For my extended project qualification in Year 12, I restored a vintage go-kart. This involved researching basic automotive theory, such as two-stroke internal combustion engines and Ackermann geometry, which I have since covered in more detail at university. I also took apart components such as the engine and carburettor to see first-hand how they were designed. I then (attempted) to put the kart back together scavenging some components from a donor kart. Ultimately, we (me – driver & lead mechanic, Dad – team principal/finance manager and brother – first aid) managed to drive the kart at the Whilton Mill racetrack. However, due to a lack of the correct tooling and a few technical oversights, the maiden drive was not as successful as hoped, because after the first run we were not able to start the engine within the short practice timeframe.
Nonetheless, I continued to work on the kart and with the knowledge learnt from previous mistakes, I eventually managed to successfully and repeatedly drive the kart.
