MINI GREMMIE

Looks like a little Gremlin has found me, and since it needs some work, it will keep me busy this winter, post SC/Rambler restoration project.  Just the right size to do during the cold winter weekends.

This story starts out abruptly at the end of last month (October) when an auction notice popped up with an "AMC Gremlin Go Kart" included in the auction listing.  Only the chassis was seen in the posting photos, and the auction was a strong 2.5 hours away in early November.  I was interested but only if the body (which wasn't in the photo set) was in decent condition, so I called the auction house to inquire on the body.  They assured me that they had the body and would take some photos as soon as they had a chance.  A few hours later the pictures came through on my phone and I was hooked.  The body and decals looked great.  Someone had preserved the body in very nice condition.

I checked out the dimensional sizes of the go kart and learned these little guys are over 7ft long!  That presented a problem as my RAM truck is a short bed plus having no topper on the bed, I wasn't interested in the body shell becoming a sail out back and smashing in pieces by flying out and crashing on the road.  My parents had decided to come down for the weekend of the auction by chance as mom wanted to do a girl activity so it was the perfect chance to see if dad was game for an auction and we take their mini-van.  Just so happens that a Dodge mini-van is the perfect size with seats stowed to slide in a Gremlin go kart.

Based on the other auction items I was also seeing signs that this was a NASH - AMC family and maybe other treasures were lerking in the corners.  So off on the adventure on November 9, 2019 to grab this cutie!  Packed like the precious cargo it was after securing the winning bid!

It turns out that my suspicions were correct that this was a longtime AMC family, as the estate of the family was being executed by the son, with parents now in nursing care.  Dad had worked at the Sunbury, PA dealership through the years, and bought this Gremmie for the kids.  Being the smart guy he was, he pulled the body off the chassis to preserve it in 1974 and let the kids beat the snot out of the chassis through the 70s on their 3 acre property in north central PA.  The chassis is now in pretty poor shape after years of use, and from what looks like at least partial time in outside storage, so it needs a complete restoration.  Side support tubing was removed years ago, the body is rusted, and the plastic seat had broken early on from hard use (from what the son told us) and dad just replaced it was some bent sheet metal.  Tires are dry rotted but the tubes still hold air.

The son of the original owner told me that he got to drive the go kart in the Williamsport, PA Bicentennial Parade in front of dad who was driving their family's NASH.  Sounds like some cool history!

Some photos after we set it up in the shop the first night:

The body is just sitting on the chassis.

This past week I started photo documentation and some initial teardown.  The 3hp Clinton motor turns over nicely (that's a good sign), there is no chain, and the gas tank has a pill bottle for a fill cap ( - dang kids must have left it lay somewhere when filling it and lost it!!  LOL)

Pulling and pitching the metal seat:

There is not a whole lot to these little buggers.  Loving those brakes!!!

Motor close-ups:

The carb is marked "961"  with what looks like a 10 73 date code - which would seem right for a 1974 go kart.

The motor stamping confirms that it is a 3hp 400 series motor.

So, there is a lot for me to learn on these little guys.  I don't know much about Rupp or the Clinton engines.  My neighbor is a small engine / Wheel Horse tractor guy so I think I will seek his assistance on the engine internal rebuild while I focus on the restoration of external engine parts which are really rough.

It looks like the worst part of this restoration will be finding a seat that closely matches the original.  There are many go kart seats out there but most of today's new plastic seats have mounting holes that are different and also seat belt slots that the original did not.  Tires and tubes are available, and I have already picked up a perfect replacement muffler and some reproduction engine decals.  Throttle cables, wheel bearings and clutch/chain kits are available that I will be sourcing soon.

The body has 2 minor cracks to repair and touch up and then I plan on just watersanding the body with 5000 grit and a nice polish to remove the minor imperfections that exist and just reglue decals that are starting to come off after 45 years.  These bodies are SO fragile!

Looking forward to bringing this little guy back to factory condition over winter!

If anyone out there knows of any Rupp NOS parts stashes, let me know.  It looks like Rupp basically got out of go kart manufacture by 1970, these cheaper karts were a later exception to their standard product lines by 1974.

My buddy down the street sold his Gremlin go kart a few years ago. He asked me if I wanted it but without someone to ride it, the effort would have been futile.

Later!

Mr. Ed

I am finding that in many ways these gokarts mimick the AMC hobby - where some things are still made, others are obsolete unobtainium, and it has a powerplant made by a now defunct company.  LOL.

I am fortunate to have (2) friends that live just a few miles on either side of me that have Gremlin Karts of their own, with known history all the way back to the AMC dealership, so I have spent some time with both filling in gaps where my well used kart has missing or trashed elements.

What I have quickly learned is that during the first year of manufacture of these karts, they went through a LOT of design changes.  All three of our karts are different.  At a later time I will complete a chart of the variances found, but I can say that the differences are significant.  We have found that each kart has a serial number, and it helps to show that along with the design iterations, the serial numbers indicate that mine was the middle version capturing the design as it was evolving.  Thankfully, by looking at each one, the few unknowns on mine can be determined and I can move forward with chassis repairs to bring it back to original.

Here in the mid-Atlantic, weather through the holidays was pretty nice, so I hurried along the teardown and got the chassis ready to pressure blast outside on the Saturday after Christmas was a perfect 50 degree day.  Suiting up in blasting garb was much cooler than a summertime project!  Before the blasting started, I located the serial number where the manuals said they would be and documented it in case blasting lost anything, however the stampings are quite distinct:

I also took a quick photo of the original owner chassis weld repair and mods before grinding the first of them off:

The bare chassis is pretty rough looking - a lot of miles and smiles on this one!

After blasting,I worked on taking off the angle iron repair piece on the left rail.  What was underneath was some really cracked tubing - most likely due to removing the body outriggers at one point - weakening the frame and allowing it to crack later.

Now the restoration can begin.  First up, cleaning off old ugly rewelds and trying to straighten a really bent up frame rail:

I am starting to work the network out there for Clinton engine parts and also beating the bushes for some sort of a seat solution.  Again if anyone has a lead to follow for a seat that looks like this, I would be very grateful!

Yeah, I got that "original only" disease, plus where would the challenge be?  I have to have some NOS part treasure hunt to do now that the SC/R is done!

Having AMC Fun,

Ollie