1912Stutz1913Bearcat1914Pedal1915Car1916Brass1917Era Model Pre-16Tractor Mercer

Description

This listing is for a one of a kind, very detailed, custom built pedal car that is actually a very good model of a 1912 to 1916 Stutz Bearcat automobile. The Bearcat is generally considered to be the most desirable of all of the early Stutz automobiles so it is not surprising to see someone build a nice pedal car of one. This beauty was built back in 1995 or so by a very dedicated early car enthusiast in Colorado.
This pedal car was scaled to approximately 1/3 of the size of the real car. The tires are 12" outside diameter semi-pneumatics like the ones offered in many hardware stores. The real car probably used 36 x 4-1/2 tires which would have measured 36 inches in outside diameter. If one divides the 36 inch outside diameter of the real tire by the 12" outside diameter of the pedal car tire, one gets a ratio of 3. If one inverts the number 3, then the pedal car would be 1/3 the size of the real car.
This gem measures 23 inches wide by 54 inches long overall and 23 inches tall to the top of the steering wheel.
The headlamp bezels and lenses are from 1950 Ford car back up lamps. The builder of this model made a hardwood pattern and had a friend spin the headlamp housings around that pattern using sheet brass material. There is a 6 volt lantern battery located under the hood and it is used to power the headlamps.
The radiator was made from brass sheet material and it is tarnished a bit in these photos. Once it is polished up like it should be, this little gem will really shine.
He also made a wood pattern to use for casting the steering wheel from aluminum. This steering wheel even has a functional hand throttle lever or spark lever that moves up and down and clicks as it is moved. I have an extra steering wheel like the one on this pedal car and it is included with this listing.
The chassis was built from steel tubing for the most part. He even made all four of the leaf springs and the appropriate spring shackles to had a significant touch of realism to this model. The front axle was fabricated by placing two pieces of steel channel back to back. The front axle spindles and all of the steering linkage was fabricated from scratch as well.
The fenders were rolled from sheet metal with a wire in the bead just like the fenders on the real cars were. The builder used 5 different bead rolling machines for this job. I purchased those bead rollers with this model but I am keeping them for future projects.
I really like this pedal car as it is but as a mechanical engineer, I have been thinking of ways to improve it. The thing that I would like to change the most would be the wheels and tires. I found some all white pneumatic tires and rims here on eBay but have not bought them yet because I have not decided what kind of wheel to make. They are 12-1/2 inches in outside diameter with a 2-1/2 inch tall and wide section. One could either make wood spoke wheels, make a pattern and cast them from aluminum or make true wire wheels. I have been thinking about having a shop with a laser machine cut wheel haves from polished stainless steel sheet material. They would be like larger versions of the Franklin Mint Rolls Royce model that has the copper body and fenders.
I spent over 2,000 hours building a 1/3 scale model of a 1901 Curved Dash Oldsmobile from scratch back in 1991 and 1992. I displayed that model at the Hershey Pennsylvania swap meet in the fall of 1992 so you may have seen it there. I still need to finish the lamps, pedals, shift lever and the upholstery on the back of the seat back rest. I have no idea when I might finish that project. I have no plans to sell that model while I am living so you will have to deal with the executor of my estate if you out live me and would like to own that model. A single rather poor photo of this very nice model is shown near the end of the photos on this listing. This Oldsmobile model is NOT part of this listing. I have shown it here for you to enjoy looking at. I will have a better photo of this model soon.
I also have a 1937 Cord phaeton sedan or convertible sedan pedal car that I bought from a collector in Pennsylvania many years ago. It is about 80% finished and needs some final work on the sheet metal parts before it is painted and upholstered. It came with no wheels or tires so I bought some beautiful wide white walls from the Coker Tire Company. Those pneumatic tires are an 8 x 2-1/2 size so they really look nice on that Cord pedal car. I am slowly working on machining some hubcaps that will look like the real Cord hubcaps. Anything less than the look of the real Cord wheel cover will not do for this very special pedal car. That Cord pedal car will be available only after I finish making the correct looking hub caps for it. A single photo of this Cord model is shown at the end of this listing but this Cord pedal car is NOT included with this listing.
I have shown it here for you to enjoy looking at. I will have a better photo of this pedal car soon.
I have listed this item as being for "Local Pickup Only" in order to make this listing as simple as possible. I am not very interested in building a wood crate and shipping this item using a commercial freight carrier but that is a possibility. I have a lot of friends in the collectible car, truck, tractor, sign and toy hobbies that travel throughout the USA and Canada. One of them may be able to safely and economically deliver this item to you depending on where you live and how soon you want it. I have plenty of secure indoor storage here and will store this for you if you or a friend are planning a trip to beautiful Montana later this year.
I will add more information soon. Thanks a lot, Bob Woodburn in Bozeman Montana USA