Putt-Nik Go-kart
- Thread starter Harleys Papa
- Start date
- Tags go-kart putt-nik
Thanks Todd :thumbsup: The only thing I know is the guys dad got it from a Kart rental track when it closed and it had 2 Westbend motors on it and they are long gone :doah: I didn't find much online sofar :doah: but I did find a post here where the guy was saying he needed 2 700v5's for his Putt-Nik Super Leo :shrug:
Try to post something on here. Vintage Karts Forums Steve Miller is a member and he knows a ton about the old carts. He is a good guy too and lives pretty close to me. Within the last week he was picking a Put-Nick or two. Hope that helps. :thumbsup:
Good Morning Mr. Papa,
Your pictured kart is an early 1960 Putt Nik Leo. There were at least three variations of the Leo. The earliest one had a much smaller OD enclosed rear axle tube. Pretty soon, Cummings Enterprises, who built the karts in Washington, GA (West of Augusta) enlarged the rear tube so that it could be fabricated from a single piece of tubing. "Just chuck it in the lathe and bore out the bearing pockets." The final version of the Leo was refered to as the Super Leo and was longer and wider than your kart.
The greatest number of the surviving Putt Niks most recently rescued and restored have been located in the NE. I have 14 in my collection. Three have been restored, two Leo's, one small tube and one large tube and one 1961 Phantom. 1961 was the last year of offical kart production. The manufacturing facility went through several owners ending up under the banner of Brown Electric and Manufacturing and all kart manufacturing (unofficial) came to a hault in 1974. Troy Brown, the last builder and company owner retired in 1996, selling off most of his equipment and sending the jigs and fixtures for kart production to the scrap yard. (How was he to know we would be so interested in these today?).
Additionally Putt Nik manufactured a mini bike known as a "Skoot Nik" but I have never crossed paths with one. In late 1961 the factory also built a production run of approximately fifty golf carts under the name of.........you guessed it. It's claim to fame was it had a two stroke engine that could be cranked backwards for reversing and three wheels.
In 2012 I inherited the Putt Nik banner from Troy Brown. I have become the brand's self appointed historian, appreciation promoter, as well as chief rescue and restoration junkie.
Currently I have both a Super Leo and a 1961 Demon (the ultimate racing Putt Nik) in restoration in my basement.
John "Puttnikdude" McCorvey
Lilburn, GA
Your pictured kart is an early 1960 Putt Nik Leo. There were at least three variations of the Leo. The earliest one had a much smaller OD enclosed rear axle tube. Pretty soon, Cummings Enterprises, who built the karts in Washington, GA (West of Augusta) enlarged the rear tube so that it could be fabricated from a single piece of tubing. "Just chuck it in the lathe and bore out the bearing pockets." The final version of the Leo was refered to as the Super Leo and was longer and wider than your kart.
The greatest number of the surviving Putt Niks most recently rescued and restored have been located in the NE. I have 14 in my collection. Three have been restored, two Leo's, one small tube and one large tube and one 1961 Phantom. 1961 was the last year of offical kart production. The manufacturing facility went through several owners ending up under the banner of Brown Electric and Manufacturing and all kart manufacturing (unofficial) came to a hault in 1974. Troy Brown, the last builder and company owner retired in 1996, selling off most of his equipment and sending the jigs and fixtures for kart production to the scrap yard. (How was he to know we would be so interested in these today?).
Additionally Putt Nik manufactured a mini bike known as a "Skoot Nik" but I have never crossed paths with one. In late 1961 the factory also built a production run of approximately fifty golf carts under the name of.........you guessed it. It's claim to fame was it had a two stroke engine that could be cranked backwards for reversing and three wheels.
In 2012 I inherited the Putt Nik banner from Troy Brown. I have become the brand's self appointed historian, appreciation promoter, as well as chief rescue and restoration junkie.
Currently I have both a Super Leo and a 1961 Demon (the ultimate racing Putt Nik) in restoration in my basement.
John "Puttnikdude" McCorvey
Lilburn, GA
Thanks for the kind words Steve. My cousin, a home room classmate and my next door neighbor all had Putt Niks in 1960. I built my "kart" out of a Red Cap reel mower. I pined for a real go kart for years..........
One day five years back, while heading for work, I drove by a lady setting up for a yard sale and after backing up to see what all that rusty mess was, for $25 I was back in karting. My wife looked at that mess and asked what I planned on doing with it. Having to think on the fly, I informed her that we could fix the "live axle one" and keep it at the house for the grandkids, and send the other one to Savannah where it's flat and the drive setup would not matter all that much.
Then.............I started hunting for a Putt Nik. Finally came across what was left of one in Safety Harbor Florida and drove down to rescue it. (Leo #1). Well now there are 21 karts (mostly rust buckets) at my house including 14 Putt Niks looking for love. To date, I have restored eight of them and am having a blast going to Vintage Kart events and sneaking into local parking garages and making a smoking mess. Yep, I am a bad boy.
Mrs Pnd and myself just returned to Big A from a short jaunt to Avon, NY to hang out with my vintage karting buddies and we shot some pix of the current "Putt Nik Racing Team" while we were there. Will try to post it.
Anybody out there got a Skoot Nik?
pnd
One day five years back, while heading for work, I drove by a lady setting up for a yard sale and after backing up to see what all that rusty mess was, for $25 I was back in karting. My wife looked at that mess and asked what I planned on doing with it. Having to think on the fly, I informed her that we could fix the "live axle one" and keep it at the house for the grandkids, and send the other one to Savannah where it's flat and the drive setup would not matter all that much.
Then.............I started hunting for a Putt Nik. Finally came across what was left of one in Safety Harbor Florida and drove down to rescue it. (Leo #1). Well now there are 21 karts (mostly rust buckets) at my house including 14 Putt Niks looking for love. To date, I have restored eight of them and am having a blast going to Vintage Kart events and sneaking into local parking garages and making a smoking mess. Yep, I am a bad boy.
Mrs Pnd and myself just returned to Big A from a short jaunt to Avon, NY to hang out with my vintage karting buddies and we shot some pix of the current "Putt Nik Racing Team" while we were there. Will try to post it.
Anybody out there got a Skoot Nik?
pnd
Yo HP,
Keep in mind that most of the structural frame failures I have encountered on Putt's in the Leo series are where the frame breaks in half directly under the front of the drive side motor mount. Carefully check yours prior to turning your grandson loose in the yard redo your grass with it.
With a 5hp clone they will run 50mph easy I run a 12/66 combo making my own aluminum driven sprocket from a pre cut blank that I got from Azusa. Then I finished the sprocket ID, bored the five mount hole and whoopeeee. Instant neighborhood bad boy.
Do love my Putt Niks. Everybody ought to own one. According to Vintage Kart guru, Ron Cubel, Cummings was the largest manufacturer of go karts east of the Mississippi River at one point. Amazing. And in the beginning, they didn't even have a paint shop. Kart were hauled to the local body shops in Washington to be squirted.
pnd
Keep in mind that most of the structural frame failures I have encountered on Putt's in the Leo series are where the frame breaks in half directly under the front of the drive side motor mount. Carefully check yours prior to turning your grandson loose in the yard redo your grass with it.
With a 5hp clone they will run 50mph easy I run a 12/66 combo making my own aluminum driven sprocket from a pre cut blank that I got from Azusa. Then I finished the sprocket ID, bored the five mount hole and whoopeeee. Instant neighborhood bad boy.
Do love my Putt Niks. Everybody ought to own one. According to Vintage Kart guru, Ron Cubel, Cummings was the largest manufacturer of go karts east of the Mississippi River at one point. Amazing. And in the beginning, they didn't even have a paint shop. Kart were hauled to the local body shops in Washington to be squirted.
pnd
Thanks for the heads up PND :thumbsup: I did notice a crack in the front that I need to reweld and I will now check the whole thing over :thumbsup: Any idea what the original color might have been :shrug: I'm not doing a total restore but there are some added bits I have to cut off and some welding to do so I might as well give it a paint job too :doah:
The karts came in several colors. The factory brochure (which I have an original copy) sez they are in metallic blue. It was a medium metallic sky blue that Ford was using in 1960. Although my next door neighbor's Leo was gloss black. Tommy Chapman who worked at the factory and was the small parts foreman on black friday when the crap hit the fan, the first time, told me that a lot of the concession karts were painted custom colors per the buyer's preference. I have a friend in New York that rescued and restored a 1961 Phantom that was factory orange.
The cover pix on the January 1961 Karting Sport magazine features a Leo in the metallic blue. The black vinyl upholstery was rolled and pleated in the center of both the seat back and the bottom. The piping was gold. I have an original seat. On the Sissy bars were padded foam tubes. I have located a source that looks really good and stands up well, much better than the pipe insulation the yard kart guys use, and I will be happy to send you two pieces if you'll shoot me an address. I have a box full of it.
puttnikdude@gmail.com
Mrs pnd and myself are indeed looking for a couple of cool minibikes to annoy people with, but we have a LOT to learn about those for sure.
pnd
The cover pix on the January 1961 Karting Sport magazine features a Leo in the metallic blue. The black vinyl upholstery was rolled and pleated in the center of both the seat back and the bottom. The piping was gold. I have an original seat. On the Sissy bars were padded foam tubes. I have located a source that looks really good and stands up well, much better than the pipe insulation the yard kart guys use, and I will be happy to send you two pieces if you'll shoot me an address. I have a box full of it.
puttnikdude@gmail.com
Mrs pnd and myself are indeed looking for a couple of cool minibikes to annoy people with, but we have a LOT to learn about those for sure.
pnd
Go out to macbobaust.com and search in his go karts section under US karts and look up the putt nik The kart pictured was for sale about five years back on ebay while I was on vacation when it came up on bid. It is a late production Super Leo in the factory blue color and is almost all original as best as I can tell from the pictures. The upholstery has been changed it does not show the rolled and pleated treatment or the piping. You can see the difference in the length and width.
I have no idea where it went and the seller wouldn't tell me. It has not shown up at any of the vintage kart events I've been to. It was a nice one, and how.
Oh, the stock engines offered were the Clinton A-400/A-490 or a 2 1/2hp Lauson four stroke.
pnd
I have no idea where it went and the seller wouldn't tell me. It has not shown up at any of the vintage kart events I've been to. It was a nice one, and how.
Oh, the stock engines offered were the Clinton A-400/A-490 or a 2 1/2hp Lauson four stroke.
pnd
Well PND was right about the frame :doah: it looks to have been broken on both sides and welded back together, they are ugly but seem to be strong :doah: I cut the tank mount off the seat loop :thumbsup: and got the clone mounted :thumbsup: Both rear hubs are bent so the wheels wobble but for the time being it is only a yard kart for my grandson :thumbsup: I also picked up a yard kart for my granddaughter :thumbsup:
