i got a 3 wheeled golf cart today. im painting it flat black. its got some diamond plate on it and ill post some pics when i git it painted. anyone know any fun to do to an electric motor? like how to take a govener(sp) off? thanks.

i think you need to turn it into a hybrid

could i possibly slap in a go-kart motor?

its possible , id definately toss a overunning clutch on the electric motors shaft so as the gas engine surpasses the electric motor in output the eletric can just spin ...or just dtich the eletric totally and toss a harley v twin in it ....

yeah, i like the sounds of that,
right now im trying to keep it as cheap as possble, though. until i git money
anyone know how to take the govoner off?
i heard that you could. thats why golf carts go so slow. anyone here know?

no there just underpowered , ive seen governors on some fo the gas powered ones but never an electric

hmm.. i thought i knew some one with four wheeled golf carts that would take off the govoner and race them with his buddys.

golf carts some to top out at a low rpm if they arent governed

A good friend of mine is a golf cart mechanic at a country club here. If I'm not too drugged up tomorrow (getting wisdom teeth pulled) I'll see what I can find out from him.

alright, thanks dave, and if youre too drugged up, at least have fun,

im thinking maybe of looking for any motorcycle engine at the junkyard. does anyone know how hard this would possibly be?

I've actually got a bastard child golf cart sitting outside my window right now. A buddy and I found the cart sitting in our university's dump last April with one wheel, a seat and body, and a non-working engine. We believe it was rolled, because the top was non-existent and all the supports were broken off.

We've swaped engines. The original 341cc Kowasaki Club Car engine only makes about 11 horsepower / 8 ft. lbs. in peak condition. We tripped to the local yard and got a 2-cycle Kohler (yes, Kohler made them at one time, way back when) engine, 399cc. She makes 28 horsepower and about 23 ftl. lbs. It took an afternoon of cutting some steel square tubing and welding, but we managed to get everything working fine. However, the one thing you'll want to remember is that golf carts are geared for torque so they can climb up steep hills on a course with 2 250 pound men and clubs. Our 2-cycle screams at 10,000 rpm but the cart will only go 20, maybe 25 mph. However, swapping gears isn't too hard to do and speed gears are made for most makes of carts.

Electric motors are great, because they're making 100% peak torque 100% of the time, just at slower speeds. However, you've got to recharge the batteries, and eventually replace, which is damned expensive, especially if she's a 36 or 48 volt.

If your cart isn't too terribly old, it should have the standard 4 inch lug pattern so many ricecars have. We have stock chrome rims off a Mazda on the back axel on ours, and doughnut spares up front. Look like a drag racer, has a nice aggressive stance. We've also wired up an old bullhorn, as well as a CD player and dual exhaust. The front body is painted bright red with the Van Halen logo right in the middle (we're both VH nuts) and the rear body is gone. I built a solid frame and engine cage out of 2x4s and painted them white.

You have a golf cart and the possibilities are enless, if you are even slightly mechanically enclined. Buggies Unlimited has a website with huge forums,

www.buggiesunlimited.com (http://www.buggiesunlimited.com)

that can be a huge help, however, most people were jerks to us so we don't post there anymore. PM me if you have any questions or want pictures! Good luck! :cool2:

Brian

BTW, I was going to put up a thread with pictures in another week or so, because she's not completely done yet, still have to do a few more rinky-dink things, but I was going to share our creation with Caddyforums!

yeah, pics would be sweet. if i swap gears, do i keep the same 'tranny' casing? id like to see pics of the whole thing and the engine/ drivetrain part of it. sounds sweet though.

Sure, give me a few days to get a digi and I'll have pictures galore. Buggies Unlimited can tell you a ton about swapping gears. My buddy and I haven't done it yet, because we're simply waiting for the stock transmission to break or die, at which time a solid axle and chain drive system will be going in. I'm sure you're probably already wondering how to dink with the governor as well. Take a look! Good luck!

Brian

You should post a couple pics of the cart in general, as well as the engine, driveline area so we can see what you're working with.

im hopefully gonna finishing painting it within the next couple of days, so ill post a couple pics then.

i kinda finished painting it today. i still want to paint the seat, and maybe put the back rest on. what do you guys think?

Slap a smallblock in it. :)

Wo! Adumb thats a really cool looking little cart!!

Man all this talk about modding up golf carts really makes me wish I live in ahuge house with plenty of yard/garage.........can't be done in my condo living ways.

Wo! Adumb thats a really cool looking little cart!!

Man all this talk about modding up golf carts really makes me wish I live in ahuge house with plenty of yard/garage.........can't be done in my condo living ways.

yeah, thanks pwerglide, its fun as hell to bomb around on