These little things were built here in Long Beach and as a kid I can remember them on the sidewalks when we'd go downtown. A lot of them ended up on Catalina Island, my brother in law grew up there and said they were all over the place. Tiny electric powered carts (36" wide) they were the forerunner to the golf cart. I wanted to pick up something for our place in AZ but didn't want battery powered, the heat just kills batteries over there, and the thought of buying new one's ever few years didn't appeal to me. Saw this one advertised on CL, the price was right so I drug it home. PO sold edibles on the beach in Huntington and the pics in his ad made the '49 look much better than it actually was, no surprise there. Did a little measuring and figured I could replace the elec stuff with a 125cc pit bike engine. Got one with elec start and auto trans.
Replaced some of the angle iron frame, and one of little body panels by the door, or where a door would be. Body was full of bondo and after I got it all removed I weighed it, 8lbs. Lots of holes, scars and dents but I'd rather have those than the cracking bondo.
Rusoleum red with corn starch mixed in and painted with a brush. Restored the original headlight and new plywood too. Restored the original headlight, horn, tail lights. Original rear sprocket was like a bicycle chain and I knew the throbbing, ground shaking 125 would require something a little more stout and I found an old Bultaco sprocket to be the right OD and after it was machined it fit perfectly on the original drum brake. My gut told me to up grade to a live axle and use a disc brake but I didn't. Something I wish I'd of done now as the poor drum doesn't really stop the thing, just slows it down. Kinda like a stock Model T.
Engine mounts, shifter, chain tensioner, exhaust & intake manifold...all the little things were fun to do. Welded up 4 different intakes as the stock location would have put the carb between my cheeks. First 3 performed terribly so I took the original cast aluminum manifold and sliced it up, super glued it together to make sure the carb would be low enough then duplicated it in tubing. Works great.
Cut to the finished cart, I tried to save the original top material but it was too far gone. I like tiki stuff so I went with that theme. Full size luggage rack found on CL and cut down to size along wit an old wood ski gives it a comical look. For those hot summer days I installed a AC system, 2 misters in the top and a pressure tank behind the seat. Rear tank hanging off the rear gives it a pure racers look! haha
Roadrunners floating bar is about 1000 feet down river from us and besides running around our little neighborhood, that's about the only place we drive it too. We nicknamed the Autoette the Roadrunner Runner. Successful maiden trip.
During a real slack time for the Boilermakers back in the late 70's or early 80's, I ran a pressure washer crew who water blasted the paint booths at some of the GM plants. I'm pretty sure that some of the GM maintenance people at a few of those plants used those carts or something very nearly like them with utility bodies.
The Jalopy Journal
