Staff – Page 2 – Vintage Karting Association

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December 23. 2020

by Staffin Jan 2021 - Issue, News

VKA News- Jan 2021

International Kart Month

By Rolf Hill

I may have jumped the gun with my initial announcement last month of the International Kart Day, but in my defense, it was necessary. The part I didn’t explain in the December announcement was that the process started in 2019. There is a website that manages/publishes a calendar of “National Days.” They made it clear they get thousands of requests every year. (Keeping in mind we have national pizza day, national lemon meringue pie day, national hot dog day, and even national clean out your refrigerator day [right before Thanksgiving], it is no wonder they get thousands of requests.) They also made it clear they don’t notify applicants until it is approved…. and they didn’t. They also said they would not accept applications from “individuals.” I submitted the request as “Editor, VKA FirsTurn,” but I guess that didn’t carry any weight. Go figure. So, I asked Gary Wlodarsky, VKA President, if he would sign a “Declaration” that established the day. He was agreeable and the VKA Board approved. I re-applied in November.

On Dec. 1 we hosted a zoom meeting and invited Regional Coordinators, track owners, promoters, as well as representatives from other vintage karting organizations. Another meeting is scheduled for December 15. As you might expect there was plenty of discussion and differing points-of-view. All of them needed to be heard.

Kart Day Vs Kart Month

The issues that were raised included the date, primarily the perceived conflict for the inaugural event with the 20^th Anniversary of 9/11; how to include/excite modern karters to celebrate the day; the need for a mission statement that can be taken to national modern event organizations and others; some suggestions for what modern event could include to recognize the heritage we all share. Too much to discuss here, so stay tuned or visit Facebook.*

International Go Kart Month is a time to celebrate the people, the events, the equipment, memories, the innovations…our history, and to make people aware of all of that.

Hopefully, the official announcement will be made in the home-state of karting at the Adams Kart Track in Riverside, CA, at the first 2021 VKA event February 5. 2021. Throughout the year, we hope all VKA events will honor the inaugural event by holding a 5-minute session where all the karts parade the track with a small American flag. Also, modern karting events will be encouraged to include Parade Laps to recognize the history their karts share with Art Ingles’ creation. On September 11, 2021, join the fun at Oreville, PA, for a special event, on this special day.

Check out the Facebook page (International Go Kart Month – September) too. It will be updated as this concept takes shape.

Rolf Hill, Executive Director
International Go Kart Month

REMINDER!!! Procedure & Rules Updates for 2021

As you can see The VKA Board is upgrading its operations for 2021 with a new website and a digital version of FirsTurn. The primary goal is for you, the VKA member to have a better experience as a participant at VKA events, and as a vintage karting enthusiast in general. To make this happen, we need your help. Simply put, without information on you and your karts, we cannot do any meaningful event coverage. We need to be able to identify your kart by either a number panel when on the track or a show entry card with a visible number on it. Then we need a corresponding race or show entry form with as much info as possible about the kart and yourself, like where you live. Without this we can only run random photos with no captions that have no relevance.

Changes:

Karts will NOT be allowed on track at any time without number panels
Only event photos with captions will be considered for FirsTurn publication
PLEASE fill out both the show or race entry form with as much information as possible including the best way to contact you. The FirsTurn editor may be contacting you for more information or photos of your kart.
You must be a VKA member in good standing to participate in the driving or show portions of the events
Helmets will be checked for Snell Approval dates. Only Snell 2015 and later helmets are acceptable
Hoosier R60 compound tires are no longer on the modern kart tire list. They have been replaced by the Hoosier R70s
Vintage 4-Strokes have been added into the Classic class structure

Hopefully, we will close out the Covid 19 pandemic in 2021. Until that is a reality, let’s protect each other and our ability to hold events with common sense protective measures.

Wanted

Rolf Hill here… I’m fried. Stick a fork in me … I’m done. Len Emanuelson is taking over as Editor, but he’s doing the electronic version. For those of you who still want a paper copy, we’ve heard you and you will still be getting paper until your membership runs out or I run out of gas … and my tank is nearly empty. I’m only good for a few more issues, but that’s it.

We’ve had some people who have helped with writing event summaries and some technical articles along the way, and even had an editor for a year. I’ve appreciated all the help. So now VKA needs a Print Editor for those who still want paper.

There were 134 who sent in the post card and requested paper. I’m still not sure how many of those are 36-month members, but my tank is going to run out well before those memberships do. So, if anyone wants to be the guy (or gal) who puts together the print version, now is the time to step up. The alternative may be to offer pro-rated refunds, but that’s up to the Board, not me. (Better to get Print Editor. Send me an email: KartNumber4@yahoo.com)

Len and I have a plan … I think. Anything I get, I will send to him. He will put it into the e-FirsTurn. In the interim, I will continue to put together the event summary tables of demo and show winners for both versions. All other input including pix needs to go to Len effective with Jacksonville and Riverside … and beyond.

Jacksonville Event Flyer

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December 22. 2020

by Staffin Events

VKA Barnesville Kart Show

By Bob Barthelemy
Photos by Brian Allardice

Editor’s Note:

Due to space limitations in the digest-sized print edition of FirsTurn, our stalwart editor, Rolf Hill has not had the ability to publish very many event photos, especially show photos. Now, with the new digital version of FirsTurn we have the space to display those beautiful karts that show up at our events. However, we need your help to provide the information needed to give them the proper coverage. So, please fill out your registration card (complete with comments), and we welcome any additional photos you may have. Please send to VKAeditor@gmail.com.

The kart show judging activity got going at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning under the grid canopy due to the heavy mist. Kart Show judging and the presentation of the awards was completed about 10:00am by VKA President Gary Wlodarsky, who also identified Steve Mox as the 50/50 raffle winner of $275.00. Steve donated $50.00 back to VKA, so Gary presented a total of $325.00 to the VKA.

Due to the continuing rain, the vintage karters in attendance voted to call the 3^rd Demonstration Heat. We then presented the awards for the driving demonstrations (based on finishing order of the 2nd Heat) and finished before 12:00 noon. When I arrived back from the funeral at 1:45, all but George May had already hit the road home. George loves Barnesville and vintage karting and we love him and his dedication to the sport!

HISTORIC
Unrestored	1961 Go-Kart 800; Duel WB 610; Bob Barthelemy
Restored	1961 Rupp A Bone; Robert Rizzuto
REAR
Restored	1970 Hornet Duel Mac 91’s; Blain Young
Modified	1971 Blackhawk; Bill Shelly
SIDEWINDER
Unrestored	1974 Bug Wasp; Chris McMullen
Restored	1971 Margay Cheetah Mac 91; Dewey Brewer
Modified	1987 Coyote Bullet; Rick Williams
PAST CHAMPION		1969 Margay Enduro; Bill Shelly
ENDURO	1973 Bug Stinger; MC-91; Dewey Brewer
PEOPLES’ CHOICE			1971 Blackhawk; Bill Shelly

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14th Annual Southern Vintage Kart Classic

December 20. 2020

by Staffin Events, Jan 2021 - Issue

14th Annual Southern Vintage Kart Classic

By Dick Charest
Photos by Alan Lidke

The 14^th Annual Southern Vintage Kart Classic was held at Roebling Road Raceway on October 17-18, 2020. The track is located near Bloomingdale, GA. It is 2.02 miles long with nine turns. The facility features a 60-acre paddock with paved access roads.

Each year in March the Southern Kart Club (SKC) hosts the 2^nd race of the World Karting Association National Road Racing Series. However, in October the SKC holds a club race at Roebling Road with special emphasis on vintage karts. The vintage karts run four exhibition races over the 2-day weekend. There are two, 15-minute vintage exhibition races on Saturday and two more 15-minute vintage exhibition races on Sunday. Both vintage lay-down enduro karts and vintage sprint karts are welcome to participate.

The weather was beautiful on both Saturday and Sunday. It was sunny and cool in the morning but warmed up nicely as the day progressed. The turnout was more than expected and registration on Saturday morning extended throughout the 1^st practice session. To help those who missed the 1^st practice session, a short 3^rd practice session was run before the races started.

I missed the 1^st practice session and during the 2^nd practice session my engine did not run well, the clutch under slipped, and I could not get the CHT up to the desired range even though I leaned out the carb HS needle. By the 2^nd lap the spark plug was getting badly fouled so I came into the pits. After practice I installed a new spark plug and turned in each of the clutch adjusters to increase clutch slip. During the short 3^rd practice session, the engine ran better but I still had an ignition problem and the clutch still under-slipped. I figured that the clutch under-slipping prevented the engine from getting into its power band and the bogging at low RPMs caused the spark plug to foul. After practice I turned in each of the clutch adjusters again to increase clutch slip and installed a new spark plug for race #1.

Vintage Exhibition Race #1 on Saturday

Tony Ellison’s kart (#13) next to Harry Foskey’s kart (#18) on the starting grid

When the green flag dropped, Tony Ellison got a good start and took the lead of the race. I was gridded last of the 11 karts that were in the vintage race. I got a good start and started passing karts. The engine ran well but still at low temperature. The clutch worked better but by the 3^rd lap the ignition problem returned. I ran another lap, but the ignition problem got worse, so I came into the pits rather than getting stranded out on the track. Tony Ellison set fast time for the Vintage 1 race and won the race with his K-35 completing 10 laps. Arthur McKenny was 2^nd with his Yamaha, Chris Foskey finished 3^rd with his Yamaha, and Terry Armstrong finished 4^th with his DAP T-62. Arthur, Chris, and Terry all completed 9 laps. All 11 karts that started completed at least one lap. Five entries in the Vintage race did not make the grid.

Since my ignition problem occurred only after the engine electrical system got warm even with a new spark plug, I suspected that the coil had gone bad. After the race I installed a good spare coil and test ran the engine in the pits. It started up easily and ran well so I tried it again in Vintage race #2.

Vintage Exhibition Race #2 on Saturday

As in race #1, when the green flag dropped, Tony Ellison got a good start and took the lead of the race. I was gridded 9^th of the 10 karts that started the race, but I got a good start and started passing karts. Although the engine ran well, the clutch under-slipped and that hurt my lap times in the curves on the backside of the track. I had a difficult time getting the engine up into its power band. However, I drove on and completed the race. Tony Ellison set fast time for Vintage 2 race and won the race with his K-35 completing 10 laps.

Arthur McKenny was 2^nd with his Yamaha, Chris Foskey finished 3^rd with his Yamaha, and I finished 4^th. Arthur, Chris, Scott Orr and I all completed nine laps. Bill Anderson, Bennett Armstrong, and Harry Foskey all completed eight laps. They were followed by Terry Armstrong and Trevor Armstrong. Six entries in the Vintage race did not make the grid.

After the race I changed engine and adjusted the clutch for Sunday’s Vintage 3 race.

I ran a short practice on Sunday morning to verify everything was OK with the engine. Although the engine ran well, the clutch over slipped badly so I came into the pits after one lap. I backed out the clutch adjusters to the setting I came to the track with. Since there was no more practice, I tested the clutch engagement in the pits, and it seemed to be OK for the race.

Vintage Exhibition Race #3 on Sunday

Tony Severino on track with his McCulloch powered Hegar kart (#62)

I got a great start and passed everyone before entering turn one to take the lead of the race. Chris Foskey, Terry Armstrong, and Tony Ellison were fairly close behind. Tony dropped out on lap one due to a stripped drive belt. Terry Armstrong and Bill Anderson dropped out on lap three. Chris was quicker than me on the back side of the track because my clutch under slipped which slowed me down on that portion of the track. However, I consistently pulled away from him on the straight. He drafted me to stay in contact, but he could not overtake me. The engine ran well, and I maintained the lead of the race to the end. I set fast time for Vintage 3 and won the race by only 3.119 seconds. Chris Foskey finished 2^nd, Bennett Armstrong finished 3^rd, Scott Orr finished 4^th followed by Alan Lidke, Harry Foskey, Tony Severino, and Trevor Armstrong. Three vintage karts did not make it to the starting grid for race 3.

After the race I adjusted the clutch to get more slip and prepared the kart for Vintage race #4.

Vintage Exhibition Race #4 on Sunday

As in Vintage race 3, I got a great start and took the lead before getting into turn 1. After one lap I got a high CHT warning light so I richened the carb HS needle. However, the high CHT warning light persisted so I richened the carb HS needle again. Then I noticed that the CHT was reading 485°F then 520°F while the engine continued to run well. I realized that the CHT reading was erroneous, so I returned the carb HS needle setting to about where it was originally and continued throughout the race with the high CHT warning light on. Tony Ellison and Chris Foskey were close but on lap three, Tony Ellison dropped out. His engine mount had come loose, and the engine tipped over in a turn. Terry Armstrong had engine problems early in the race and dropped out. While lapping a couple of back markers I got enough of a lead on Chris Foskey that he was not able to draft me. I pulled away from the field and won the race by 1 minute and 21.673 seconds over Scott Orr. Bill Anderson (173) finished 3^rd followed by Chris Foskey and Harry Foskey. I set fast time for the Vintage 4 race.

This event wrapped-up the vintage enduro season for 2020. The next road racing event with a vintage class is the WKA event at Daytona International Speedway between Christmas and New Years. That will be the first event of the 2021 racing season.

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December 20. 2020

by Staffin Jan 2021 - Issue, Tech

How To Set Pop-Off Pressure

By Len Emanuelson

First, let me start by stating that I’m no 2-stroke carburetor expert. However, I’ve been forced to learn certain things about how to setup and service my carbs as part of my race prep. One of those procedures is checking and setting pop-off pressure — the pressure required to unseat the inlet needle and seat, or in some cases, the carburetor’s gross jet. What this affects is the carburetor’s calibration (rich or lean) especially in the lower rpm ranges. There are as many target pop-off pressure settings as there are opinions and engine combinations, but the generally accepted settings are 8.5-10.5psi for gas and 5-7.5psi for methanol. You can’t go wrong picking a mid-point in those ranges as a starting point.

There are a couple of other factors that affect low-rpm mixture control. The most important is the fulcrum lever height. A good starting point is with the top of the arm adjusted (bent) so that it is flush with the adjacent “flats” on the carburetor. If you bend the arm up, you richen the mixture. Typical settings for raised fulcrum arms (at least on my carbs), is .030” for methanol carbs and .060” for my gas carbs. Another consideration is the type of inlet valve, needle and seat or gross jet. My Buller methanol carbs run dual-ball gross jets that flow more fuel (even at smaller openings) than needles and seats. My gas carbs use needles and seats that run cleaner on the bottom end and seem to give snappier response.

The way you check pop-off pressure on a typical Mikuni or Tillotson pumper carburetor is to remove the pump “stack” breaking the carb down to the carb body with it’s inlet valve, fulcrum arm and spring. Next, you pour some type of liquid in the inlet valve well. Kermit Buller recommends and sets his carbs up with Marvel Mystery oil, but gas, solvent, WD40 or most lubricants will work. Then you take your pop-off gauge and insert it in the passage that leads to the chamber below the inlet valve (see photo), and slowly pump pressure into this chamber. Keep watching the fluid around the inlet valve for bubbles if the gauge doesn’t seem to be holding pressure as you pump it up. Dirt or a bad gasket or surface under the inlet valve often leads to leaking here (you will see bubbles around the inlet valve).

When you get to the set pop-off pressure the inlet valve will open releasing pressure (usually spraying oil all over). If you are using a needle and seat, it should be an audible “pop”, initial pressure release and then the gauge stabilizing at a “holding” pressure. If you are using a gross jet, the pressure will simply release at the pop-off number and then stabilize at a lower number. As Buller’s info sheets describe it, the gross jet acts more like a fuel regulator.

To change pop-off pressure you need to adjust that very tiny coil spring under the fulcrum arm. It’s good to have a large supply of pop-off springs as they have a nasty habit of launching, never to be found. For a given spring wire diameter etc., the length determines the pop-off pressure. I purchase my springs from Comet Kart Sales, but they are available from others such as E.C. Birt. As they come from Comet they are approximately .750”-long and produce a needle and seat pressure of 9.5psi in a Mikuni carb. That is nearly ideal for many gas foreign motors. By compressing the spring (squeezing it several times to coil bind between my fingers) to .570”, the result was 6.5psi in my gross jet methanol carb. It’s strictly a time-consuming trial and error operation. However, after you establish the correct length spring for your application, you can usually hit the pop-off number in just a couple of tries.

The photos here (iPhone7 camera) show me checking the pop-off pressure on an eBay carburetor I purchased (atomized methanol Mikuni) and also setting the pop-off pressure on an existing Buller atomized Mikuni I have been racing with that was too lean causing engine damage. It’s not a bad idea to check your carburetor’s pop-off pressure whenever you are installing a fresh diaphragm kit.

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December 9. 2020

by Staffin Features, History

VKA History Lesson

Why Y2K Is Noteworthy

By Mark D’Elia

It all started back at the end of the last century. I was surfing the web on my dial-up modem desktop computer when I accidentally came across a website “Vintage Karts”. It started out “a fun site dedicated to the early days of karting.” “Vintage Karts” is about early Bug Karts, Dart Karts, Fox Go-Boys, Go-Kart 400’s and 800’s, Kavalla Karts, Xterminators, and all the rest of those little machines that formed the beginnings of the sport we’ve known for decades as “Karting”. There were photos of early karts and engines that I remembered when I was maybe 13 years old and was dying to get my first go-kart. I would occasionally revisit the site, bringing back happy memories of Ala-Karts and McCulloch 10’s. It was interesting but there was really nothing happening, no current events. Then one day in early 2000, there was a “happening”. Some guy named Carl Billington was putting on a race. The VKRA Eastern Regionals would be held Aug 26-27, 2000 in Weare, NH.

Unwrapping A Piece of History

I still had my Dart Chaparral, the final successor to a Fox Mak Kart, Bug Wasp, and Dart A-Bone. I bought it new with money from my paper route along with an MC-91A. Those karts spanned my karting experience from 1964 to ’70 (6^th to 12^th grade). It was a great time to grow up; we had the Beatles, the race to the moon and go-karts. I had joined a kart club and raced locally. By 12^th grade I had a Camaro SS-350 and it was time to move on. But I always had a special place in my heart for go-karts. They were finely tuned little racing machines, the minimum of what it took to go that fast. It was something I was good at. It’s how I learned to be a mechanic. The Chaparral had sat in my parent’s basement for 30 years. My Father had wrapped it up in plastic. There was really nothing to do with it, driving around some parking lot by myself didn’t seem very exciting. But now there WAS something to do with it … a RACE. Could I get this thing running again, and could I still drive it like I did, 4-wheel drifting at 55 mph? I usually have a tendency to talk myself out of things, but this time would be different. I was given a sign.

From the day I joined that club, Niagara Frontier Go Karters, my racing number had been 48. That May on my 48^th birthday, I made up my mind, I was going RACING!

The First Vintage Kart Event

Saturday morning, Aug 26, 2000, I arrived at Sugar Hill Speedway, Weare NH, not knowing what to expect. It was a small, oval ⅕-mile course with a short infield turn-in. There were mostly modern karters there, but the vintage guys were all grouped together. I met Carl Billington, he was busily trying to run the event, get his own kart going, and help everyone else. There was a total of 11 vintage karters entered. Almost all were rear engine karts with McCullochs. Most were singles, maybe four were twins. Carl was running twin WB-820s. After a lot of wrenching and with some help from Carl, I was finally able to get my kart running, limping around the track at first, and finally after getting it sorted out, I was flying around the track, drifting in the corners. After 30 years I could still drive like that. Later that afternoon, I met Bob DiNozzi, an engineering type who worked for defense contractor Raytheon. Apparently, he never had a kart when he was a kid but had always wanted one. One day he decided he wanted to learn how to create a website. He needed a topic. He chose “Vintage Karts”, and the rest is history.

Later in the day we held the first race, all 11 karts out on the track together. What a great feeling, to be out on the track, alongside other karts in the pace lap, waiting for the green flag to drop. When it did, I couldn’t believe what happened. I managed to get to the front of the pack, second to a Dart Grand Prix with dual MC-90s. He had a big lead but then he lost one engine. I almost caught him but when the race ended, I was second, which made me the Single Engine Class winner.

Forming An Organization

After everyone packed up their karts, we headed to a local pizza joint to recap the day’s events. Carl began to discuss his dream to create a club where we could all bring our vintage machines back to life. That weekend the VKRA (Vintage Kart Racing Association) was born. He wanted all of us to be his Board of Directors. The next day we were all back on the track. We ran three more Heats, passed out the trophies, and headed for home.

With the new Board Members spread out over 6 states, it was obvious there could be no physical meetings. We would have to rely on the internet. Carl came up with a chat room called ICQ and we would have our meetings online, typing in our comments. I would also send e-mails to individual members and we would share our ideas. Mostly this was with Marc Parker. He was really excited about the whole thing. Marc was an executive for American Express and had quite a collection of Vintage karts. Although he lived in Portland, Oregon. He originally was from Spencerport, NY, about 70 miles from me. We had both driven at the same track … Kelly’s Speedway in Batavia NY. Our initial meetings had great expectations. We would pick up where we left off thirty years ago. There was even an investor, Wayne Haviland, who had purchased the rights from McCulloch and created his own McCulloch Racing Corp. He was talking about building a new MC-102.

I decided to start drafting up rules for the VKRA. For inspiration, I consulted versions from the 1960 Go Kart Club of America, and IKF rules 1970 and 1980. I couldn’t be too specific, there were a lot of variations in early karts. Marc Parker had told me you will never have a level playing field, and I think he was right. With his business background, Marc was the perfect choice to take care of all the legal details. His work lead to the creation of our Corporate Charter on May 23, 2001. Marc became the first President of the Vintage Karting Association (VKA).

2001 came and went. I put on race #2 at Batavia NY, home to the 1968 Nationals. We had 12 entries, one more than last year. We included a swap meet and a kart show. I had no desire to judge the show, so I passed out ballots, and let everyone vote for their favorite. The Peoples’ Choice was born. Carl Billington put on the 2001 Nationals in August,, This time we went to Cuddebackville NY. The modern karters sharing the track that weekend didn’t enjoy us messing up their “real racing”.

2002 – The Momentum Year

2002 began with the event that would raise the bar for Vintage Karting. Gus Traeder was holding a race in Quincy, IL, quite a drive from Niagara Falls. Gus was a showman and really knew how to put on an event.

There were 52 entries and there were people I had only read about in Karting World magazines. I heard Faye “Ladybug” Pierson would be there. It looked like a festival, with tents and vintage karts everywhere. There were no modern karts here. This was a new level of racing for me, karters from the Nationals class. I did get to meet Faye Pierson. I had bought a Bug Scorpion II from my friend about a year earlier. I saw her wearing her Bug jacket so I asked if I could photograph her with my Bug kart. She did one better, she jumped right in, I took the pictures, and then she took it out on the track for a few test laps! She even signed the number panel. That night we loaded up the karts and drove across the Mississippi river to the Quincy Convention Center for the kart show. Judging the karts were Faye Pierson from Bug, and Don Freber and Reggie Fulks from Margay. There were speeches and tables of food. The next two days were the races (should I say “demonstration events”). I was in the first 100cc race. We got the green flag. I dove into the first turn and immediately crashed into a sidewinder kart who was on the outside of me. I was not the only one. There were several crashes and they had to restart the race. Later that day I was walking through the pits and I was looking at an old Fox kart parked next to a sidewinder. I had never been able to define a clear line when I tried to create the classes. There was no date when everything changed. But after crashing in turn one, I realized the difference between those two karts was that the Fox drifted through the turns and the Sidewinder held the corner. They should not be racing together. Rear and Sidewinder was born.

After many rewrites of the rules, I was getting closer. Marc Parker told me the insurance companies were nervous after the 9/11 attacks. I would have to rewrite the rules. Races would become “demonstrations to recreate the look and feel of actual vintage karting events”. The VKA was not a sanctioning body, with no power of enforcement, the rules would become “Guidelines for event promoters”.

Historic Class – Recapturing The Golden Era of Karting

When I was a kid. we had a class called Sportsman. If you were a newbie, or just couldn’t afford to keep buying the newest engine from McCulloch, you could run your old West Bend 580, Power Products or maybe a Mac-10 on your outdated chassis and have fun like the rest of us. I always loved those early machines. We needed a separate class for them. I did not want to use the term “Sportsman.” These karts were the roots of our sport and we needed to recognize them. I thought “Historic” would give them that recognition. Early in 2005 I was trying to log in to our monthly VKA meeting. It could have been on the phone by then, I can’t remember. I was having a lot of problems getting on, and when I finally did, I was informed that the rest of the board had voted for the 2005-2006 officers. Marc Parker was retiring as the VKA’s first president. Vince Hughes would succeed him, and I had been elected Vice President. That’s what you get when you’re late. A year later I retired, becoming just another vintage karter, VKA member #006.