Micro car project.

[swvalcon]

Started on a micro car project today Actually a old classic kids pedal car. Been told it is supposed to represent a 55-56 ford but I just don't see it. If you close one eye it kind of has a Studebaker vibe. Maybe a few beers would help. Also a shot of my $100 8 inch ford rear that I picked up for the 62 hawk project. The brakes are in the box and are all new. The guy I got it from needed the brake cables so he removed everything and boxed it. Sad thing is new cables are going to cost me almost a much as I paid for the rear.

[52-fan]

I can sorta see the 55-56 Ford, but like most of these it is vague. The kids didn't care.

[RadioRoy]

I can see 56 Studebaker sedan in that kiddie car.

[Milaca]

With some metal work and body filler, you could make that front look like a GT Hawk. Be sure to add side vents to the front fenders to make it look like an authentic Studebaker.

[Noxnabaker]

55-56 Fords were straight lined; that's more Studebaker for sure! The kick-up line on top is just like the sedans has from -53 to early Larks by the c-pillar/rear window, & the grille reminds vagely of 47-49 Commander but more of Wallace in "Wallace & Gromit".

[swvalcon]

Roy we are seeing the same thing. That's what I see as I walk up to it.

[JRoberts]

I can see 56 Studebaker sedan in that kiddie car.

Me too. A great piece for a kid.

[jclary]

Roy we are seeing the same thing. That's what I see as I walk up to it.

One of the aspects of pedal cars that is different from "die cast" kids toys is that pedal cars are "caricatures" of the vehicles they represent and not scale model replicas. Therefore, in my opinion, you are free to tinker, modify, fabricate, paint, play, and enjoy making it what you want it to represent to your hearts desire. Especially, if it is one of the little "Murray Champions" produced in the post war era of the late 1940s to early 1950s. Those mass produced little pedal cars were originally based off the 1947 to '49 Studebaker. However, there were versions of those purchased by other corporations, painted up, and sold with logos of other brands. Some, left unaltered and others with tweaks here & there, but the overall size and shape pretty much the same.

I carry one of them in the trunk of my 1948 Business Coupe to display along with it at shows. It is painted with the exact paint as the car. Also, here is a couple of pics of the "Pedal Truck" I carry mounted in the bed of my 1955 truck. I rescued it just before a lady was about to toss it into our local land-fill! It was bashed in, and even had bullet holes in it. I whacked off the front grille, and part of the back end. I fabricated to the best of my abilities an exact miniature "double-wall" pickup bed, including a working tailgate, and hammered out a cartoon-like 1955 truck grille. For the headlights, all I had to do was install them upside down (with the park lights on top), instead of how the cars have them placed below the headlights.

I think mine is a very cartoon(-ish) amateur creation and Yet, I feel very satisfied and vindicated by all the folks who have come up to me at events and claimed they had a little pedal truck "exactly" like this one when they were a kid! So, I would encourage you to enjoy your project, exercise your imagination, and make it what you want it to represent. The main thing...have fun and enjoy it to the fullest!



These pics were taken and sent to me by a relative. The true color of the vehicle is better represented by my signature pic (below).

[whitehawk759]

As it is sort of "androgynous" call it what ever you want, no one will question you.