I know there have been some great posts about pedal cars on the HAMB, but I haven't seen anyone post this series from LIFE magazine's webpage. I love these pictures... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Awesome pictures, I always wanted something like this when I was a kid. To be able to tear down the road in one of these gas powered mini cars would have been a blast.
I just love the picture of the guy holding his pipe while filling up the gas tank. Do you think the look on the kid is like...."This could end wrong"...?
Very cool indeed. I just picked up the car in my avatar yesterday and it came with a photocopy of this build picture. The two idiots I'm blessed to call children couldn't wait for it to be unloaded before they claimed ownership.
Those are too cool!! Makes me wish I was one of those kids. I really like the one of the lil boy with the wrench hanging out his back pocket leaning in the car. Thanks for sharing.
Killer stuff..back in 2007 when Chip Foose was my customer, i made some badges for him one of which he used on his Deuce Pedal car project at the GNRS. Check out the ten deuces that were shown..very cool stuff you can google deuce pedal car GNRS. Albie
I had my brothers hammy down car when I was a kid. Sure wish I still had it. It was a pale yellow belly tank lookin thing
Not as cool as any of the old ones, but it still has some class, and you can buy one today for $89. http://www.landofnod.com/family.aspx?c=9744&f=616
I just bought this at a swap meet. Has a 30's vintage kick start washing machine motor, butter churn steering and an I beam front end. Pretty cool for home built!
A friend picked this one up last year it has a model T front axle and steering column. It appears to have had several revisions over the years: Krek, I was watching that sale, that's a neat car!!
I had one of the Austin J40 pedal cars when I was a kid..(second pic on the blog)..way cool thing to scoot up and down the street in, tuck and roll seat, banjo steering wheel, winged Austin hub caps, opening boot and bonnet with a pressed steel fake engine, even a hand brake and proper Dunlop tyres....went to the dump when I was about 12...pity really they are worth big bucks now
It is a neat car... I'm just at the "what the hell was I thinking" stage of buyer's remorse now. Hopefully the hemi arriving tomorrow will help.
As noted on the side "Hot Foot". Late 60's to the 70's. They were battery rechargeble and didn't really pull the front wheels off the ground. LOL The girl who lived across the street from me had one. (her dad had a Willy's gasser!!) I'll bet she still has it. (Not the gasser, I've asked)
One year at Indy around the 30's each team was asked to build a "Kiddie car" that could be pushed by a driver entered in the race. This "foot/push" race was held on the front straight and only about 100 yards in length. Some of the teams built BEAUTIFUL Miller replica's, a couple of which are still around today and of coarse worth BIG BUCK$!!!! Now, that being said, I have seen a picture of all the cars lined up on the starting line at Indy with the kids in them, BUT CAN NOT FIND THAT PICTURE!!! If any of you have it, please post it! Thanks, Joshua Shaw
Your sons' excitement might answer your question..! The story pics were excellent, certainly a lot cooler than the pedal car I got for Christmas back in the 1950s (which I loved, btw). Thanks to all for sharing photos.
The caption said it was 1955, but it looks a lot more like 1965 or 1975 to me. Look at the kid's hair style. It's longer than I think you would have seen in 1955.
I was looking at that, too. I wonder if that really is a tobacco pipe or if it's a gas cap with an attached dipstick for checking the fuel level?
It's very much a pipe. You can just make out the ash... Either way these are some really neat pics and yet another reason I wish I would've been born 60 years earlier...
The Jalopy Journal
