• Three collectible ‘no reserve’ children’s pedal cars including restored Austin J40
• Historic Cyclops Scooter
• Increasing World Market for children’s toys
They were made for very lucky children, but it will be adults playing with them at Shannons up-coming Sydney Autumn Auction on May 22.
Classic children’s pedal cars and scooters are increasingly ‘bankable’ collectibles these days, often eclipsing full-size prestige and luxury vehicles many years younger at auctions around the world.
Shannons has a few very desirable ones crossing the block at its May 22 Sydney Autumn Classic Auction, headed by a nicely-restored and presented circa 1948 Austin J40 (for Junior) Pedal Car.
While the idea of a major motor company building pedal cars for children may seem of minor importance, or even laughable, there was a very serious side to the Austin J40 enterprise.
Not only were more than 30,000 built in a very special factory in the South of Wales, but the factory played an important role in the overall Austin and BMC empires following the Second World War.
By 1945, some 5,000 Welsh miners had been diagnosed with lung disease and were unable to work, so the British Government established a special department to find alternative jobs for them.
Leonard Lord, then Managing Director of Austin Motors, conceived the idea of making children’s pedal cars and for the work to be done by disabled Welsh miners. A pedal car was duly designed from a clean sheet of paper at Austin’s main Longbridge plant, with the brief from Lord that the car had to be ‘Like dad’s car’, but in miniature, with an opening boot and bonnet, a dummy engine, proper seat upholstery and working lights and horn.
The car was to be suited to children from the ages of five to nine and as Alf Ash was the only member of the team with a child the right size, he measured his daughter Marcia and made a cardboard scale figure, with moveable joints, which was used to set the basic dimensions of the car,
The Austin J40, as it became known, had to be a reflection of a current Austin 8/10/12 family model, with a similar front, with headlights mounted in separate pods and a fairly tall slatted grille.
Because the factory was to be staffed by disabled miners, various British companies got behind the project, with Lucas and Dunlop supplying electric components and tyres, while Champion donated faulty spark plugs, to give an element of realism to the dummy engine.
An important aspect of the factory was that, as much as possible, it was to operate like a full-size car factory. The same processes for stamping the panels, welding the bodies together, painting and final assembly were followed, resulting in surviving J40s to be highly sought-after on the collector market nearly 70 years on.
Resplendent in cream paintwork, and red upholstery and with a realistic dashboard and engine compartment, the J40 being offered by Shannons is expected to draw International interest. It will be offered with ‘no reserve’ and is expected to sell in the $4,000 $6,000 range.
Not in the same league, yet also very collectible are a pair of Australian-made Cyclops pedal cars – a circa-1930s Pontiac Pedal Car and a circa-1950s Jeep – both presented in restored condition.
Founded in NSW in 1913, but adopting the name Cyclops in 1915, the company was best-known for its children’s toys and in 1963 Cyclops Pty Ltd celebrated its 50th anniversary by winning the Australian Wheel Toy of the Year.
Both the children’s Pontiac and Jeep are being offered with ‘no reserve’ at the auction, with Shannons expecting both to be in demand at their anticipated selling range of $600-$900.
For two-wheel enthusiasts, Shannons are also offering a circa-1940s Cyclops Scooter in original unrestored condition, which is also offered with ‘no reserve’ and is expected to make between $200-$300.
View all May 22 Shannons Sydney Autumn Classic Auction Lots
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