Thread: How to Build a Billycart?

OK, from 50+ years ago, here's how we used to do it.
There were two types of popular billycart. One was probably the equivalent of a ute - it consisted of a box mounted at the back of a longitudinal 4" x 2" beam, the chassis. It usually had front and rear wheels salvaged off an old pram - spoked wheels, mounted on steel axles. The front axle was attached by bolts (or more often, bent nails) to a wooden steering beam, which was attached by a central bolt to the longitudinal chassis. A rope attached to each end of the steering beam provided control. The driver sat in the box, sometimes with one or more passengers and cargo.

This type of billycart could be propelled by gravity, towed behind a bicycle or pushed by anyone stupid enough to do so. Occasionally, a friction brake was fitted, more for appearance than in any hope of stopping the cart. Effective stopping was accomplished by attempting to turn the cart, which would roll and eventually come to a halt on top of the driver and passengers.

The other type was more like the equivalent of a sports car - a brakeless, uncontrollable sports car driven by a suicidal, psychopathic juvenile delinquent. Like the previous model, it had a central beam chassis, usually 3" x 2", but instead of a box it had a small platform, usually the end of an old fruit box, on which the driver lay, or if he was a big shiela, sat. The axles were both made from wood, with wheels made from old ball races force fitted on the end and sometimes secured by nails. Again, the steering axle was attached to the chassis by a central bolt.

The driver lay prone on the cart, nose about 3" from the ground, and steered (a term I use in its loosest possible sense) with his hands directly on the steering axle. This type of cart was propelled by gravity down the steepest hill in the neighbourhood. A crew member would get it off to a quick start by pushing, and occasionally lookouts would watch for traffic in cross streets. No brakes were fitted to this type of cart. Stopping was accomplished by ground-looping the cart.

In a variation of this cart, sometimes the driver, in this case known as Ya Big Shiela, would sit on the platform and steer with a combination of rope like the 'ute', and feet on the steering beam.

There was nothing hard about building these carts, apart from finding the materials, and wheels were the toughest things to come by. Often they were cannibalised from previous builds.

Not that I would encourage you to build one, but they were the best fun you could have with your pants on.

Lots of good info in the previous post. Search the forum for billy cart or go cart (as I called them growing up in Bris). There are plenty of threads here. Some even have plans or links to plans. Some might spell it as kart.

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks soooooo much for answering my questions this will help me out alot with my research project. i will post some pics of it when i have made it

Only tip I can add is that if it is a downhill racer, use bicycle wheels, the larger diameter the better, less rolling resistance.

This may be a bit over the top for a billy cart but the yellow and purple cart in the photo below is one my brother built for my nephew to enter a billy cart race a few years back.

It corners like it is on rails and nothing came near it on the day. Buggers changed the rules next year so it was not eligible.

AlexS's post brings back some memories. We used to scrounge ball races from the local garages for wheels. They used to throw the old ones out when they rebuilt a manual gear box. Probably not that easy to come by now.

Michael

IMGP2555opt.JPG

That ain't no billy cart, its a motor-less go cart

A few thoughts from my youth and later on.....
Don't name the axle in place as the bumps loose the nail then the axle leaves the billy cart & so do you.
Don't use old wire spoked pram wheels as they tend to collapse after a few fast corners & you end up on your bum again.
Wheel old workboat gear box bearing lubricated with kero give good down hill motion BUT they don't respond to attempts to steer around corners & you end up on your bum.
If you build a billy cart out of the scrap alum bin, don't let all the workshop help as you end up with a very strong, heavy & too stiff and once it's going it's hard to steer around corners & worse to stop though the backside is kept on the seat.
An old mate used to work with boys without dads making billy carts and I've attached the plans like he used, just a similar hardware store plan.
Cheers, crowie

PS - A few ideas for steering: you can use a steering wheel & a dowel on an a frame then coil a length of rope wrapped around the dowel with each end onto the front axle.
OR a steering wheel & metal shaft with a push pull mechanism on it using small ball joints to connect to the front axle.

G'Day "nadebta"...
I added a thread in toymaking with a link to this thread for you....good luck.
Cheers, crowie

Like many on here I use to use the good old pram wheels to make ours. Another more daring design is the use of a skate board cut in half and lengthened so you can lay on it with a frame around yourself, (For some sort of protection) or for the very ambitious a fibre glass body steering is by shifting your weight on the board, this is for the more serious racer and competition mad I know this as I have done it head first and nose about 6" from the ground.

Originally Posted by rwbuild

That ain't no billy cart, its a motor-less go cart

No wonder we bowl at them underarm.

yep that'swhat i would call a go cart, heare in the USA or a soap box cart, the best wheels is just of a old pul wagon like a radeo flyer use a 1/2'' rod and bolt on a 1+4 with some u bolts like you would use on a cable drill a 1/8th'' hole in each end for a cotter pln to hold the wheel on you can buy new 10'' wheels at hardware store.. hope this helps

Originally Posted by AlexS

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The other type was more like the equivalent of a sports car - a brakeless, uncontrollable sports car driven by a suicidal, psychopathic juvenile delinquent.

The driver lay prone on the cart, nose about 3" from the ground, and steered (a term I use in its loosest possible sense) with his hands directly on the steering axle. .

I resemble those comments. Damn it was fun.

My best one could seat 10 kids, it died when we side swiped the local police car.

Yr 12 and you need to research on building a billy cart

I think back my first billy cart building was I was 6 in Yr 3

Source of materials
Street rubbish piles for
Pram wheels and axles
Old Axle bearings if you wanted it low and fast.
old hard wood timber

Thanks to dad for use of hand tools
Brace n Bit
hammer
saw
nails ....his bent ones I had to learn to straighten first
bit old old rope
an old bolt

This forum has a few threads on the subject

This is what happens when adults take over.............money has to be made but its all good fun