Their story, in their words….
Building a go-kart was an aim of ours for a long time, this is due to the idea of a project that would unite our group for a common goal and ultimately lead to a better understanding of engineering and cars appealed to us. Therefore, when we heard about the opportunity that the Mark Evison Foundation were offering, we jumped at the chance to finally fulfil our goal of building a go-kart.
Realising the magnitude of the challenge we had ahead of ourselves, we decided to make a detailed plan of essential steps in order to successfully complete the challenge. Some of these plans included 3D concept drawings for the go-kart, a list of items and equipment to purchase and learning how to use some equipment that was kindly loaned to us for the project such as an angle grinder. The first few meetings of the group consistent solely of us learning how to effectively and safely weld and use an angle grinder, this proved vital later on in the project when we needed to do the steering. As a group, we quickly reached a consensus on what to build the frame out of, opting for aluminium due to it being light yet also strong. Learning from the mistakes of others, we sought to find a drill that would easily drill through metal and due to the generosity of others we were able to find one without a lot of stress.
However, due to unforeseen circumstances such as problems with shipping times and suppliers sending incorrect parts to us, we experienced some set-backs, especially considering time constraints regarding our A-Levels. Thankfully, we adapted in order to achieve our goal of making a go-kart. As soon as we received all the correct parts, we worked diligently on our tasks of finally attaching the steering, mounting the engine and attaching the brakes. We experienced further adversity concerning the budget, largely as a consequence of the aforementioned unforeseen circumstances with suppliers sending us incorrect parts. Therefore, we each did our own independent 5K run, which led us to raise a further £125 for the Foundation. The extra funds enabled us to finally attach the seat onto the chassis, as well as attach the wheels to the chassis. We experienced some slight complications with both the front steering and rear axle, but this was easily overcome through seeking advice from the internet.
Finally, it was time to mount the engine which proved difficult after we encountered issues with the spark plug. This issue was short-lived however and after months of hard-work we ultimately succeeded in making a working go-kart!
As a group we cannot thank the Mark Evison Foundation enough as ultimately, they were the only reason we were able to fulfil our goal of making a go-kart. The necessity of the expenses funding cannot be underestimated in the success of the project. This challenge has benefited us individually in different ways, but we can all agree that the project has improved our friendship with each other and aided our team-work skills. However, most importantly we all thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to build a go-kart.
