1984 club car DS is weak.
 

Okay I have a 1984 club car DS that as far as I can tell it's entirely stock, and very tired. I need more power, well technically I need more torque because where I drive it has a lot of hills and among other things I'm fat 😁 and I'm always hauling a bunch of stuff. Right now going up a lot of the hills it ends up grinding to a halt and then bucking like a rodeo horse.

I gather from previous threads that my motor is not particularly upgradable by itself because it's different than subsequent years and isn't really compatible with a lot of other motors because of the rest of the running gear. Also, there is the fact that no adapters actually seem available. Right right now I'm kind of at the place where it seems like I'm going to have to change out everything from the tires to the seat. This seems like quite a project.

So, right now I'm not really a locked into to any option, the most expensive is just buy a whole new cart, the least expensive to somehow refresh the same motor and live with it being weak. The only real requirement I have is I can't really use electric, I have to be able to dump some more gas in it and keep going because where I drive it at I literally don't have any place to charge.

Unfortunately I have exactly two places that are anywhere near me that do any work on golf carts, and neither one of them wants anything to do with my old piece of junk because it is so old. So ask me any questions and tell me what you think...

Re: 1984 club car DS is weak.
 

I believe that shoud be a flathead Kawasaki KF82 in that cart. The rotation of that engine and drivetrain is the same as any new aftermarket engine, see this thread.

https://www.buggiesgonewild.com/showthread.php?t=148056

For info on engine swaps, look through threads here...

https://www.buggiesgonewild.com/forumdisplay.php?f=30

Try putting the cart in service mode (the little white cam on the back of the shift lever, pull it out and turn it 180 degrees and let it drop back in). Then run the engine and observe the clutches and make sure they are moving and changing ratios like they should. Might be your secondary clutch is stuck open (basically high gear).

You could pull the spark plug and check engine compression, should be around 100psi.

Re: 1984 club car DS is weak.
 

Oh wow, I had seen that thread before but I guess I didn't really understand what I was reading because I thought my poor little 84 was weird. According to that thread it seems like it to be able to buy most any aftermarket motor like a predator or whatever. So I guess my follow-up question is are there any of the options that are easier? Keep in mind unlike a lot of the members on here my goal is not speed, my goal is purely torque. I want to be able to idle up a 45° incline while wildly overloaded 😁

Re: 1984 club car DS is weak.
 

Then you should opt for a v twin vanguard and ditch the kf82

Re: 1984 club car DS is weak.
 

Is a V-Twin vanguard going to be my best option providing me the most torque? Is there a threat or any guidance on how I would go about accomplishing this in my poor old club car? Tell me more, inquiring minds want to know

Re: 1984 club car DS is weak.
 

Check vegas carts website. And the big block section here. There’s plenty of options to make your head spin.

Your stock motor is maybe 8-9hp new and fresh. Changing to a 23hp vanguard is a substantial upgrade. And there’s tons of options out there between 420cc clone motors (Honda gx390 Chinese clones) predator v-twins, etc.

The vanguard has been at the top of the v twin class for years and for a reason. They last forever and make great power. Excellent warranty too.

You can couple a motor upgrade with speed gears and get crazy speeds. But if you want to abuse and pull hills, an engine with the stock gears will probably run 25ish mph and climb anything you point it at.

Re: 1984 club car DS is weak.
 

Ok, so I looked at Vegas, and since I don't want to lift my buggy, it seems like I am GX390 bound. Does anyone make a Kit for this swap? I didn't see one on Vegas's site, just individual parts which I have no idea what I might need or not...

I did notice this guy got no responses:
https://www.buggiesgonewild.com/show...club+car+gx390

Re: 1984 club car DS is weak.
 

Your best bet is to make a post in the big block and clone swap section here. There’s guys a lot more knowledgeable folks than me. I’ve done a few swaps but far from an expert. They’re just not my cup of tea I prefer a stock motor.

Re: 1984 club car DS is weak.
 

Before you spend a bunch of money, have you done a compression check, or checked out your clutch operation as suggested in post number 2 in this thread. If you want to throw a bigger engine in it, then go for it. But, it sounds like this thing used to meet your needs, and now it doesn't, find out what has changed.

Re: 1984 club car DS is weak.
 

Scooter Bob those are valid points. I had a local shop tell me that my compression was 100 psi and "too low for them to bother working on" (their words). Then on here I was told that was nonsense and 100PSI was great for a flathead. I put a new belt on it when I got the cart and maybe have 10-15 hours on it now although I have no way to track that. ...maybe I can put an hour meter on this? https://www.amazon.com/Maintenance-T...7PMJH7QV&psc=1

So, it never really has been perfect. I bought it as a barely running hot mess from a buddy and got it running adequately in this thread:
https://www.buggiesgonewild.com/showthread.php?t=160748
But truth be told, where/how I am running it, I probably should have an ATV/side by side except that one of the things I use this for is hauling my almost 80 year old mom around at events. Getting her into and out of this cart is a challenge, so anything taller or more difficult like a SxS is a no-go. If I was just running it around on flat ground it works just fine, but a couple of the places I go have rough road/hills/mud, etc.