Go Kart engine?

[JTK]

Does anyone know by chance what gas engines are used on the old Disney Tomorrowland speedway cars? What ever they are, they have to be TOUGH as nails. The family just got back from a Disney trip. I've probably been on this ride 3x in the last ~30yrs and it seems like it hasn't changed at all. The kids loved it of course. As is Disney's custom, they pump thousands of people through this ride on an hourly basis and the cars never stop. While I was in line, one did stall-out as riders were boarding and an operator quickly popped the trunk, hit an electric start button and it grinded back to life. I caught a quick glimpse at what looked like a large, square black air-cleaner housing like off an old Kohler Magnum or possibly a Briggs Vanguard. The exhaust is piped out behind the left rear wheel, with a simple cheap 'hotdog' lawnmower muffler on it. What ever engine they are, they pop like a low RPM, larger displacement single cyl flathead. I'd be curious to know what the heck they are.. or BITOG style, what oil they use! Here's a U-Toob clip I borrowed for demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZB7UkQx_rM

Joel

 

[Deltona_Dave]

IIRC, Last time I was at Disney World, they had one on display with the hood opened. It was a single cylinder Rotax.

Dave

 

[Spazdog]

I don't know about Disney, but if you look close at the Chaparral cars at Six Flags you can see what looks like a Honda GX...maybe an OHV GX160?

Those cars have been in continuous service since 1962. Who knows what they had originally or how long they ran.

 

[dakota99]

They might even be like GX200 clone engines. Most of those suckers are just as bulletproof as the legit honda ones.