Hi Tim, my preference is to place them so the axle can easily come out of the chassis rearwards.  Generally, if the axle needs to be raised vertically to remove it, the engine is often on the way.
I generally use parts cut off a doner go-kart, so I have to consider the brake caliper mounting as well.  Consequently, the caliper/axle mount is generally "landscape" as you describe it, whilst the other end is "portrait".  A little bit more difficult to remove the axle, but still possible without having to remove or move the engine.

Hi, some photos from my build so far.

Aston Martin was the original inspiration but it seems that the chassis can be relatively generic so this may change depending on how well body parts go!  i am being very flexible in this bit, as i have not built one before.

I bought wheels from Ebay, and went through 3 jigs trying to work out the best way to fix the gokart hubs to them, found that wood router bits are best on 6mm Al (not milling machine bits).  Also found that keeping router stationary and moving the al gave the best results. they seem pretty well balanced as well.  can see that i had to warm the hubs up to fit the bearings which had been in freezer for a few hours, worked a treat, but i needed more heat that the hair dryer.

Made a "strong back" to lay the chassis out on and hold parts in places as they were welded.  generally went well, but amazed at the shrinkage on some of the welds, can see this in the tapered front pics.

Building with my son, so had a photo of him welding chassis!

bulkheads from Ply initially, but you will see i also made strength from 12mm steel section that was bent to match.  made a simple bending jig from angle and tube.

pedals have been a nightmare!  three different builds and still not sure i have got it right!  problem was length in the cart, i have long legs and i positioned the cross brace too far back, realised that i could cut holes in this thought and have brakes and throttle forwards of this point.  still not sure on pedals though!

i plan on having radius rods from the chassis to the top of the kingpin.  had to make some small spacers from steel tube to get max angle from rose joints.  not sure that this will work yet.

floor pan made of ply, glued together.  This is my happy place(!), i make a lot of things from ply!

i also have English wheel (what a lovely and engaging bit of kit!!), and am looking at making a simple home made shrinker, would like the body to be all Al.  but this is a wish at the moment!

hand brake plan, ebay hand brake with a bowden cable to the hydraulic foot brake, i think this is allowed in the rules.

comments and suggestions or questions welcome!

currently have a 200cc gx200 clone engine with the torque converter, never realised how many chain options existed!  have what i think is a compatible set now!

I wanted the engine to sit low so have the torque converter pointing down giving a short rer distance but less ground clearance, it is still not as low as the chainring on the axle.

photos to follow....

matt

matt

Coming on nicely now Chris!

I too was in a similar position, but there’s loads of YouTube videos and help on the forum that should cover everything required.  I kept things as simple as possible for my first build, with the main aim being just to make something that would work.  The inevitable second build is where you can experiment and get more creative!

Hi Paul. I was the same, no idea how to go about building one. Part of the build process for me was to learn new skills, welding, fibre-glassing, woodwork etc. I'm glad I took the plunge and now have two cyclekarts, and a load of new skills (although my welding could do with considerable improvement)  I'm only over at Matlock so not far from Notts. If you fancy a ride over in the new year for a chat over a brew and a look round my cyclekarts I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Would be good to have someone else in the Notts Derby area that's part of the club.