89 Columbia Restoration; Sentimental Version

[Lochlin]

Well, I got this thing running a little bit. It's burping and trying but the timing is all screwed up and I can't get it dialed in right. In an effort to save some cash, I put a points plate / points in from a Harley Davidson motorcycle that looked pretty close to Columbia's points set. I had to cut some new adjustment groves and such in it but it looks like it's too far off to make the cart run right. I have no clue what the factory settings are and am just guessing on it. Fortunately, I found a used points plate from a Harley golf cart on Ebay that should work. It should be here a couple of days and we'll give things another go.

In the meantime, the body work has begun. Primer going on. Darn primer is just about the exact same color that the cart was. No, I am not be one of those people who will stop with the "primer only" paint job.

[TheNewGuy]

Body work is lookin good.

[raydhd]

Originally Posted by Lochlin

Well, I got this thing running a little bit. It's burping and trying but the timing is all screwed up and I can't get it dialed in right. In an effort to save some cash, I put a points plate / points in from a Harley Davidson motorcycle that looked pretty close to Columbia's points set. I had to cut some new adjustment groves and such in it but it looks like it's too far off to make the cart run right. I have no clue what the factory settings are and am just guessing on it. Fortunately, I found a used points plate from a Harley golf cart on Ebay that should work. It should be here a couple of days and we'll give things another go.

In the meantime, the body work has begun. Primer going on. Darn primer is just about the exact same color that the cart was. No, I am not be one of those people who will stop with the "primer only" paint job.

The points plate from the ironhead sportster is the same and the points from 60's six cylinder chevy truck fit and are more durable.

[Lochlin]

I was able to get back into the Par Car over the last few days. The OEM points plate from EBay did the trick. After just a little bit monkeying, this cart's engine is, after many many years, running again. A note, these carts have something called an "exhaust biscuit" that seals the header to the cylinder. They look simple but actually have coiled steel in them that will give as needed during install to produce a nice seal. A good biscuit = a quiet cart. A bad biscuit = a noisy cart. I knew this ahead of time and put a new biscuit on when I reconnected the exhaust. Pay attention to the torque specs on this. Too much torque will destroy a biscuit.

A couple of pics. They battery tray was junk so I fashioned on out of scrap that I had around. It's not as pretty as I like to make things bit, when the battery is in place no one will know the difference. If you don't have a welder and you are restoring an old cart, well, good luck. The other pic is where I have the HEI positioned.

New tie rod ends are ordered. Once I get those in installed which will allow me to push to cart around. Paint time after that.