Val Scriha's Australian Vintage Kart
Val Scriha sent these pics from Australia and had this to say:
Gidday
My name is Val (Valentine) Scriha from Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. Attached are
some photos of my vintage kart. To date I have not been able to identify the make of the
kart ( have tried Bruce Dabney and the Vintage Kart guys - no luck ). The kart is powered
by a Mc-10 motor (direct drive - push start). The kart has been completely rebuilt from
the ground up - new linkage and steering arms, axle and wheel bearings, full engine
rebuild (major problems finding bearings, piston, rings), new
tillotson carby, frame was repaired, resheeted and painted metallic gold (matched to
original paint). The sides of the seat were reupholstered. The restoration took
approximately 8 months (would have taken less time, if I would not have taken the advise
of a "supposive" McCulloch expert here in Australia). Many thanks to Bruce
Dabney, for all his advice and encouragement during the restoration ( I knew nothing about
McCulloch motors when I started). I am a Fitter & Turner (machinist) by trade, so all
the restoration work was done by myself except for the seat upholstery.
The kart was bought second hand in 1978 by my father from a local kart dealer. The kart
was used on a private flat dirt track that we built on our cane farm. It has been on the
family farm for the last 21 years ( the last 17 years spent on a loft in one of the farm
sheds), until I decided to restore it early in 1999. Originally, the kart was raced with
twin Mc-10's and later converted to a single ( this was before we purchased it). The brake
system is a drum/ band type system ( drum fixed to the axle, steel band goes around the
outside of the drum with a brass riveted flexible brake band material - brakes have been
left original - new brake lining and the drum was remachined ). The frame has all braised
joints - similar to old motorbike frames. The age of the kart has been put somewhere in
the early 60's. It was originally raced on a flat dirt track - hence the threaded back
wheels.
I am trying to track down vintage kart enthusiasts in Australia to see if I can organise a
race meet similar to what you guys have done in the states.
Regards
Val Scriha
