Somewhat Newbie - 87 Marathon 2 cycle conversion

[lvine2001]

Good afternoon BGW world !!

I was here once before years ago helping my father in-law convert his Honda to a pred 420 and it worked flawlessly thank you for all the advise...

Now I am back with my own project and need advice..

I own a 87' ezgo Marathon it originally had the 2 stroke that runs backwards and forwards.

The motor is gone along with all the controls for it (scavenged for another project I suspect).

The original motor is mounted cross wise and at an angle matching up with the driven clutch on rear end.

Is there an affordable rear end that has F-N-R and clutch orientation, like the father in-laws carry all did (belt going front to rear not side to side in the chassis) , that I can replace the original with ?
I assume there are many, so what is it called ?
What models am I looking for to take from?

Also if there is an existing built/conversion thread for putting a 4cycle motor in one these please list it for me..

Thanks In Advance..

[slonomo]

You are looking for a "transaxle" out of a "TXT" model. That will get you what is known as an "ME29" model.

Not sure if you can find one that's affordable or not. I've picked them up as cheap as $250 before including the clutch. I see them advertised between $500 and $900. They are common, but not easy to find, especially right now. Golf carts have been very popular during the covid economy and are getting scarce and prices are high.

Also, that cart you have right now is not an ideal candidate for a transaxle swap. You are in for some fabrication work to get the ME29 to fit on that swingarm. You might want to find an entire swingarm assembly from a TXT to graft in there. It still won't be a bolt in project, likely some cutting and fabrication and welding to do that.

Best bet would be to start with a 4 cycle cart, but again, hard to find cheap these days.

[lvine2001]

Thank You so much for that information.

You hit the nail on the head with prices and overall availability of parts...

I have a fab plan for when I find a transaxle I just need to find one (affordable).

It will take waay too much "engineering" to use the current rearend, I was going to put in a F-N-R box between my Engine/TQ combo and the rear end but if I can source a transaxle I will be waaay ahead of the game.

Also I am planning on a v-twin power plant and the F-N-R boxes are only rated for 13hp max..


Do you know if there is a disk brake upgrade path for these rear ends?

There are also 2 speed transaxles/rear ends?

Thanks again.

[slonomo]

There are some transaxles with low range and high range, but it's pretty much useless unless you upgrade to high speed gears, just geared way too low. They came in other brands of utility vehicles and are usually wider than a golf cart. I've seen some made by Spicer and some Chinese. Good luck with the Chinese version lol.

Ausco makes a generic manual hydraulic disc brake kit for golf carts. Not sure if they are still available. I've seen the rotors and pads, just not the complete kits lately.

[raydhd]

Ausco makes a cable operated disk brake set up for many carts. CPP a sponsor here sells them. I have a set purchased from another member here not yet installed for my Yamaha G 14. It appears to be a well built kit designed for a golf cart.