  https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965-rupp-dart-kart-a-bone/

Vintage karting is a very niche market.  Figuring out what's really valuable vs. something that's just old would probably mean you need to fall into the rabbit hole and do a bunch of research.  Even then, karts have been modified or repainted over the years, so build plates or specific things to look for may have been removed or modified.

Another challenge is, karting chassis's haven't changed much since the beginning.  The Rupp above, when looking at the frame, is not significantly off what a modern chassis will be.  For non "racing" karts, anyone can bend tubes, weld them together and stick a motor on it, there are dozens of cheap knockoffs that aren't worth anything.  They're based on the originals, so figuring out what's vintage vs. what's just a cheap frame makes it even harder.

If you're just looking for something to play around with, just find whatever works for your price/level of effort range and go have fun.  I'd recommend staying 4 stroke for ease of use.  Safety first, though.  Helmet, throttle return spring, quick kill switch and staying off roads where cars are are the top of the list.

A cyclekart might be an option for something "vintagey" and still fun to drive.

-Rob

This thread reminds me... this is parked a few miles from my house in an undisclosed location.

Tom Suddard said:

This thread reminds me... this is parked a few miles from my house in an undisclosed location.

 

What in the literal berkeley is that?

In reply to RonnieFnD :

My initial thought was "VBIED" but turns out it's more like a (literal) "surface-to-surface missile", article from 2010:

http://www.stanceiseverything.com/2010/08/wtf-friday-rocket-powered-go-kart/

The Kart you see above is said to have been built early to mid 1960s by now defunct company known as ‘Turbonique’. From my research it seems that this company only existed to strap rocket motors on cars and go karts to see how fast they could go down the track.

The rocket kart above is made up of the following vital components: two oxygen tanks, two capacitors, two spark plugs, a fuel tank, and a 60s go cart frame with a drum brake.

The rocket propulsion system (words I never thought I would type) is a closed system which the owner says could theoretically run underwater and in space since it doesn’t require fuel from the atmosphere.

When I asked the next natural question ‘how fast is it’ the owner told me that each of the rockets put out 300 pounds of thrust and the car would rip down the 1/4 mile in around 9 seconds at about 150 or so MPH.

Sounds fun? Well it probably was if you stated on the ground. To quote one of the sites I read to get a little more info:

According to all accounts this kart went from zero to 150mph in 4 seconds before becoming airborne and sliding out of control.

600 pounds of thrust no safety gear

The owner went on to say that the motors were on or off and that they were designed to burn all of the fuel in one 1/4 mile pass.  The drum brake the kart is fitted was more or less for show and so you had to make sure that the track you were running on had enough run out to keep you from pancaking into something.

The drivers wore a flame suit,helmet, and gloves and tossed their common sense out the window and held on for the ride.

So I believe those are the 2 oxygen tanks on either side with the capacitors in the midde which spark the plugs

Here’s the real kicker about this whole thing, the now owner says that he got it at a garage sale after several people passed it up, and while he wouldn’t say how much he payed I am guessing it was a lot less than what it’s currently worth considering they sold for about $1500 back then and there were only 5 or 6 said to have been built with only 3 or so remaining.

For those interested in learning a bit more about this cart and Turbonique check out the following links:
Rocket Karts
Vintagekarts.com
Turbonique
The Real Acme

I have reason to believe this same cart has been spotted before in Florida as well damn.

In reply to RonnieFnD :

Oxidizer, fuel, combustion chamber, spark, exhaust nozzles and I suspect a LOT of noise.

TURBONIQUE!!!

Keith, I agree!!

TURBONIQUE!!!

Crazy company and history, Brian Lohnes has a podcast about the company that is a good listen.

Vintage go carts are also super cool.

This kind of stuff is why I love this forum. You guys go down some of the coolest rabbit holes!

In reply to BenB :

You think the cart is cool, check out the axle.

In reply to Tom Suddard :

Thanks for the backstory, guys! Sorry to derail the thread, but I figured that was too cool to not share. And if you're wondering what happened to my F-250 project, its new owner is the kart's caretaker. That truck is in good hands. 

And naturally Wikipedia says the Turbonique founder is a Georgia Tech grad. That school has a type....