Flames were shooting out of the carburetor. The engine was backfiring. The clutch had just broken. The engine appeared to be junk. After eight hours of working on this engine the go kart still was not running. Parts were breaking off the engine and it seemed as though much more money was going to be spent just to get this go kart running. But the constant nagging in the back of the go kart builder’s mind was we will not spend any more money, we will not spend any more time on this go kart.
He came into the house and his wife asked so how did the go kart go today? He said with a grunt don’t ask!
How can a man spend eight hours on engine and have it not work at the end of the day? How can so many things go wrong and so many things not go right?
Well if your new to engine diagnostics and engine troubleshooting, eight hours may not be all that unreasonable; and flames shooting out the carburetor isn’t the end of the world; and breaking the starter rope that too is not the end of the world.
If you’re considering building a go kart days like this are more than likely going to happen. If you think that the go kart is going to just flop together that is more than likely not the case. There are going to be some tough days and at the end of that day you going to be asking yourself should I keep going with this go kart?
Yes keep things in perspective. The perspective is that the go kart is not the real goal. The go kart is a learning experience, it is a teaching experience, it is a fun experience. Whether you’re the doing this by yourself or you are working with your kids, this is an experience that you will remember the rest of your life. And these experiences will be useful when you encounter other difficult problems in your life.
Quite honestly the worst thing that you can do is answer the question with “Yes… we are stopping building this go kart it is a waste of time.” Because that will teach that giving up is okay and that some problems are just too big.
The persevering go kart builder recognizes that no problem is too big and that costs do not have to be so large that go kart cannot be finished. The goal of building a go kart for $200 is attainable and doable, it just takes patience and fortitude of mind to get it done.
Arm yourself with the correct information. Get understanding in the following areas:
– Small engine and small engine repair
There’s more to building a go kart than just a go kart plan there’s understanding why the go kart is designed the way it is so they can corner like a Porsche and look like Ferrari. This understanding of why all the systems work the way they are, why they are placed where they’re at and out car will react when certain things are designed the way they are, is key to the persevering gokarter.
