Building a Man-Sized Go-Kart from a Junkyard Bound Chassis

(Jeremy)>> Today on Carcass we take a left for dead Buick Regal chassis and we transform it into Franken-Regal.

(Jimmy)>> It's our version of a big boy go kart that you can drive.

(Jeremy)>> We lay down some serious doughnuts.

(Jimmy)>> And roast some tires big time. [ engine revving ] [ Music ]

(Narrator)>> When you want to build something different you turn to these guys, Jeremy Weckman and Jimmy King. Jeremy was raised in Minnesota building street rods. He's a build, fabricator, and welder. Jimmy grew up in Nevada working in his dad's garage building cars. He's a mechanical engineer, builder, and fabricator. They take left for dead rides and transform them into one of a kind builds. If you can dream it they can build it. This is Carcass, a non-traditional speed shop. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> This is our office, a 50,000 square foot warehouse that also is home to three other shops.

(Jimmy)>> And there's always something laying around that we can beg, borrow, or steal. [ Music ] Jeremy come check this out. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> What in the world did you find?

(Jimmy)>> So this is that '85 Buick from down in the warehouse. Tommy doesn't know if it runs but I told him we could get it running by the end of the day. I actually want to drive it by the end of the day. So we made a little bet.

(Jeremy)>> So you guys put money down on this?

(Jimmy)>> $50 bucks.

(Jeremy)>> Okay here's the deal. I'll help you. If we pull it off I get half. If we don't pull it off it comes out of your pocket.

(Jimmy)>> Deal, I just want to rip doughnuts in the parking lot with this thing. So let's get to it.

(Jeremy)>> Alright tall order but let's get to work. When Jimmy first rolled this thing into the shop I'd seen it before cause it's been sitting around the warehouse, and I just thought it was heading towards the scrap bin.

(Jimmy)>> I rolled this thing in. Jeremy gave me a weird look. So he probably thinks I'm crazy but I need some help with this project to get it done. So hopefully he's on board. [ Music ] [ tires squeaking ]

(Jeremy)>> Well alright Jimmy, well it basically looks like everything's here to get this thing running.

(Jimmy)>> Looks like it.

(Jeremy)>> And you know we only really need three things to see if it'll pop and that's fuel, compression, and spark.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah so I can get fuel, dump it in the carb. You want to get a battery?

(Jeremy)>> I'll get a battery, we'll assume it's got compression, and we'll see if this thing fires up. Carbureted engines are extremely simple to work on. There's not a whole lot we have to do to get this thing fired up.

(Jimmy)>> With a fresh battery and a little bit of pump gas we'll get this thing fired up in no time.

(Jeremy)>> Dude this is really crude but we're use some jumper cables. We need to get power to the starter and plug all the vacuum ports because we're not using any emissions equipment for this start up.

(Jimmy)>> There's one down in the middle here. [ Music ] Before start this thing up do you know if it's park?

(Jeremy)>> I have no idea.

(Jimmy)>> Safety first Jeremy.

(Jeremy)>> Yes sir. [ Music ] Whenever you're ready.

(Jimmy)>> Go ahead.

(Jeremy)>> Here we go. [ engine starting and revving ]

(Jimmy)>> Yes, I love it! I'm psyched that we got this thing running, which means we're half way there although there's kind of a laundry list of things that we've got to do to get it driving but we've got to get it finished because I want to do burnouts.

(Jeremy)>> I knew it was gonna start up. [ Music ] You know what? I think we're actually gonna pull this thing off.

(Jimmy)>> I think so dude.

(Jeremy)>> I found this radiator outside in the warehouse because we've got to keep this engine cool.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah I got that on my list already. I have a few other things, brakes, firewall, some kind of steering column, and some kind of fuel cell.

(Jeremy)>> Yeah and we should probably put seats and seat belts in it if we're actually gonna go drive this. Well I found that in the warehouse and I'm sure there's a whole lot more stuff out there we can find.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah let's go looking.

(Jeremy)>> Alright let's do it.

(Jimmy)>> We have all sorts of projects being built in our massive warehouse.

(Jeremy)>> And in every nook and cranny of our building there's a treasure trove of parts to be found.

(Jimmy)>> From brakes, to gas tanks, and even steering.

(Jeremy)>> We can find just about anything that will work for our Franken-Regal.

(Jimmy)>> Oh it's a tilt column. [ Music ] I think this is gonna work.

(Jeremy)>> Got a lot of stuff to do though.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah I'm excited though. It's a lot of fab work, I'm gonna start bending some tubing and build a firewall.

(Jeremy)>> And I'll take care of the radiator and I'll do the gas tank.

(Jimmy)>> Let's go. [ Music ] [ saw buzzing ] [ welder crackling ] [ Music ] [ mechanical humming ] [ Music ] [ welder crackling ] [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> We should have put a hand brake on it. What we're we thinking? [ Music ] Brrrr! [ Music ] [ welder crackling ] [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> Alright dude how are we doing on the list?

(Jimmy)>> We're done man. We've got brakes, cooling system, steering, fuel cell, battery mount, seats and mounts, and seatbelts.

(Jeremy)>> Awesome, fluids. I'll do fluids. You hang out, have an arm rest. I'll get a rag and then we'll go outside.

(Jimmy)>> And do burnouts right?

(Jeremy)>> Sure.

(Jimmy)>> Alright perfect. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> Alright, all good!

(Jimmy)>> Ready to go?

(Jeremy)>> Yeah. [ engine starting ]

(Jeremy)>> Man this thing's gonna be a blast.

(Jimmy)>> I love it. [ Music ] [ engine revving ] [ Music ] [ tires squealing ] [ Music ] [ tires squealing ] [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> What do you think?

(Jimmy)>> I love it.

(Jeremy)>> This is great. Hey let's go get your money.

(Jimmy)>> Let's do it man.

(Jeremy)>> Up next we're stepping it up another notch. Find out what's next on this Frankenstein build on Carcass.

(Jeremy)>> Alright Jimmy you've gotta hear me out on this one. So after we left last night I had this crazy idea. What if we pulled this tired old V-6 out of here? Replace it with a small block Chevy that's got like two to the times the horsepower. That just means were gonna have two to three times the fun.

(Jimmy)>> Well you know Engine Power does have a small block Chevy and it's pretty easy to swap into these cars, but before we take it out to drive again we've got to fix that.

(Jeremy)>> Yeah we've definitely got to do something about that.

(Jimmy)>> Well let's get the old engine out first.

(Jeremy)>> Good idea.

(Jimmy)>> To get our Regal chassis to stage two we're gonna have to do some back tracking. So first we're gonna have to drain the coolant and then cut the radiator free. Lastly we'll remove the motor mount bolts, and then we'll just have to do some shucking and jiving to get the engine out of the bay. See you later V-6.

(Jimmy)>> Out with the old and in with the new. We need to fill the torque converter with fluids, and then marry it to the turbo 350 transmission we got from Holley Performance.

(Jeremy)>> Alright here we go.

(Jimmy)>> Almost, yeah right there.

(Jeremy)>> With our transmission all lined up we'll add some bolts and then just snug them up. With our Powertrain married together we can drop in our ZZ-4 and transmission combo in place.

(Jimmy)>> With our engine close to its final resting spot we'll add the engine mounts, line up the transmission with the transmission crossmember, and lower the whole thing into place. And touchdown!

(Jeremy)>> All there is left to do is just weld it up. [ welder crackling ]

(Jimmy)>> With the engine locked in we can start adding the front accessories.

(Jeremy)>> The first thing to go on is the crank pulley. Now it connects to the crank with a couple of bolts and powers all the accessories.

(Jimmy)>> Next we need to add the water pump. It's attached by four bolts. It's crucial to any engine because it keeps coolant flowing through the engine and radiator.

(Jeremy)>> Alternator time! We need to add an alternator. It attaches to the water pump with a bracket, and we'll make sure to utilize all the proper spacers we need to line everything up. With all the bolts snugged up we can fit the belt around the pulleys, and then lock in the final position of the alternator. You got that power steering pump?

(Jimmy)>> Yeah I got it.

(Jeremy)>> You're up.

(Jimmy)>> The power steering pump goes in without a hitch. Just line up all the bolts and snug them down.

(Jeremy)>> Jimmy look what just showed up.

(Jimmy)>> What is it?

(Jeremy)>> Those are our headers.

(Jimmy)>> The derby headers?

(Jeremy)>> Yes!

(Jimmy)>> Let's open them up.

(Jeremy)>> Look at those guys.

(Jimmy)>> I like it.

(Jeremy)>> Ta-da! They're gonna look cool!

(Jimmy)>> That's awesome!

(Jeremy)>> How many decibels do you think you can make?

(Jimmy)>> Let's find out. [ Jeremy & Jimmy making engine noises ]

(Jeremy)>> Oh wait the wrong ways.

(Jimmy)>> I'm gonna do it first that way. It'll sound better on the engine.

(Jeremy)>> Right, putting the headers on is super easy. The trick is to just start the two outside bolts first and then slide the gasket between the head and the flange. Follow that up with four more bolts and you're ready to snug everything down. Oh man these things look so good.

(Jimmy)>> I love it man. It looks mean.

(Jeremy)>> They're gonna be crazy loud though.

(Jimmy)>> I can't wait to fire this thing up but we need a couple more things.

(Jeremy)>> Yeah we've still got a couple more things we've got to button up on the top. [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> Up next we fire up our ZZ-4 and hear the roar of our new power plant.

(Jeremy)>> Hey what are you working on?

(Jimmy)>> Well I was thinking because the engine got way more power we should add some safety features, like a roll bar or something like that.

(Jeremy)>> Good idea. So you're gonna be working in the back?

(Jimmy)>> Yeah.

(Jeremy)>> I think I'm gonna start working up front cause we've got some stuff to put on this engine and I really want to hear this thing run today.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah me too. I'm also gonna put the new wheels and tires on this guy.

(Jeremy)>> Good idea. To complete the engine build we still have a couple of things we need to throw at it. First is the distributor. Then we'll throw on a high performance Holley carburetor. To get the fuel to the carb we'll throw on a fuel line with a gauge. To finish it all up we'll add one heck of an air cleaner.

(Jimmy)>> While Jeremy was finishing up some odds and ends on the engine I got right to work adding some safer seats. First we measured six inches of tubing cut out four pieces on the saw, followed by a notch at each end. Then with our Lincoln Electric Power Mig 256 the tubes are tacked into place. Laying the cross bars for the seats ensures everything is lined up so we can burn it all in. [ welder crackling ]

(Jimmy)>> Seat time! Bolting chassis tabs to the bottom of the seats allows us to lay them on the cross bar so we can weld them in their final position. What do you think dude?

(Jeremy)>> Well these are way too comfortable and way too nice for this project.

(Jimmy)>> I'm hoping these bolsters will actually keep us in the seat this time.

(Jeremy)>> I think so.

(Jimmy)>> What else is on your list?

(Jeremy)>> I've got the radiator to do. What's on your list?

(Jimmy)>> I've got the roll bar to do still.

(Jeremy)>> Alright let's do it. We're gonna use the same radiator as before, and since there was enough clearance before we're just gonna put this right back where it came from.

(Jimmy)>> We're not gonna get too fancy with this roll cage. So an easy start is to get a quick measurement with the tallest person in the seat. Our roll cage is going to consist of a rear main hoop with some triangulation points for strength. The main hoop will get two 90 degree bends and we'll make those happen on our Edwards 10 bender. With a quick test fit, it's gonna work, the main hoop can be prepped for weld. Hey can you help me hold this real quick. I'm just gonna tack it in.

(Jeremy)>> Alright. [ welder crackling ]

(Jeremy)>> With the roll cage being burnt in it was time to get rid of this rattly steering column. [ Music ] And Jimmy was nice enough to step aside and give me a hand improving the situation. That'll do.

(Jimmy)>> With our rear hoop installed it's time to add some strength. One end gets a notch while the other end gets trimmed at an angle. This will allow for a solid weld to the chassis. We're gonna be using five point harnesses. So I'll add a cross bar directly behind the seats to get those mounted. [ welder crackling ]

(Jimmy)>> The final parts of our puzzle are the side bars next to the seats that are going to offer some side protection. [ welder crackling ]

(Jimmy)>> Alright dude, you ready or what?

(Jeremy)>> I am totally ready for this. Let's see if starts.

(Jimmy)>> Alright I'll get fuel.

(Jeremy)>> Alright you start it up, I'll run the distributor. Let's see if she pops. Go for it. [ engine start ]

(Jeremy)>> Ooh yeah! Listen to that baby purr. [ engine revving ]

(Jimmy)>> That thing's loud. Wow, I love these flappers you added on here too.

(Jeremy)>> Oh yeah that should totally keep the rain out. We are all done.

(Jimmy)>> Good job man.

(Jeremy)>> Next we're slamming the gas and roasting some tires.

(Jimmy)>> Let the Carcass games begin.

[ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> Man we sure did accomplish a lot this week. We took a chassis that was pretty much bound for the junkyard and turned it into what we call a Carcass masterpiece.

(Jimmy)>> That's right, and we had a ton of fun with it in the parking lot but we made huge leaps with the new engine and transmission almost tripling the horsepower.

(Jeremy)>> Yeah not only that we added a bunch of other things. We put some wheels and tires on it. You did the roll cage that's going to make it safer. We put a five point harness right on top of those racing seats too.

(Jimmy)>> So what do you think about the fun factor. This car has kind of a second life now.

(Jeremy)>> Yeah you're right. So what I did is I made a little phone call. We're gonna take this thing up to NCM Motorsports Park and they've got a wide open area so we can stretch its legs.

(Jimmy)>> So we're going to Bowling Green?

(Jeremy)>> We are going to Bowling Green. [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> To start this day of fun we're gonna go back to our stock tires and do a little acceleration test.

(Jeremy)>> Yep we're going cone to cone with a stop watch. [ engine idling ]

(Jimmy)>> You ready. Three, two, one, go, go, go. [ engine revving ]

(Jeremy)>> Man that thing's a blast.

(Jimmy)>> Hey what do you say we try the other tires? Maybe get some traction?

(Jeremy)>> That sounds good. Let's do that. [ drill spinning ]

(Jeremy)>> Hey what time did you get?

(Jimmy)>> 7.6 seconds. Let's see what these new tires can do. [ engine revving ]

(Jeremy)>> What time was that?

(Jimmy)>> A lot faster, 6.8 seconds.

(Jeremy)>> Heck yeah buddy. So our next test is what we call auto cross. What we're gonna do is set out a whole bunch of cones, weave in and out of those cones, and the end just see who's faster. Are you ready? [ engine revving ]

(Jimmy)>> Getting a good start off the line is a little be tough because of how much power we have, but those tires gripped so hard that I actually lifted one tire off the ground in the corner. Getting into the slalom out of the first turn was a little bit tough because of high tight the turn was, but I zipped right through and got into turn two. Getting around this turn was fairly easy but I had to be careful not to overshoot the straightaway so I could gun it to the finish line.

(Jeremy)>> 18.76, that's fast.

(Jimmy)>> This is way too much fun. You've got to drive this.

(Jeremy)>> Jimmy laid down a great time. Now I don't know if there's much room for improvement but I sure am gonna give it a shot.

(Jimmy)>> Ready, set, go.

(Jeremy)>> Right out of the gate you've got to be easy on the throttle because the car just gets away from you. So coming into turn one you've got to hammer on the brakes and get into the slalom. Once you're through the slalom it's into turn two and you've got to get back on the gas and whip into the straightaway, except I whipped a little too hard. [ tires squealing ] [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> What's my time?

(Jimmy)>> 42.

(Jeremy)>> I think you beat me. Obviously I didn't do as well as Jimmy did but I think I can get some redemption because burnouts are next. [ Music ] [ tires squealing ] [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> Yeah! [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> That's awesome!

(Jeremy)>> So that's a whole lot harder than it looked. It's a huge balancing act between a whole lot of steering, a whole lot of throttle, and a whole lot of brake because let's face it. The car is just too stinking light. [ engine revving ] [ Music ] [ Jeremy laughing ]

(Jimmy)>> Alright clearly auto cross is more my thing. Honestly this is embarrassing but could you reset these cones for me.

(Jeremy)>> Jimmy the bulldozer. [ engine revving ]

(Jimmy)>> I got in the car and my first instincts were to just grab the wheel and hammer the gas. So I hammered the gas but I couldn't get the doughnuts to go. So I decided just to do a huge burnout, and I roasted the tires, and it was awesome. [ engine revving ]

(Jeremy)>> Don't stop it man, don't stop it. [ engine revving ] [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> Woo, that's hard to see in there.

(Jeremy)>> You are amazing. That was absolutely insane.

(Jimmy)>> Well I can't do doughnuts but I can sure do a burnout.

(Jeremy)>> That's unbelievable! Look at this, look at this. Say goodbye to the rubber man. We're gonna leave it all up here in Bowling Green. That's crazy awesome! I don't know about you but I had an amazing day.

(Jimmy)>> So did I.

(Jeremy)>> I'm ready for some dinner.

(Jimmy)>> Me too man.

(Jeremy)>> If we rocked your world with this sneak preview of Carcass make sure you tune into a full season starting in June.

(Jimmy)>> We'll transform a UTV and VW Bug into "Bajawesome".

(Jeremy)>> Then we'll take an ex-military truck and transform it into, well you'll see.

(Jimmy)>> And we make this Trailblazer SS into a world class drift s-u-v.

(Jeremy)>> Check us out in the June because you never know what we'll build next on Carcass.