The Skeeta was a member of the small select band of karts that were manufactured from the introduction of karting in Great Britain. In fact it may even have been the first kart to go into quantity production according to the late Alan Burgess of Karting magazine fame. Skeeta was said to have been a founder member of the B.K.M.A (British Kart Manufacturers Association) although not much has been recorded about the B.K.M.A.
The Skeeta kart that was displayed at the Shenington Revival was owned and driven by Adrian Lane son of Ken Lane. The better than new restoration on Adrian’s Skeeta powered by dual West Bend 580 engines equipped with Max-Torque clutches was carried out by Jon Pearce. Adrian’s kart was awarded the British Historic Kart Club 2024 Shenington Revival Concours for Class II.
Pipe smoking Cyril Bastin was the original manufacturer of the marque which at the time was known as a Skeeter kart. Cyril had an extremely pretty sister, Angela, that raced and also did Skeeta promotional work. Female models were also hired on occasions to promote the brand.
Cyril got into karting in the 1958/59 period when he saw a picture of a kart in a US karting magazine and decided to build one for his own use. It was said that Cyril sat on the floor of his business, Fourways Garage, and came up with the dimensions for his kart. It took five weeks to build the first Skeeter. Cyril used materials to hand and settled for wheelbarrow wheels because they were the only ones he could obtain with decent bearings. Parts were also sourced from the Austin Seven motor car of that era and a 98cc Villiers motor bike engine was used to provide the horse power. The original engine was soon replaced by the larger 197cc version. The throttle and brake pedals were on the wrong sides on the Skeeter because the engine had to be on the left and for that reason the brake drum was positioned on the right. The throttle pedal had little wheels on the end of it because of the awkward angle of the driver’s foot caused it to ride up the pedal.
Very early in the sixties the manufacturing of the Bastin kart was taken over by Ken Lane. Cyril stayed involved taking responsibility for sales during the transition. The Skeeta frame utilized simple ladder construction with a high flared front bumper, normal wide based steering and seat hoops, one cross member at the front of the seat plus an enclosed back axle to tie in the rear. The main chassis legs, cross members and the front axle were made from 1⅜ inch diameter x 16 gauge steel tube which gave the kart a heavy appearance when compared to the frames fabricated by other manufacturers using the almost standard 1 inch diameter tubing. The front bumper bar, steering hoop, seat hoop and sissy rails were shaped from ¾ inch diameter x 18 gauge steel tubing. Electric welding was used for the main 1⅜ inch diameter chassis rails and brazing was used to attach the smaller ¾ inch diameter components.
As early as 1960 Skeeta were offering their karts with long side nerf bars. Incidentally Adrian’s Skeeta had a reinforcing strut from the centre of the rear axle tube to the top of the seat back hoop; something that was not on the original Mark III. The strut and the enclosed rear axle also served as good hand holds for the pushers when starting a direct drive Skeeta.
The pedals on the Mark III karts looked normal enough but initially the brake operating rod was on the same side as the throttle operating rod, namely the conventional right side. This arrangement required a cross-shaft to be employed and was positioned just behind the front axle. Back in 1962 the provision of an adjustable accelerator pedal stop to prevent throttle cable and the carburettor butterfly shaft from being stressed by heavy footed drivers was an excellent provision.
The 14 inch diameter butterfly steering wheel was neat but did give the kart a home-made appearance. Because of its size it did reduce the force required from the driver’s arms to turn the steering shaft. Steering motion was transmitted by an enclosed steering column using two drag links equipped with substantial sized ball joints.
The sheet steel undertray was covered with a thin ribbed rubber mat all the way back to the moulded fibreglass seat. Optional upholstery was available in red with white piping but seemed to bear little relationship to the seat from an appearance point of view. Adrian’s Shenington Skeeta was displayed less the upholstery.
The early Mark III single engine Skeeta used a 5 inch diameter drum brake which was mounted on the right side of the chassis to which was attached the final drive sprocket using three bolts. The early production Mark III’s did not feature a split drive sprocket thus the wheel needed to be removed to change the drive ratios. Avon 300 x 5 treaded pattern tyres were mounted to front five inch Connolly pressed steel wheels and hubs; Avon 350 x 5 ribbed slicks were mounted on similar sized Connolly wheel pressings on the rear using Lanason rear hubs. Adrian’s dual engine Skeeta kart had the more conventional set-up of the drum brake on the left with the brake rod on the same side thus eliminating the cross-shaft behind the front axle.
Fuel was carried in a JAP cylindrical tank mounted in front of the right side engine mount which was formed from flat steel supported by a triangular gusset to the main chassis rail. Adrian’s kart mounted the tank centrally between the engines at the same low level.
The Skeeta Mark III wheelbase measured 47¾"; rear track was 32"; front track was 33½"; height to top of seat back 21"; pedals to seat back 32"; internal seat width 14". The kart without driver weighed 114 lbs, 39 percent being distributed to the front and 61 percent to the rear.
In 1962 the Skeeta was painted using two coats of metallescent cellulose on etched primer; Italian Red, Polychrome Blue, Polychrome Green and Firefly colours were available. Adrian’s Shenington display kart was finished in Turquoise Blue (RAL metallic 5018) which was also a colour choice available back in 1962.
Because Lanason made an unusually high percentage of the Skeeta Mark III they were able to offer a guarantee which covered almost everything at that time. Lanason also made kart trailers one of which Adrian had at Shenington also totally restored looking like it had just come of the Cheddar production line.
Ken Lane did not rest on his laurels and continued to develop the Skeeta brand. For 1963 Lanason came up with the Skeeta Super 90 announced as a revolutionary chassis design based on months of experimental work to improve track holding qualities over conventional design. The chassis consisted of two space frames hinged at a critical position and suspended on rubber. Aluminium tie rods with ball joints kept the frames parallel. Independent suspension to the rear wheels was thus achieved. The kart was fitted with a fibreglass seat that incorporated a transparent fuel tank and luxury upholstery. Gone was the butterfly steering wheel replaced by an Azusa circular wheel. Weight was reduced by the use of aluminium for the rear axle, steering shaft, track rods and Go Power magnesium wheels replace the Connolly steel wheels that were used on the Mark III. The engine was mounted to the kart using a swing mount.
The majority of the Skeeta karts were sold in the south west of England. Many of the Skeeta race victories were achieved at the Chrisbett-Mendip kart track located near Cheddar, Somerset, which Ken Lane helped designed; he also held the lap record at the circuit before it closed and was converted to a stock car track.
Ken Lane continued to be involved with karting until 1965 at which time he became involved with boating to the detriment of karting.
The Skeeta kart that was displayed at the Shenington Revival was owned and driven by Adrian Lane son of Ken Lane. The better than new restoration on Adrian’s Skeeta powered by dual West Bend 580 engines equipped with Max-Torque clutches was carried out by Jon Pearce. Adrian’s kart was awarded the British Historic Kart Club 2024 Shenington Revival Concours for Class II.
Pipe smoking Cyril Bastin was the original manufacturer of the marque which at the time was known as a Skeeter kart. Cyril had an extremely pretty sister, Angela, that raced and also did Skeeta promotional work. Female models were also hired on occasions to promote the brand.
Cyril got into karting in the 1958/59 period when he saw a picture of a kart in a US karting magazine and decided to build one for his own use. It was said that Cyril sat on the floor of his business, Fourways Garage, and came up with the dimensions for his kart. It took five weeks to build the first Skeeter. Cyril used materials to hand and settled for wheelbarrow wheels because they were the only ones he could obtain with decent bearings. Parts were also sourced from the Austin Seven motor car of that era and a 98cc Villiers motor bike engine was used to provide the horse power. The original engine was soon replaced by the larger 197cc version. The throttle and brake pedals were on the wrong sides on the Skeeter because the engine had to be on the left and for that reason the brake drum was positioned on the right. The throttle pedal had little wheels on the end of it because of the awkward angle of the driver’s foot caused it to ride up the pedal.
Very early in the sixties the manufacturing of the Bastin kart was taken over by Ken Lane. Cyril stayed involved taking responsibility for sales during the transition. The Skeeta frame utilized simple ladder construction with a high flared front bumper, normal wide based steering and seat hoops, one cross member at the front of the seat plus an enclosed back axle to tie in the rear. The main chassis legs, cross members and the front axle were made from 1⅜ inch diameter x 16 gauge steel tube which gave the kart a heavy appearance when compared to the frames fabricated by other manufacturers using the almost standard 1 inch diameter tubing. The front bumper bar, steering hoop, seat hoop and sissy rails were shaped from ¾ inch diameter x 18 gauge steel tubing. Electric welding was used for the main 1⅜ inch diameter chassis rails and brazing was used to attach the smaller ¾ inch diameter components.
As early as 1960 Skeeta were offering their karts with long side nerf bars. Incidentally Adrian’s Skeeta had a reinforcing strut from the centre of the rear axle tube to the top of the seat back hoop; something that was not on the original Mark III. The strut and the enclosed rear axle also served as good hand holds for the pushers when starting a direct drive Skeeta.
The pedals on the Mark III karts looked normal enough but initially the brake operating rod was on the same side as the throttle operating rod, namely the conventional right side. This arrangement required a cross-shaft to be employed and was positioned just behind the front axle. Back in 1962 the provision of an adjustable accelerator pedal stop to prevent throttle cable and the carburettor butterfly shaft from being stressed by heavy footed drivers was an excellent provision.
The 14 inch diameter butterfly steering wheel was neat but did give the kart a home-made appearance. Because of its size it did reduce the force required from the driver’s arms to turn the steering shaft. Steering motion was transmitted by an enclosed steering column using two drag links equipped with substantial sized ball joints.
The sheet steel undertray was covered with a thin ribbed rubber mat all the way back to the moulded fibreglass seat. Optional upholstery was available in red with white piping but seemed to bear little relationship to the seat from an appearance point of view. Adrian’s Shenington Skeeta was displayed less the upholstery.
The early Mark III single engine Skeeta used a 5 inch diameter drum brake which was mounted on the right side of the chassis to which was attached the final drive sprocket using three bolts. The early production Mark III’s did not feature a split drive sprocket thus the wheel needed to be removed to change the drive ratios. Avon 300 x 5 treaded pattern tyres were mounted to front five inch Connolly pressed steel wheels and hubs; Avon 350 x 5 ribbed slicks were mounted on similar sized Connolly wheel pressings on the rear using Lanason rear hubs. Adrian’s dual engine Skeeta kart had the more conventional set-up of the drum brake on the left with the brake rod on the same side thus eliminating the cross-shaft behind the front axle.
Fuel was carried in a JAP cylindrical tank mounted in front of the right side engine mount which was formed from flat steel supported by a triangular gusset to the main chassis rail. Adrian’s kart mounted the tank centrally between the engines at the same low level.
The Skeeta Mark III wheelbase measured 47¾"; rear track was 32"; front track was 33½"; height to top of seat back 21"; pedals to seat back 32"; internal seat width 14". The kart without driver weighed 114 lbs, 39 percent being distributed to the front and 61 percent to the rear.
In 1962 the Skeeta was painted using two coats of metallescent cellulose on etched primer; Italian Red, Polychrome Blue, Polychrome Green and Firefly colours were available. Adrian’s Shenington display kart was finished in Turquoise Blue (RAL metallic 5018) which was also a colour choice available back in 1962.
Because Lanason made an unusually high percentage of the Skeeta Mark III they were able to offer a guarantee which covered almost everything at that time. Lanason also made kart trailers one of which Adrian had at Shenington also totally restored looking like it had just come of the Cheddar production line.
Ken Lane did not rest on his laurels and continued to develop the Skeeta brand. For 1963 Lanason came up with the Skeeta Super 90 announced as a revolutionary chassis design based on months of experimental work to improve track holding qualities over conventional design. The chassis consisted of two space frames hinged at a critical position and suspended on rubber. Aluminium tie rods with ball joints kept the frames parallel. Independent suspension to the rear wheels was thus achieved. The kart was fitted with a fibreglass seat that incorporated a transparent fuel tank and luxury upholstery. Gone was the butterfly steering wheel replaced by an Azusa circular wheel. Weight was reduced by the use of aluminium for the rear axle, steering shaft, track rods and Go Power magnesium wheels replace the Connolly steel wheels that were used on the Mark III. The engine was mounted to the kart using a swing mount.
The majority of the Skeeta karts were sold in the south west of England. Many of the Skeeta race victories were achieved at the Chrisbett-Mendip kart track located near Cheddar, Somerset, which Ken Lane helped designed; he also held the lap record at the circuit before it closed and was converted to a stock car track.
Ken Lane continued to be involved with karting until 1965 at which time he became involved with boating to the detriment of karting.
