I picked up this Batmobile amusement park ride at a swap meet in NewHampshire . the back story was it had been in a park from Coney island in the late 60s to the mid 70s, then sat outside behind a garage/barn ever since, lets see what happened to it. and can it be saved?
So good right about there, hey guys how's it going hey. This has been parked in the corner of my garage for a little too long, and i decided to move it forward on the list of stuff to go and wrench on. I picked it up at a swap meet a while ago. Yeah swap me for those, i don't know it's a car show where you sell all your parts and bits and pieces, and that's where this came from.
I shot footage of it there. Of course, i can't find it and had the back story on it and i'll do my best to recite it. If i find that footage i'll, throw it off, probably on the end of the video, but it came out of coney island. It was a amusement park in coding, island and my guess is the 60s.
Judging by the look of the body and all that kind of thing it's been outside, he said it was outside for 20 or 30 years. I guess the park was probably either defunct or they you know they move up to get newer stuff and then the old stuff gets sold off and this was a private sale. That's really all i know about it. These are built like a tank.
I have another one which is more modern, one from like the 80s or 90s, and that one's got to be 800 pounds, and i don't suspect this one's much lighter you tell by the two by six frame channels down the side of it quarter, inch thick bumpers, Going all the way around it, it's a tank yeah. It really isn't made to do 90 mile an hour meant to do 10 miles an hour for its whole life and never get shut off all day long, so the insignias are kind of there. The battle the batman stamp, like a better terms, we did drill holes in the back for cooling uh, it's all locked up. It is sitting on dollies.
I got it rolling around on them. I was hoping we were gon na, try to make it up that ramp. I don't think that's going to happen. Let's take a peek at the engine, it's an unknown condition.
My guess is it probably stopped running and they stopped using it right. Kids were running around the neighborhood with it later on kohler engine, i'm guessing, probably five horses on it. Five or an eight horse is missing. The cooling tins that went over the top are gone.
That's not a good sign looks like the governor's, disconnected yeah looks like the throttle right to the carburetor. How do you know if it turns i've done nothing to this? Let's go see if we get well, there's that so i don't know where we're going to go with it uh. I don't know if we're going to try, bring it back to life as it was and make a track go kart back out of it again. If we're going to swap an engine out, do something different get some of the weight off of it.
Just use the shell. I don't have those answers, but we're going to go, move forward and find out what those answers are. So without further ado uh, it's not going to make it up on the table. You know what i do have i have a a little rolling table that we could probably slide underneath the middle and try to see if it'll pump up.
I think it lifts 800 pounds, so we're gon na find out if it's good enough to uh lift this up, and probably we could get the shell. I don't know if it does or doesn't separate. We can take the shell off the top of it and we see all the mechanical bits because i'm sure everything's gon na need love as it doesn't even roll. So you know i'm sure all the tires and everything are shot too. All right. Let me get set up and uh we'll have a evening of a wrenching 2200 pounds. I think we're under that how's there how's our balance perfect. I think it won't be our best bet, we'll get that other lift right out of the way, we'll slide it out and i'll wiggle this thing up into the work area over there, that's a little better.
You can see we're kind of working with. I would figure the upper and lower shell would split, i'm sure they didn't work on its whole. Life, like you had to do. Wheels and stuff must be a pain in the ass with the body in the way right yeah.
So i think this shell will come off of this one, so probably those screws you would think to be like at least like four large bolts in it somewhere that hold it. I don't see nothing, let's take those little ones out and maybe yank on that cb. The seat has something behind it. Let me pop you in a stand.
I could go, lift the bottom out right. Nothing to that! That's bolted down! I'm gon na take those screws out of the far end and see if the shell just kind of moves a little bit. I want to just go lift up on it. I don't think it's all that much holding it would have been right right there.
You see the cutout and where the bolt would have been i'm sure it's probably two in the front also and sides out. I think our best bet is going to be setting it back down and we'll just grab it from the front. Cowl i'm gon na get my hand under here i'll grab from the front and we're gon na try to lift it up and and walk it off. I think it'll be fairly heavy, actually gas tank.
We should make sure that's not connected a no all right, nothing else. I see some stuff on the back. I think this is going to hold the lower shell, though i don't think that's the upper part. Quite a few fiberglass patches in it, i think it's had a hit or two in its life uh.
I have a feeling it's gon na trap me inside. You can really use your help right about now. Get that side for me when i steam it right up on in don't hit the fan. I think we're gon na hurt it there.
You go that wasn't so bad thanks for the help yeah. She had about a hundred pounds, get a better look at what we got now. I wonder why i wouldn't roll. How would you change a tire on it when the they're, not even the same yeah slick on that side, a little bit of rot on that one? Little rack and pinion steering front end, it's kind of cool.
Does it work? What's that, like a limiter, yeah brake pedal, i guess yeah, that's the gas! Let me take a minute, we'll clean the crap out of it and lift it back up in the air. Let me start playing with the engine part of it see if it's any good walking around a little more just kind of checking out some stuff. I see a chunk taken out of that pulley and it looks like it did run three belts at one time. There's another one there. I guess this is gon na, be the clutch all right. Something's got ta, be the clutch matter that i think i say it's under here and it looks like the alignment of that is out of whack and straighten the the one. That's up, there is really kicked on an angle, definitely not going to roll. What, if it's like a ratcheting, is that just playing it hmm there we go is that turning that engine over it turns the engine, something's got to be a clutch, though you got to hop on it.
While it's going all right, kids hurry up get on there. All right, let's uh, like i said, i'm going to finish cleaning it out, that's a little better. I don't see major damage to the floors or anything all seems to be decent in the fiberglass uh. Let's see about first of all, where would you even check the oil on this thing give some access to it? Maybe that plug right there probably has a dipstick on it.
You think they would have had something really easy to to check. Let's get that out of there kind of odd size, 9. 16.. You think it'd be like a half inch.
That way you could take like an extension. Go down. Probably never had the oil checked in this life find out if it clears the seat or not right. You get it yeah, it's got something in it.
It's got marks on it. I think it's over full could be gas too a little over full all right. Let's see what we can do to get actually probably pull a plug out. You know we'll pull that plug out and we'll dribble a little bit of oil down inside it.
I'll start with you, yeah we'll get that out and it's been a day or two: let's go shoot some oil in it yeah automatic transmission. Fluid is thin thinner with that work around actually got to get it over there. There we go the pistons over here, it's a flathead, so there's a valve exhaust valve here in the intake valve here. Can we rotate this from excuse you? I wonder if we can get these belts off there, so we're not trying to turn the whole the whole drivetrain, and maybe we can kind of work on that pull starter.
We can put like a we'll put like a socket or something on here to spin it yeah uh, i don't. Maybe we can try. That's probably why it's got a broken chunk out of it. So try taking it off got some play in it.
Can we loosen up yeah, let's maybe go loosen those up and get the the belts out of the way? Actually, i think the pull start is kind of functional yeah. That is the clutch too see it's gon na get compression. It's got compression all right. Let's go throw that plug on that plug wire, real, quick and we'll give that a zap and see if it has any spark we're looking right there, nope no sparking and we're definitely kicking out a mouse nest or two from the fan shroud behind it. So that would mean we would need to get to the coil part of it. I'm looking real quick see if we see any kind of kill, switch any wire anywhere. That would cause us not to have spark plastic. That's the kill right there.
That might actually be the points if that is that'd be easier to get to the magneto will be under there yeah. Let's go pop the cover off real, quick and we'll see. That might be the point that just holds the points open. I think the exhaust pipe is ready to give up.
Let's get rid of that out of our way bit me we're in because there's any critters living in there uh looks like that was a muffler one time, no just regular house plumbing all right. Let's go see if we can get in the air go and spill some of that crap off of there and you can get the cover off end up jacking it up in the air more like. Why am i working on the ground see if we can get that out of there? And hopefully we can get spark through the points because i think we'll have to probably pull the engine to get the not that it's a bigger deal. But we'll have to pull the engine to get the uh to the flywheel and see we get oh yeah and hopefully they got kicked up corrosion on them.
Oh yeah didn't get you closer, those guys right there, a bunch of crap on the outside edge and then it has to get removed and make an on off signal for us. Let's go drag. Do that just bust all the crap off we'll go drag a set of file points on that. Maybe we'll hit it with like a little bit of carb, cleaner or something see.
If anything comes back, let's get in there. It's like. Generally, you put. You wrote the file over you get like a a grinding sign, sound.
It felt like goo that using brake lines is there any difference between brake, cleaner and carb, cleaner other than the name i'm going to the same stuff. I guess we should turn it over. Let me go clean that too, we'll turn it over see if we got a point gap keep filing at it. We're gon na have one all right.
Let's go see what we got got to move my light hold on yeah. They were already open. That looks about right. The gap looks fairly decent, let's go throw that plug back in and we'll spin it over again.
Here's that little shut off that was on that cover little piece of flexible metal. This goes to the back of the points, probably just grounds it out right to there shut it down kind of hard to use when you're riding it, though you think, you'd have a kill, switch up by the steering wheel, all right right there, nothing, nuts, are falling Out of it, not mine, actually i think we get to the other side of the engine. I don't think it's much holding that back seat on it looks like there's a couple of sheetrock screws on there and one there. Maybe that'll come off and we can access the other side of it there you go, i'm going to try one more time clean those points a little bit and give her one last shot before we try pulling that cover off of there kissing hoping it is the Point but uh, if not we're, probably going to need a component, that's underneath the flywheel. It's not like, there's something we can clean and bring back to life. At least i don't think so. Light's too bright for you, but there's definitely still a bunch of crap on there, but nothing saying that something didn't fail in it and that's why they stopped riding it too. You know my guess would have been the tires.
I think that the tires would have cracked out judging by a home, show, looks like how much of a pain he asked they ought to change, they went and bought mini bikes or something you figure. It was the 70s that this thing was probably the last time it was ridden. You know, let me just see what that does. Let me check that top surface.
Make sure you see shine, see shine on both of them. Try it again, don't even have to move you easy to plug. I can see the plug. You can see the plug yep.
There we go good, i saw i saw one. Then it went away. I'm gon na go, throw that back in there and take an air gun and try shooting all that crap. That's shooting out of the shroud i'd, be able to see it, but there was like nuts popping at it everywhere.
So i think that was more squirrels than mice, but who knows someone even still full all right? Let's go see pop that play out there. Real, quick, let's go see more crap comes out good. You know what i want to try doing. Don't you? Yes, you do! This is gas good stuff.
Let's see what she does. It is looks like it's on idle. Now it's that's full throttle. Okay, yeah, a little all right, see what we get try to not get myself caught up in the pulleys too pop back through the cards.
Pull starts letting go. I think it's got so much drag over the whole system, i'm kind of fighting it. I wonder if we should pop those belts off all right and see if she does can't get a really good pull on it, because he's so far away. Let's go we'll throttle whoops that won't start a fire there.
You go all right, she'll go good and catch. My let's give her one more. I like to try to get a couple of a couple of fires in a row out of it. You know what i mean.
I died all right, all right good. We know the components will at least function. Let's get that carburetor off of there and see. What's going on, that's a little crunchy i'll, probably end up cutting that one off there.
She goes a little homemade linkage, there's like a coat hanger. On top all right. There looks like a bent up coat hanger. They get two screws that should come off of there.
Now that's a screwdriver, the back one, i think, is gon na be finicky. I think we're gon na have to try to grab that one wrench yeah that one correct and the other one yeah. I think we have to get a little tiny wrench on the other foreign to the bench. Yeah see what surprises are in this one. A lot of rust is coming. Is that a bad sign? You know i saw that one around. Hopefully, the float is still good. We're going to end up popping this whole thing apart and put it in the ultrasonic cleaner.
That's funny, it's turned into clay yeah. I don't think putting gas in that one made it made, it run and it's going to knock the pin out, get the float off we'll get that in a second i'll. Have that with me? Let's go: get the air fuel make screws out of it and we're going to let this one take a bath. That's going to need it! There you go.
This is going to be a long one. This is the one that goes all the way down to the there you go yeah, let's go get that pin out of there get the float off get this gasket off. I might be able to push it right out, sometimes they're just sitting in there and the the float ball holds it from sliding side to side like this one. My problem is this: one's a brass float and uh the brass floating.
They have a tendency to crack and fill up, not only yet, but she doesn't look very promising either we'll see we'll throw that in the cleaner too, that that let's get the needle out of it tip is on the needle the rubber part of it. Like a bit of words, i don't think digging that gasket out, i think, is going to ruin it. I don't know if i have any of that stuff, but i think if we dig it out of there, it's definitely going to ruin it. I think we leave it in place.
We extend a chance of it surviving, possibly even softening up again. We may have one down the center to try and get out. Let's see if you can get on it, yeah should be and nope i don't see you wait for that. Does it come out of there, it does not have um does not have a slot cut in the center of it to unscrew from the top.
I wouldn't think so: that's not happening all right off to the bath everybody in the deep end. I'm gon na try to throw the needles in there, so they stay with it and see that float, floats and it'll float now and nothing says later on. We come back, it's still floating, so we're gon na go heat it up to 50 celsius and buzz away. While we work on something else, i'd say we could probably jump on wheels wheels tires.
I think that might be an issue huh, it's not going anywhere with those. Oh a lot of axle. Put you bring it right through the center of it. That might be a little hard to patch and my question is: how do we get those suckers out of there? I wonder if they are bolts, maybe they're bolts that go in real far.
You take the bolt out and it looks like like. Maybe those are spacers and then the whole thing can drop straight down if not either got ta drop the axle or move that spring. Let's get an impact gun on those we'll buzz them out and see what happens. The question is like.
We still got to clear that hub right. Well, they must have to change them somehow and we're going to figure that out not that way, you're, not that nut and bolt that one's a nut and bolt that's the one we need to get out. That's the one holding the rim together, so the rim is two-piece rim, so those are the ones that have to come out. Let me go shoot some uh goo on them. Give them a fighting chance to come apart. Let's see how they do. I have a feeling end up, dropping that axle, probably yeah so they're gon na we'll keep going. But again, i think it's gon na do anything for us.
These bolts are off yeah. Now what yeah so just was afraid of. Let's go: take a peek underneath and see like if that axle can lower down, there's got to be some way they had it set up to go. Do that you know, let's go take a peek underneath it's like those that was not even there.
I think the chain off the loud drop - this is a break band. Can that just stay with it? Maybe so we got the chains to deal with that looks like it well, we'll have to disconnect whatever that is right there right. So we just get that key. That's in it, like that's gon, na fight us very hard, it's already wiggling get rid of this spring.
What a pain! Yes, though, huh still like i'm missing something, but if i am it'll show up in the comments yeah, i forgot to drop a link out of that sheet and allow that to drop down that looks like it's broken off might be just dirt kind of poke at It with a screwdriver see if it goes through, hmm how's. He see any other way, though, do you yeah what would hold it? Can we do it where we just like loosened two of them? Let it swing down. I don't think so. We have to support this.
Somehow, then, could we just drop it on the ground? I wonder if we just drop it. The whole thing right on the ground get rid of that the four bolts the chain, let the whole thing come down. We could just like do a bunch of work on and we'll check. You know anything and everything on it: yeah, because how you can you can't clear that hub? That's the isn't that the bearing that it's spinning on yeah you're, just not gon na make it.
I mean it's sucky you get a flat. I guess you take a peek at the front too huh. I would think the front. Does it have suspension that rocks back and forth? If that's the case, you might be able to yeah, we might that one should yeah.
We'll be able to get that one, i'm pivoting it yeah good all right get that back apart. Well, common sense would tell us that there should be a master link on that somewhere right, we go, it looks like it right there remember. We were in uh, seaside heights, and seaside heights is new jersey. Has a boardwalk had a boardwalk, i'm not sure if it's still there anyway, they had a go-karts on the boardwalk and it had.
It was raining kind of had like nobody was around because it was raining and all but the uh we talked the guy into letting us take the go-karts out. It was awesome because the wood was wet. You drifted around the whole course. It was very fast, but yeah wet wood joke there. You know for a very uh good time. I think i went about 10 rounds. Hopefully that comes out of there chain drops down. We could probably soak that chain in oil too.
That wouldn't hurt it. I might have a new one too. I've got a couple of frozen links in it right there, i'll put the ultrasonic thing, but we'll probably soak in like kerosene or something maybe get that out of there. There we go that should be free, not be enough room to clear that, though i guess we can probably go backwards.
Some right shoes yeah, it's not being an issue all right. Let's go get lube them up, get an impact down. I think we have to get a wrench on top too, though i think just so come down and bash us into teeth. Maybe we should throw some clamps on it, because that would hurt and kind of expensive.
So, let's, let's just kind of make an attempt to make it the other way. Maybe i get some shorter ones, we'll go the other way and give it about. You know that much room so when it drops down, can only do a couple inches. How about some of these we hit? We did now we probably get get them to release easier too.
You know, let's even get them without being underneath it. That's a one so a two three that bolt is in the front there that i think it's just snapped off the number. Fourth one double check it again, but put a wrench on it should move right moves, we release those vice grips and it stays put. Then it might be threaded in from the top back you up, get the light out of there and see what happens well, there's any good reason to drop it from four feet in the air.
So let's we're smarter, not harder right. We could drop it from my foot, see what happens there. You go, that's not as bad as i thought it was going to be through a wheel, it's off of there now. I think the next thing we got ta go.
Do is clean up. This mask the body out of our way. We use that table over there to work on and do some dissection what a weird hub set up huh. What is that like? Why would it just i don't get it so the brake beam is.
This is the regular axle. Then they went with this long setup to put the brake band on. Why couldn't the brakes be? There don't know me now, fortunately, for us, they are split. Rims makes it a little bit easier to work with they're rotted, pretty bad huh.
So we need what size were they four ten by six, so we needed something with a six inch. Roughly six inch not for highway service, says you yeah. We go look in our stash, i'm thinking maybe like lawn mower or front tires, but i have a feeling. They're going to be too big to fit in that window, we'll see they do you have an offset to them.
We got about what two inches on that side that looks about the same huh. Let's hope we can flip the rims around. If we had to what the front are the front the same, i would think they would be steal the front ones. You know yeah yeah they're the same. These are off a little a little mini bike. What are they? Six 6.5. No good! I don't think, there's anything small over here. I see a wheelbarrow wheel back there.
It's only going to be one though, while i'm here, here's the other go-karts that we did and we put a v-twin engine in this one. It goes pretty good that was dark, you can't see, but that's back there and sky electric start, which is nice little mag wheel, it's a six, but i think they're going to be too fat for us. Keep. Those in my actually looks like they're kind of blown out huh.
I believe these are off of them. I think they're airplane wheels, those two, i think we kind of fat too. They say six, though, on a break yeah, let's go bring them downstairs, just in case, for some reason that six inches looks bigger than that's six inches, so the outer edge it is a seven and a quarter and a little under seven a little further going across. I think the lip is just larger on it.
Problem we're gon na run into she's a tad bigger. I should have probably measured that axle. While it was in there see how much room we had to work with uh. I don't think we have that much.
I think what i want to do is go hunt at home. I got a stash of stuff behind the house and maybe we could find something. That's a little bit less intrusive, also stop the tractor supply and see how much new ones are if they're 20 bucks a piece we'll just get four new tires. If they're 80 bucks a piece we're gon na go, try something else: uh yeah! Let's go check out that carburetor see how it's doing.
Yeah vibration runs for about 30. I think 35 minutes float's still floating it's a good sign. Let's go see what other bits are looking, i think that's decent and hot rinse that stuff off with water and we'll bring that back to the bench. Chad windy, we're out in my stash.
Let's see what we got, those are eights right, yeah bring them with us, possibly use the tire and room together give a little bit of height under it. We'll take those too, if not they'll, get used on something else right, i think like snow blower tires, i really can't what we're looking for. I think it's about the right size too. Small eight inch ain't gon na work, so i went tire shopping.
I didn't really find what i needed, so i figured we're just gon na order a set of four yeah. I know right spending some money, but i wan na see if we have any other issues. So, let's get. If we can, these beads broken and just one of these rims broken down and see, if there's anything else, i need to water so that you don't have any surprises.
Of course tubes. I think i break the bead before i split the rims a little easier to work with, as you can tell it wasn't, just exactly going to fall apart, see if we can rotate a little. So i'm gon na fuss with this for a minute or two go whip it out of the vase. I end up, cutting him off i'll, bring you back. Will it be almost off there flip up and punch me in the face? I know it isn't. How can you be so close all right back to the time machine, the other side? On the other hand, i think that might be a little bit of an issue got nothing to push against who's. Your daddy, if they weren't, split rims holy a little bit of rust, got to them all right. Let's get those hats out of there see what we got.
Look. I tell you i'm looking forward to doing that three more times. That was a big fight. They should be okay, we'll clean them up.
I throw some paint on the inside of them, maybe maybe beat the lips back to where they should go, just hoping that this is the worst one of them all. I was just concerned about rot again. They got tubes in them, so it shouldn't be too bad, but those are original. I say we throw that card back together.
Get that out of our way. I'm not gon na go crazy because i have a feeling we're probably going to do an engine swap at some point whether that does or doesn't happen. I don't know, but all the chassis stuff needs to get fixed anyway, and this engine's missing some of the cooling things and whatnot, but we'll see it's a really simple car, but there's really not much to it. Sometimes those floats too over time.
You put them in and you run it and then like three days later it sinks just because of the vibration. That's in it, it opens up a little port, so i'm gon na go blow it through it. Flip it over seems like the valve is working and let's go put. Our air fuel mix screws back in just going to run it until it touches come out about about two turns for starting point: half one and a half two and the same on that the one i'm turning now is the high speed and the other one was Low speed, we're gon na get a half one one and a half two should be our starting point.
Let's go throw that back on the machine. Alright, we got gas hooked up to it. Let's see if he does go, choke choke, don't move yeah. You might have wanted to check that when you had it apart, what happened? You knew yeah.
I want the cleaner got. It put a little lube on there time all right, so there's some choke. We have. We have a throttle idle right now, let's um, we take a spring off.
This is what's sort of this. Is the return spring full throttle all right, we're going to kind of adjust it from there we're about halfway, see we get so she's dry. Let's go choke on little should be full a couple of children, laughs, you're, so far away from it's hard to get a good pull great. I think it's got enough gas in his air.
I fill up my tank that should do it up here there. She is, let's go let the tank straight up, let the ear get out of one, that out of harm's way, laughs and back those air fuel mixes out a little the governor's still working inside the end. You can see the lever moving, that's loud, literally missing. We should maybe throw that little flex pipe on there get the exhaust out of my face might want to get rid of the nest. That's in it. I think we dialed in a little bit a little better ride. Train looks pretty good. So how do we shut it? I want to stick my off in between here.
Well, the bearing sound a little noisy. Doesn't it right here sure greece wouldn't hurt it open the points the governor's still hooked up too, you can see it physically working. So if that needs to get re-hooked up it will not bad huh. There's something that's been sitting for ancients.
Is that a word good? It looks like all the mechanical parts are fairly decent. The brakes are just scrub breaks, i mean not strong brakes, but um band brakes material's, probably gone on those when we have to go build. Something for that rack just looks like i need some lube tires are order, so i have a feeling we're gon na break this up into two videos. Just because of really it's gon na work out right, don't have the parts to move forward.
So, let's do the best again what we got, but we got that to the point where ron's even got a good assessment and everything i'm happy about that. I'm not looking forward to changing those four tires, but hey it is, but it is right all right guys. Today, i'm going to turn the fans on air the place out. I think we're gon na go cut this one right here.
Thank you all for hanging out and rent you with me and uh, i'm not sure how long it takes for the parts to come in so there might be a a skip, uh, a video or two on this one we'll get back to it, i'm not sure, But for now i think we're done guys thanks for hanging out i'll, see you soon later, all right, one more time see how it restarts. I'm the theme to the bat, the batman. Let's see how slow to go, i sat myself i hit the flag. Take that's pretty slow, that's probably 300 rpm.
It's definitely hot huh, because competitions for doing that too, like how slow do you make an engine? Go, that's slow! When you can count the pulses got ta die in a second yeah. I think we go much lower than that. All right, we're done see ya.
Afternoon mate π
Good morning everyone !