Q4-21 & Q1-22

Around the Christmas holidays of 2021, I spoke with my father about a project I was planning. I wanted to build a so-called cyclekart and needed an old go-kart and an engine block to get started. My father knew someone who could help me with that, and one thing led to another, through this person, I bought the foundation for what would become a great journey.

To be honest, I started this project without a clear plan. I had a rough idea of the direction I wanted to go, but how I would get there or whether I’d even succeed, was still completely unknown to me. I began by disassembling the go-kart and grinding down parts I intended to reuse.

I also made a rough sketch on a piece of cardboard to estimate where the engine should be positioned. Then I started cutting the square tubing to size. This was also the project where I taught myself how to weld with electrodes. I had done a bit of welding back in school, but never more than joining two sheet metal pieces. Electrode welding is manageable, but quite labor-intensive, so I’d love to upgrade to a TIG welder someday.

During these months, I laid the groundwork for the chassis.

Q2-2022

The chassis is largely assembled, although there’s still quite a bit of finishing work to be done, and the welds need some attention. Pre-war cars, including the Bugatti, often used leaf springs, which I initially thought would be easy to source. However, that turned out not to be the case. After a long search, I finally found a set with suitable dimensions for the kart. Most commercially available leaf springs are made for trucks and are far too large. The set I found came from an old horse trailer, a bit too long, but that’s what angle grinders are for. To mount the leaf springs, I made custom brackets that allow them to move freely.

I also started shaping the curved sections of the chassis, both in width and height. Since I didn’t have access to a profile roller, I made cuts every 15 mm into the square tubing so I could bend it and then weld it back together. Definitely not the most efficient method, but it got the job done.

Q3-2022

This quarter was mainly focused on continuing work on the chassis. Along the way, I gradually realized that constantly cutting, bending, and welding does work, but it’s a lot of work. Still, I kept going with enthusiasm. I refreshed and repainted various parts from the original kart, such as the rear axle, bearing holders, wheel mounts, and steering components, as much as possible.

By August, the chassis was in a state where I could finally paint it, something I had been looking forward to for months. Painting the chassis felt like a milestone, a way of saying: this part is done.

Q4-2022

The final months of 2022 marked the quarter in which something I had dreamed about for months finally happened: the first test drive. But before I could get to that point, there was still a lot to prepare. The wheels (from a Honda MT) had to be mounted, along with the seats, throttle pedal, and brakes and the engine had to be made operational.

I had no idea whether the engine (a Honda GX270) would even run, but that changed in October. I installed the carburetor, air filter, and a new fuel tank, filled it with fresh oil and some petrol, and to my great surprise, it started on the very first pull. That was an incredible moment, as it was the first time I had ever gotten an engine running (even if it was relatively simple), and it felt like the first test drive was finally within reach.

In the following weeks, I focused on getting the kart ready for that first run.

Then, on December 4th, the moment arrived: the first few meters, the first ‘powerslide’ through the tall grass, it was truly special. A year after starting the project, a year of working toward a goal without knowing whether it would succeed, it all came together and it turned out even better than I had ever dared to hope.

Q1-2023

During this quarter, the kart remained mostly untouched, as I was busy moving to a new home. However, I was already thinking about how I would go about fabricating the bodywork.

Q2-2023

During these months, also the last period I worked on the project, I began fabricating the bodywork. To be honest, I had no real idea how to approach it, as I didn’t have access to an English wheel or similar tools. I often started by shaping a form out of paper, which I then traced onto a sheet of aluminium.

The louvres, a signature feature of the original Bugatti, were something I spent many hours thinking about, since I didn’t have a press to make them. Eventually, I came up with the idea of forming them by hand, maybe not the most elegant method, but I was very pleased with the result. The process was simple: cut a slit, make a wooden die and punch, and then hammer the shape into place.

After days of work, the full shape of the kart began to come to life, and I could finally move on to the ‘final stage’: painting the entire kart.

Conclusion

This project was far from perfect, I had to redo many things multiple times, and there’s plenty that could have been done better. But it gave me direction. Through this, a relatively simple project, I discovered my passion. I still have so much to learn, but this was a step in the right direction.