Yamaha G29 / Club Car / Clone build

HBR

I've been working on this build since December 2016 and I've finally made enough progress that I thought I would post some pictures.

Got this G29 gas cart for $500.











Within days of bringing this gas cart home, I found an electric G29 parts cart just 45 minutes from the house. Best part is it was just $80.

BGW

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HBR

I decided to put a Club Car unitized rear end in the Yamaha. The Team rear end with the internal brake seemed cool, until I found out that a brake job would be around $600. Plus there were other issues with that rear end.

By using the Club Car rear end, I could also put the engine in so it was facing forward. That would make getting to the valves and carb much easier.

Starting with this.


New mounts to bolt to the Yamaha cradle.




Since this rear end is meant for a CW engine and I am using a CCW engine, forward and reverse will be switched. I installed 6:1 gears which gave me a new forward ratio of 9:1.



I have 8:1 gears in the Club Car DS which makes for great low rpm cruising on the paths, but the little FE290 struggles a bit on hills.


9:1 with a 13hp clone along with the HD clutch should work out really well.

sho305

Wow, you don't find deals like that on newer carts around here no matter how hammered they are. Going to make a nice cart for sure. Look at all those cup holders!!!

HBR

I am going to make an adjustable motor mount that can slide back and forth on the engine cradle rails.





I originally had a steel plate with rubber isolators bolted to the cradle mount, but the rubber allowed the engine to move too much, causing the distance between the clutches to change.


I swapped the steel plate/rubber mounts with a piece of 1/2" aluminum plate direct mounted to the cradle mount.


The '97+ Club Cars (which is what the unitized Kawasaki rear end is used in) the rear end is bolted to the engine pan/cradle which the engine bolts into. So the engine, rear end and pan/cradle and are locked together. I mirrored that approach with some 3/8" stainless steel brackets. I didn't want to dump my tank of 75/25 gas and get tri-mix, so I used fluxed core SS wire. The wire was tricky to work with and the welds are ugly. But I over-compensated with plenty of welds.







I originally mounted the muffler up front.


But then changed it to next to the engine. I'm not lifting the cart, so there is really no other place to put the muffler.

Shepard

HBR that is way cool. You definitely had your Thinking Cap on for this. Maybe you already thought of this --- I would put a pull adjuster - threaded rod - to pull the engine forward to adjust the belt and second to keep it in that same position after it is adjusted. Going to be a creative build I can see with new ideas of your making. Keep on Building on

HBR

Thanks for the idea Shepard.

I hate the way my mind works sometimes. I'm not even done and I've already been thinking about how to redo the engine mount and cradle. Now that I know where the engine needs to be in relation to the rear end, I've thought about going with a more traditional mounting system. I would still use my 1/2" aluminum plate, but I would have the rest of the mount system welded to the cradle.

What kept me from doing that in the first place was mostly the lack of confidence I have in my welding ability. I'm using 3/8" steel plate, but the tubes of the cradle are much, much thinner. I just don't trust that I can properly weld such different thicknesses of steel properly.

I've thought about just building a new cradle from scratch even though I still have the gas cradle and the electric one which is currently in use. That way I can also make a few other changes specific to this cart/engine/rear end combo that I'm working with.

sho305

I have done it the easy way on electric motors (on equipment), just thread a hole in a little square of steel, then weld it behind the block about where the rear bolts are. Then you put a bolt in and lock nut, tighten the bolt to shove it forward. That way even if mount came loose the locked bolts keep if from moving back. With two you can also align it for twist.

I should have done that on my clone but its tight to the trans and I was in a hurry, and didn't figure I would take it back out or adjust it much. But I did, changed primary and had to move it over, belt too tight for new clutch now had to get larger belt and move it forward. It was near hitting the trans had to clearance a spot, no way to move it back.

Your stuff looks good. I just stuck the mig in there and pulled the trigger. Yes I had years of practice doing that lol so it comes out ok.

HBR

Got the front brakes installed:


The clevis pin didn't fit very well in the brake pedal:


Threaded it:


I notched the nut so I could install the cotter pin:








Used fuel line over the brake lines anywhere the lines might rub:

HBR

Headlights/tail lights will be added later, but all the wiring is in place. With the key on, the pedal starts the engine. The engine turns off with the key. I'm planning on adding a "safety kill" button someplace closer to the seat in case of an emergency.

Man do I need to clean-up that plastic.

HBR

Today I finished up the intake adapter so I could use the Club Car intake. I didn't realize that Vegas Carts stopped making these adapters - I think I missed out by a month.

I free hand routed this out of a piece of 1/2" aluminum plate:


I set the router bit a little over 1/4" cutting depth:


So when I finished on both sides, I had these sharp edge transitions to blend in:


After some more routing and sanding, this is the side that mates to the carb:


And this is the side that mates to the Vegas Carts 32mm billet intake:


By no means perfect, but I was pretty pleased how it turned out.

Installed: