Here are some before and after pictures of a 1930’s Steelcraft hook & ladder pedal car. As you can see from the before pictures, it was in decent shape for its age and was complete, except for the ladders. It was rusty but had no major dents, so the restoration was pretty straightforward. This was restored some years ago. Looking at the pictures now, I noticed we did not put the trim back on the side of the car. I am not sure why, but in any case, I think it came out just fine. And one other note: this pedal car was found in a basement in Methuen, MA.

Produced: late 1930s
Manufactured by: Steelcraft Co.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Toy manufacturers have been producing pedal cars just about as long as car manufacturers have been building cars. Karl Benz is credited with making the first modern automobile in 1885 and the first patent for a pedal car was issued in the early 1890s. Pedal cars became increasingly popular after the turn of the century and manufacturers began to model them on the current automobile designs. Pedal cars mimicked the design of the Buick, Packard or Pierce Arrow of that model year. This included the Cadillac, which was the inspiration for the Garton Kidillac.

The pedal car pictured here was based on the design of the 1950 Cadillac. The Kidillac was the top-of-the-line of all the pedal cars Garton produced. It had a steel chassis, chain-powered pedaling and a two-tone paint job, as well as chrome detailing like the big car. There was also an electric horn, head and taillights. Authenticity was key among consumers, so the Kidillac had a spare tire kit just like the real Cadillac.

There was a basic model available that came without the chain driven pedal system. There were Police and Fire Chief models as well. They came with accessories like horns, bells and spotlights. The Kidillac pedal cars were manufactured until 1963.

We restored our pedal car using different paint techniques than the original. We had custom airbrushing applied to the bumpers, trim and taillights, resulting in a souped-up version of the Kidillac. Please note that we are no longer in the restoration business.

View the video of this 1950 Garton Pink Kidillac Pedal Car