Hey guys. Picked this gem up off of craigslist for cheap. I guess they're super rare. IMHO it's actually way ahead of its time. It has dual inboard disc brakes, independent rear and (kinda independent) front suspension, and although it was removed by the p.o., there's supposed to be a second brake pedal on the passenger side, and the steering column swings side to side so that either person on it can drive. It was originally electric, but came with no batteries. And instead of spending $1000+ on batteries and a charger, I've decided to repower this thing with a gas engine. Now here's my two trains of thought; and if someone has a better idea I'm all ears.
1- put a 15hp Briggs vertical in it, run a clutch pedal to a lt style belt clutch, put a peerless 700 on the other end of the belt with a chain from the output to the rear axle input. That would give me 3sp foreword and reverse, and be cool because it would be a manual shift golf cart with a clutch. I already own all the major parts so it would cost barely anything. I just don't know if the little 700 could handle a 750lb golf cart.
2- at work there's two toro greensmasters mowers in the scrap pile. They're hydraulic drive and the only thing wrong with them is they have blown engines. My other idea is to scavenge everything I can off of them, like the hydro pump, motor, hydro tank, valves, and lines that I can, scrape up an engine somewhere, and put the whole hydraulic system in the cart. Then hook up the hydraulic motor to the rear end just like the electric one was. This would naturally give me reverse, and as a bonus I'd always have hydraulic pressure. So I could in theory put a plow on it that's all hydraulic just like a pickup truck, or even run a log splitter off of it. I'm leaning towards this one. The only downfall is it would be WAY heavier and I may need to beef up the chassis, adding even more weight. The total cost would pretty much be a horizontal engine somewhere around 12hp and possibly a couple hydro lines.
Anyways, those are my ideas. If you guys got any of your own, please let me know. And I'm going to try to post pics I hope it works.