Well this is bonkers. Towards end of video he lets it loose on the drag strip. It seems to not want to go very straight. Scary fast.
I know these frankensteins are fairly pointless, but that doesn’t make them any less fun (to observe from a safe distance!):
not my thing… but hey whatever floats ur boat.
One does wonder how drag racing started. They say nascar was born from outrunning the cops during prohibition. Drag racing seems like a perfectly logical thing to do, so it’s probably has a less interesting origin story.
What I don’t understand is how NASCAR came to be predominantly ovals. That doesn’t fit with the running from the cops. A rally stage would be more accurate?
Regardless, ovals are great.
It started with racing on the beach at Daytona, in what was essentially two drag strips down the sand with a turn at each end. So it actually was kind of a “rally” stage in the sense that you were driving on sand. The emphasis was more on outright top speed rather than handling. That’s still pretty true today, so the high-speed ovals became the norm.
Well that makes sense. Thank you.
I guess that depends right? Imma get on my soapbox… and this isn’t directed at you perse.
Sure it’s probably not any faster than a shifter kart on a track. But on the other hand, someone built something cool, is having fun and people are digging it.
That’s a win IMO. Even if it’s not “hardcore racing”. It gets people excited about a gokart, that’s good enough for me* and honestly I think the sport would be better off if more of us took that stance instead of being all “Muh real gokart is better” etc etc.
*Assuming they’re being somewhat safe and avoiding public roads etc.
So long as it’s quick and you don’t have to rebuild the engine after every run, it’s a win as far as drag racing goes IMHO.
Hello there. I have made one this year and it’s pretty useless. In-line 4 engine with 100hp (Honda CBR600 F2). Scary fast and fun on the strip but on real racing track useless (very unbalanced). Too much speed at exit 250-270 km/h on the kart wheels is pretty dangerous after 100km/h you are not in control any more.Waste of money and time
Props for pulling off a fun kart, and finding a track to let you run it.
Indeed. Must have been a fun project.
This is why god gave us two-strokes 
A Superkart pumps out 100hp with a far smaller package
Do they make an actual big 2-stroke motor for anything? Tractor or something?
Answered my own question:
Wärtsilä RT-flex96C
The Wärtsilä RT-flex96C is a turbocharged, two - stroke reciprocating diesel engine designed to power large container ships and is the world’s largest engine . Built in the Aioi Works of Japan’s Diesel United, Ltd, it has a length of 27 metres (88 ft 7 in), is 13.5 metres (44 ft 4 in) high and weighs over 2,300 tonnes.
There was a guy that did an exhibition run at one of last year’s races. It was a vintage chassis with twin 100cc piston port engines on it. I think it was putting out around 80Hp combined. It was a rocket on the straights, but a little dicey out of the corners. In all fairness, it was a short session and the tires were not likely up to full temp. Definitely takes a pair to wield one of those around a tight track.
Not sure if any are really made anymore… but in the past, there’s the two stroke diesels you quoted for ships which are diesels with valves which throws most people for a loop.
There’s the detroit diesels that were used in all kinds of things from generators and buses. Also with valves…
Marine outboards, some as big as V8’s
Snowmobile triples:
Thanks: here’s a time stamp of the 8 cyl car sound. Sounds great under power. At idle it’s vaguely rotax-like and sounds like someone lost a marble in the crankcase.
Screaming Jimmy and it’s subsequent death time stamp:
I’ll see that, and raise you a big-block Chevy powered, almost kart sized, CanAm car from back in the day.
That’s not a car, that’s a wing! Did ya get to drive it?
Looks like an absolute monster! What’s the top speed and hp of that thing??
I wish!
It’s an (obviously) injected aluminum block monster that cranked out about 750-800 HP. The tiny frontal area put top speed estimates in the 250 MPH range.
I can just imagine Vic Elford walking into the shop for the first time and saying “WTF”, and Don Nichols (Shadow Racing principal) saying “What, you don’t like it” (ala the Blues Brothers)… “that’s OK, we can always get Jackie Oliver to drive it.” To which Vic says “No, no, it looks good… really.” 
Holy crap… 
