Art & Inspiration '55 Chevy Stroller

Back in December I broke my right collarbone mountain biking. My job told me I couldn't work until it was healed... so I "needed" something to do. I ordered the little '55 on the right:



And then I started in on the chassis, ordering wheels...






My work called me back January, even with the broken collarbone. I was happy, I put on 10 pounds in 5 weeks!

Work continued but it was much more slow. And, my baby boy was born in April, so that made work progress glacial.

I bought a mobility device at a Goodwill store and pirated the handlebars, brakes, heim joints and maybe something else.



There's a local store that carries upholstery stuff, so I bought a bunch of high density foam and came up with an interior. A friends daughter is sewing on some leopard print fabric covers. It should look decent.


And, of course... I had to test fit my new boy.



I've decided I'm not a bodywork guy and fiberglass is not my thing. But I'm working on getting the body smooth and fix a crack or two.

Did I mention that it has a front suspension and steers from the handlebars? Yeah.



Please excuse my mess in the garage. It's a small garage and I have too much stuff.

Here's where the tot-rod is now. I bought a kids car at Goodwill for $8 and pirated the steering wheel. It was a giant PITA to get that right... the steering column has a series of washer welded into it so the steering wheel clicks into place. The horn works! I'm sure my boy will love that.




Wish me luck on the bodywork....

 

Your boy may be the youngest Tri fiver here!

 

get some rear springs from tractor supply..

Give that little guy some Cush for his toosh

Kewl project

 

Wheels and tires look great as is
I think the boy could care less at this point but he may grow to like it
My sons 55 pedal car is in our attic now, but he drove it some and "worked on it" a bit when he was a tyke.
Hes getting ready to turn 16 this month and has been busy fixing his off topic short bed chevy truck up.
Time flys

 

looks great...does he have a toddler license to drive ..lol

 

Looks great! Congrat's on the Son! Start him on cars early.

 

remember, the prep work is the key to a good paint job

 

The rear axle is held in with rubber bushings from shock absorbers. I'd consider leaf springs. I've looked for tiny leaf springs and couldn't find any. I'm reluctant to build a hole new rear suspension.

 

Good job. HRP

 

The stroller and the babe are kool. Any idea what it weighs (the car, not the kid)?

 

super cool.
...and because this is the hamb... your Ackerman, scrub radius and caster are off....

 

LOL.... no doubt. But, the Ackerman is spot on. I actually "did" that!

 

I'm not sure what the weight is. It is getting heavy. The metal was the thinnest gauge stuff I could purchase, 16 or 18 gauge, I can't remember. I struggle one-handing it when I put it in the vice, so maybe 25 pounds?

 

I made some progress this week. I did some fiberglass work re-making the flair around the rear wheel openings ( I had cut the openings for the larger rear tires). I have new respect for fiberglass - I hated it at first because the hardener that came with the kit was just too fast for me to work it. But, after a couple of tries, I got it. There's a boat load of sanding, primer, fiberglass and filler to make it sort-of straight. I'm ok with it. I had some red spray cans that I had left over from years ago that was matched to my car (Space Age Paint in Mesa, AZ). The paint went down ok but there are some fish eyes in the sides so I obviously didn't clean it properly. It's a five footer and I'm perfectly OK with that.

Hopefully I'll get the ivory on tomorrow.

 

Oh... and the interior is almost done too. I haven't figured out a toe-board yet.

 

Here's the interior in the car, before paint.

 

Remember, the prep work is the key to raising your child. I would pirate a 4 pt harness from a baby seat to keep him upright or cut down a seat and fit it to the stroller.

 

I found a 5 point harness on Amazon - and got some tiny iron-on Simpson patches.

 

A little closer...

 

does your interior match the stroller?

 

in a couple years you can build a new chassis with pedals.

 

lower the front. just kidding,it looks Great

 

The only thing left is the parking brakes. Boom! It's a five (maybe ten) footer but it should be fun!

 

Sure... as much as leopard print can match anything!

 

I meant does the interior in your full size 55 match the stroller...

 

PICT5898 by thehazmatguy posted Jan 12, 2009 at 11:15 PM

I meant does the interior in your full size 55 match the stroller...[/QUOTE][/GALLERY]

No. My '55 has a 90's tan interior that the previous owner put in it.

That's on the "someday" list.

 

Great project, thanks for sharing.

 

Hopefully it can be updated to "go-kart" status when the little guy is older. Good job Dad!
I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Really cool project!

These "small" projects can take a lot of time, but are very cool.

If you are thinking of adding a motor in the future, I can recomend using a wiper motor, but the worm gear will not work. I used a transmission from a big handheld drill and chain and sprockets from a bike. My sons car has two (electric) speeds forward and reverse. It drives along at walking speed, wich is enough as my sons couldn't fit in the car any longer when they turned 4 years old.

Rune Waltoft from Norway

 

^^^^Now THAT, is a marketable idea!!!^^^^. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.