COMPANY PROFILE: NIVEL PARTS & MANUFACTURING

One of their more exceptional efforts just came out of Kart King, and it is an awesome example of the style and quality workmanship for which this team has become known throughout the country.

Dubbed by the team with the name “Deadline”, the build was created, planned, and built in an amazing 2-week period. There had been a friendly challenge in the Georgia cart community to come up with a unique custom build in a short period of time, and the guys at Kart King stepped up in a big way.

“I still am amazed at how my guys conceived this, made the parts that needed to be made, fabricated, painted and built the finished product in just two weeks,” says Hall. “I couldn’t be prouder of my guys, the way they all were one hundred percent on top of it and the way Deadline turned out.”

Deadline came together with the exacting specs that Barry and the team felt would be the most functional and fit the overall street rod style they were looking for. Many of the staff at Kart King are avid hot rod and custom car enthusiasts and wanted to put some of that inspiration into building Deadline. Hall says, “We wanted to keep the cart as stock-looking as possible in terms of limiting the amount of aftermarket parts we bolted onto it but still give it a kick-ass look and stance. Our main goal was a clean, smooth fit and finish.”

The cart is a 2007 Club Car DS model, and Kart King began by stripping everything off down to the bare chassis and prepping and painting everything from the ground up. The undercarriage of Deadline is as clean and perfect as what you see on the body.

They then created the wide-body look they were after by cutting the rear body in half and adding two inches to the width. The fenders were re-fabricated to add more tire clearance and width, and the stock bumper and mounting brackets were completely removed. The rear of the cart was designed with a smooth, unadorned sleekness reminiscent of an old street rod from the 50s. In the front, the cowl was cut and re-fabricated to allow for wider tire clearance and improved turning radius.

The paint work, all done in-house at Kart King, is a masterwork in Ford’s Kona Blue Metallic with a lot of added

pearl finish that creates a different shade when viewed from different angles. The fully-customized interior was created by the talented Shane Lile of Sewn Tight Custom Interiors and the red, diamond-stitched results are an eye-popping tribute to the original custom street rod. “Shane had done some awesome interior work for me on one of my cars, so I knew he was a world-class talent when it comes to custom hot rod interiors, and we were very fortunate to have him work on Deadline,” Hall said.

Other custom interior upgrades include the 2 Kicker Marine 6.5-inch audio speakers and a 10-inch touch screen head unit, featuring Apple Car Play, full GPS navigation and more.

Deadline’s power comes from lithium batteries and the stock motor and controller, running constant power to allow the tank for the custom air ride system to also be located under the seats. The cart rides on 14-inch Empire Rodder RD3 wheels supported by Monroe air suspension on all four corners, monitored by a ViAir gauges and switches mounted on the dash. The Forever Sharp steering wheel is custom-wrapped to

match the red seats. Hall is quick to point out that the Deadline build was a real test of his team’s skills, passion and hard work. Brandon Newman was a key leader in the entire process, along with Jesse Savage and Ron Newman handling the stunning paint work and Kenneth McKenzie doing his amazing body work.

“The most rewarding thing is taking Deadline out to local community events like golf tournaments, car shows and others and the reactions it gets,” Hall says. “My whole team took on this challenge and went over and above to make it happen in just two weeks, and it really showed how dedicated they are to creating one-off custom golf carts. We love to participate in community events and show off our efforts.”

The future looks very bright for Kart King, which recently moved into about a 30,000-square foot space in the historic old textile mill once known as King Mill in Augusta. The move means more space for adding a new area dedicated to just cart fabrication with powder coating, CNC and plasma steel-cutting equipment, and the company is adding their own complete, in-house paint booth.

Kart King also now offers the popular new Navitas cart chassis and power control modules, which Hall says make up the largest portion of their custom cart orders.

“We’re excited about our increased space – now we’ll have almost every part of custom cart building capabilities in our own shop and this will allow us to deliver our customer’s carts more quickly and efficiently,” says Hall. “We keep around 12 to 14 custom carts on our showroom sales floor in case a customer can’t wait for us to design and build one for them. But the bulk of our orders are from people nationwide who want very specific custom cart features to exactly match their needs as opposed to getting one already completed.”

The Kart King team includes 5 full-time cart builders and 5 full-time salespeople. They operate 4 company-owned trucks with trailers that handle client deliveries and pick-ups, and will arrange for their custom carts to be delivered anywhere in the country. They also have a full cart servicing department for all maintenance needs.

With their successful history as one of Georgia’s premier cart customizers and brand-name cart sales facilities, Kart King is always looking forward to their next build, and determined to create something never done before and truly unique in the business.

You can learn more about Kart King on Facebook at https:// www.facebook.com/kartkingllc/ and follow them on Instagram to see more of their custom work at @kartkingllc.

Nivel Parts & Manufacturing

Nivel PTV began as a Cushman dealership in Miami, FL in 1968 and since then, have grown to become the largest global supplier of aftermarket golf car and personal transportation vehicle parts and accessories.

COMPANY NAME: Nivel Parts & Manufacturing WEBSITE: https://www.nivelparts.com/ HEADQUARTERS: Jacksonville, FL PHONE NUMBER: (800) 959-0852 FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/officialnivelparts

Through Nivel’s aftermarket specialty vehicle division, Nivel transforms personal transportation vehicles for golf, suburban families, rural work, and outdoor lifestyles. Nivel owns the most valuable portfolio of accessories brands in the category —MadJax, Red Dot, GTW, and Jake’s.

Nivel offers outstanding value to their customers because they control the tooling and manufacturing operations for most their inventory, which ensures consistent quality at a reasonable price.

Nivel prides themselves on superior service that really sets them apart from the competition. They stock almost everything they sell and offer same-day-

shipping on 95% of all orders and deliver in 2 days in most cases.

Nivel is there to help both before and after their customer’s place an order, with the largest technical and customer support staff in the industry.

Nivel's broad product catalog offering over 10,000 items is unequaled in the industry. They carry products for all golf car models from the three major OEMs (Club Car, E-Z-GO and Yamaha) as well as for Columbia/Harley Davidson, Cushman, Hyundai, Jacobson, Legend, Melex, Noland, Nordskog, Pargo, Taylor Dunn, and vintage, discontinued golf cars. Nivel also specializes in providing exclusive, hard-to-find and discontinued parts.

Nivel is proud to offer products with quality and functionality that equal or exceed that of OEM replacement parts and accessories, at a competitive price. They have expanded their product line by building a global sourcing network comprised of over 400 high-quality, loyal suppliers; many of whom have been Nivel partners for over 20 years, and by acquiring best-of-breed strategic manufacturers of lift kits, tires & wheels, windshields and enclosures.

Nivel’s advanced engineering and manufacturing capabilities enable them to design and tool products to meet market needs, and deliver them at low cost.

Nivel brings 50 years of industry experience to the marketplace

For more information on Nivel Parts & Manufacturing, visit their website at https://www.nivelparts.com/ or call them toll free at (800) 959-0852.

BUYING A CART

Whether you’ve just moved into a golf club community and decided you need a cart for golf and neighborhood transportation, or your old cart just got you around the course for the last time, there are several factors to consider regarding the purchase of a new or used golf cart.

Just like buying a car, there are plusses and minuses when determining if you buy a brand-new cart or a preowned one. The main reason will likely have to do with your budget. If money is not a concern, you may opt to buy a new custom cart with every option to fit your specific needs from a local reputable dealer. But if you’re concerned about the cost, there are many sources of good, reliable used carts out there that may be perfect for your needs and that still have plenty of life in them.

To some, the thrill of the negotiation process is an enjoyable challenge. Many people like the transaction if they think their negotiation skills will allow them to walk away from the deal feeling they’ve gotten the best bang for their buck. If you’re the type who enjoys the give-and-take of making a

NEW OR USED?

BY KELLY MADDEN

significant purchase, you should do a lot of research no matter if you’re dealing with a cart salesperson or a private party. It can also be a good idea to have someone with you who has purchased a cart before to help you ask the right questions and decide if the deal is right for you.

Many dealers offer both brand new and refurbished carts so you can compare both options at one location. If you have concerns about the reliability of the cart in the long run, the warranty that comes with a new cart may give you peace of mind for the future. On the other hand, if you can be assured to your satisfaction that a used cart has been properly maintained or updated so that it will still provide many years of use, you can save significant money going that route. It also doesn’t hurt if you have some measure of mechanical know-how.

GATHER ALL THE FACTS ON BUYING NEW OR USED

If you’ve made the decision to go with a brand-new cart, you look at a variety of models and manufacturers, just like when buying a car. Every major cart manufacturer has page after page of information, like technical specifications and