The Story Behind Our Retro Pedal Car

One piece of decor that we get asked about quite a bit is this bright red retro pedal car that sits in our upstairs hallway. It’s an interesting piece that both adults and kids gravitate too, especially Lucy. She is big enough now to climb in and out of the car on her own, and you can often find stuffed toys in the front seat that have been her passengers for the day.

I recently came across this picture of what the car looked like when we first got it over thirty years ago when I was about Lucy’s age. My dad has been an avid car collector since he was a teenager and has rebuilt many classic cars. He’s known for restoring projects that most people would give up on, so when my dad’s friend found this rusty old pedal, he knew just who to give it to.

It was bent out of shape, and missing most of the pedal mechanism, but my dad could see the potential.

My dad didn’t know this at the time, but thanks to the power of the internet, I’ve been able to identify it as a 1960s Murray Flat Face pedal car. You can now find replacement stickers, wheels and hood ornaments.

After my dad restored it, we play with it throughout my childhood. The summer we moved into the farmhouse, my dad pulled it out of storage and surprised me with it. I couldn’t believe he still had it when he showed up on my front porch, but I was so excited to see it. We kept it for decor at the farmhouse until later that fall we found out that we were expecting Lucy and then I couldn’t help thinking about having my own child play with it someday. I mentioned as much when I showed it in a home tour of Cloverhill Farmhouse on our first Chrismas here.

Almost sixty years since it’s been built and over thirty years since it was restored – this little pedal car is still a cherished toy.

Back when my dad restored it in the late 1980s, he hammered it out, added four new wheels and painted it Ferrari red.

The back suspension and pedals were missing, so my dad had machined these pieces himself to get the pedal action working again. That being said, it’s definitely not easy to pedal. I can remember how hard it was to pedal and my mom can remember how much we asked to be pushed around in it, ha!

Now I get requests from Lucy to push her around the upstairs hallway.

Here’s to giving vintage toys a new life and creating timeless memories. Thanks Dad 🙂