This is a 1963 Go-Kart 800 that is powered by no fewer than three McCulloch MC-10 engines, all turning the rear axle, offering a combined output of around 15 bhp – that’s not bad for a vehicle that weighs about as much as an empty beer can.
The 800 model was built by the Go Kart Manufacturing Company, the same firm that named the vehicle type and played arguably the main role in establishing the format and popularizing it across the country. As such, this triple engined model is likely to attract plenty of attention.
This is a 1963 Go-Kart 800 that is powered by no fewer than McCulloch MC-10 engines, all turning the rear axle, offering a combined output of around 15 bhp – that’s not bad for a vehicle that weighs about as much as an empty beer can.
History Speedrun: The Go Kart Manufacturing Co.
The Go Kart Manufacturing Co. was the first company to mass-produce go karts, and it’s the firm that gave the sport its name. With that in mind it’s surprising that it’s not better remembered today. The company was founded in 1958 in Monrovia, California, by Frank “Duffy” Livingstone, Roy Desbrow, and Bill Rowles – partners in a muffler shop called GP Mufflers.
The men were skilled welders and fabricators, Livingstone had learned the trade after World War II at Mitchell’s Roadster Shop in Pasadena, and by 1953 he and Desbrow were running their own glass-pack muffler business. Rowles, a surplus materials salesman who frequented the shop, became the principal partner.
The catalyst that really kicked things off came in 1956, when Livingstone saw Art Ingels’ homebuilt kart creation at the Pomona sports car races – it was essentially just a small tubular frame on four wheels powered by a surplus lawn mower engine. With Ingels’ blessing, Livingstone built two copies in his muffler shop, one for himself and one for a friend. Desbrow soon followed.
Word spread quickly, and Livingstone organized what amounted to the first kart races in the Rose Bowl parking lot in Pasadena. The gatherings drew crowds and media attention, and demand for go karts soon snowballed into a nationwide avalanche.
In order to try to keep up with demand Rowles found a supply of cheap two-stroke West Bend engines from a bankrupt rotary lawn mower venture. The three men began selling complete kart kits by mail order for $129. Lynn Wineland, a graphic designer and staff artist at Rod & Custom magazine who also did freelance commercial art work, was brought in to name the product.
The Go Kart Manufacturing Co. was the first company to mass-produce go karts, and it’s the firm that gave the sport its name. With that in mind it’s surprising that it’s not better remembered today. The company was founded in 1958 in Monrovia, California, by Frank “Duffy” Livingstone, Roy Desbrow, and Bill Rowles – partners in a muffler shop called GP Mufflers. Image courtesy of The Go Kart Manufacturing Co.
After considering Dart Kart, Zip Kart, and Fun Kart, they settled on Go Kart. The name was formally registered, and Go Kart Manufacturing Company was established, initially at 152 East Huntington Drive in Monrovia.
As business boomed, the partners incorporated and leased a five-acre facility in Azusa from AeroJet General Corporation. They built the world’s first purpose-built kart racing track on the property – it was a 0.3 mile circuit with 11 turns, including a banked Monza-style corner.
The company fielded a factory racing team of six drivers and four mechanics, flying them and seven or eight karts to events across the country as the sport expanded. By 1962, however, more than 30 competing kart manufacturers had entered the market. Art Linkletter Enterprises offered $750,000 to buy the company, but the partners declined over concerns about management control. Sadly, this turned out to be a tragic mistake.
Within a year, Go Kart Manufacturing was bankrupt. The Fox Company purchased the Go Kart name from the estate for just a few hundred dollars. Livingstone returned to the welding and muffler trade, though he continued building karts privately for years. He died on August the 13th, 2017, at the age of 92, widely remembered as the father of the go kart.
Among the company’s most memorable models was the Go Kart 800, a rear-engined design that debuted around mid-year 1960. It represented the mature direction of kart chassis engineering at the time and was produced through the company’s final years.
Most variants were fitted with a single engine, but more power was possible with two engines fitted, and some even had three – making them true pocket rockets by the standards of the time.
Among the company’s most memorable models was the Go Kart 800, a rear-engined design that debuted around mid-year 1960. It represented the mature direction of kart chassis engineering at the time and was produced through the company’s final years. Image courtesy of The Go Kart Manufacturing Co.
The Triple-Engined 1963 Go-Kart 800 Shown Here
This 1963 Go-Kart 800 was produced by the Go-Kart Manufacturing Company of Azusa, California. The frame has been refinished in red and it has an aluminum floor pan, a Palmini fuel tank, a three-spoke steering wheel, a bolstered seat with black upholstery and Go Kart branding, twin foot pedals, and a rear-mounted Palmini solid disc brake.
It rides on staggered-diameter Hands magnesium wheels with 4 inches up front and 6 inches out back, all shod with Goodyear racing slicks.
Power comes from triple McCulloch MC-10 two-stroke singles, each fitted with yellow fan and head shrouds, Palmini exhausts, chain guards, Hands engine mounts on custom plates, and Tillotson carburetors set up to run on alcohol, fed through VanTech carburetor manifolds.
The engines are linked to the rear axle via Max-Torque centrifugal clutches and drive chains, with Hands sprocket hubs on the rear axle. Replacement clear fuel lines have recently been fitted.
This 1963 Go-Kart 800 was produced by the Go-Kart Manufacturing Company of Azusa, California. The frame has been refinished in red and it has an aluminum floor pan, a Palmini fuel tank, a three-spoke steering wheel, a bolstered seat with black upholstery and Go Kart branding, twin foot pedals, and a rear-mounted Palmini solid disc brake.
The kart was bought by the current owner six years ago and subsequently refurbished by Vintage Museum Restoration of Indianapolis, Indiana. The three MC-10 engines were rebuilt under current ownership by Terry Ives, with replacement seals, gaskets, bearings, rods, and pistons.
The kart is now being offered at no reserve out of Mooresville, North Carolina, with a bill of sale on Bring a Trailer. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
