The Seat Belts have arrived. I decided to go with just a lap belt. Shoulder harnesses are nice but they can be too cumbersome on a slow moving cart like this one. This buggy has a very low center of gravity along with a fairly wide track so I don't believe the kids will be getting thrown around a lot. I will be installing three sets. So how many kids will be riding at one time? If you said four or five you are probably correct. The linkage for the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal has been adjusted and firmly bolted in place.

I continue to reinforce the hood and shape it to fit correctly. We will need a way to connect it to the frame. I just happen to have this metal L bracket that will do the trick. I needed an extra set of hands to hold the hood in place while I measured for the placement of the bracket so I got Brenda Brackett to help me. That was her maiden name. The pet monkeys refuse to work in this heat. The following photo shows the first coat of fiberglass and epoxy holding the bracket firmly in place. Grammy Brenda has great plans for the paint job on the hood. I think you are going to like it.

The bed is coming along pretty well. As I said this is the final fab of the project. I feel a bit nostalgic. No I don't! This has gone on far too long. Even the pet monkeys are ready to push it off a cliff. I will use a simple hinge made from 1" and 3/4" schedule 40 pipe. The smaller pipe fits perfectly inside of the larger to make for a smooth rotating hinge. I built a small pedestal on the rear of the frame to support the the bed. A piece of 1" pipe is welded onto the pedestal to form the basis for the pivoting bed. The rear of the cart is perfectly level with both shocks dialed up all the way as you can see if you enlarge this next photo. How did that happen? I have no idea.

Paige was wondering if her Go Cart was going to have anything to cover the open bottom of the floor board. I told her she was just going to have to hang her feet out of the bottom. That way she could just drag her feet for a brake like Fred Flintstone. She did not much like that idea so I will use some aluminum diamond plate for the floor board and trim. This material cuts very easily with a jig saw equipped with a metal cutting blade. Now one thing you have to be careful of is the orientation of your template when cutting the material. You will notice that there is a shiny side and a dull side to the diamond plate. Of course you want for the shiny side to be the side that is exposed to view. You will also notice that I have the sheet turned upside down as it is easier to mark the outline of the template. "This is a mistake". Does anyone know why? That's right, the section will be backwards when you try to install it. Why didn't someone warn me, I only have just so much of this plate.
I think this is going to look really good.

Here is the mini saw I was talking about earlier. It is really just a small keyhole saw but it is perfect for cutting foam or wood.

Now it is time to start the final fab. I have been waiting for this day. We need some kind of bed on the back of the cart to finish out the profile. I have been trying to decide just how tall the profile should be so that it will look OK as well as fit above the engine. Once again I will use the framing blocks to hold the frame as it is tack welded in place.

Here is a picture of my new Friend. Right now the biggest hindrance to getting anything done is the heat. This has been one of the hottest and driest summers on record. Someone said it is hot as hell. That is not true. I think it is somewhat hotter than hell. At any rate I decided to try and mitigate the effects of the heat as much as possible. I broke down and went out and bought this super deluxe swamp cooler. It is little more than a fancy fan that blows water vapor. A pump circulates water through a media as the fan sucks air through the moisture and blows it out through the front venturi. I have noticed before that it seems that the hotter it gets the less I perspire. Someone explained to me that once the ambient temperature reaches about 105 Deg. F. your body begins to reserve fluids just for survival. That is sort of like turning the A C off in your physical system. Is this fan worth $600.00. I will let you know. Meanwhile I continue to work on odds and ends such as widening the edges of the front hood. I love working with the foam because it is so easy to add what you need. It is just a matter of gluing on some additional foam and slicing it down to the desired dimensions. Remind me to show you a Small saw that I bought that works very well in trimming the foam.

I need to make a template for the floor board. Now what could I use that is easy to mark and trim to fit. Wow! The foam works perfect for that too.