Posted 13 years ago
lowcadco
(1 item)
I see lots of these No.9 sad face fire trucks, but none exactly like this one with painted on stenciled logos, and the R stamped in the hubcaps ( Radio flyer???) No other markings Looking for year, brand, and what ever other info,
Thanks,
Have a original pedal fire truck just like the Unsolved mystery fire truck but mine has a Bell on the hood with a fireman's helmet on top of the bell. On back of the helmet it reads FIRE in all capital letters.
I found an Coca Cola Black Car like the Mystery fire truck with the exact same "R " Stamped hubs. To my understanding these came in kits and had to be put together! I believe mine is from the kit of The Sad Face Estate Wagon but they did not attach the back piece! I have talked to several people about the "R" Stamp on the HUBs and it seems no one knows anything about the "R" Stamp! I would really like any info On it if anyone finds out anything!!
I know it's been years since anyone showed interest in this item, however I recently came across a similar pedal car (yes, even with the mysterious "R"-stamped hubcaps!) and may be able to shine some light on the situation.
While I believe that the item lowcadco posted is a reproduction (and not an original) of a Murray Sad Face pedal car, it is a *very old* reproduction. The main giveaways identifying this item as a non-Murray/non-Steelcraft repro are the R-stamped caps and the pedals mounted on the driveshafts where they can be readjusted to accommodate different kid's heights. Both of these attributes are shared with my pedal car.
When I was attempting to determine provenance of my own pedal car, I came across this listing from Leland Little: https://www.lelandlittle.com/items/434067/boss-pedal-power-car-for-child-drivers/
While more similar to my vehicle than to lowcadco's, the important thing to note is that the Blue Boss featured here shares the same "R"-stamped hubcaps and Pedal mounting system. AND it comes with a receipt of purchase: https://www.lelandlittle.com/images/inventory/medium/434/434067_7.jpg
This receipt provides the following interesting pieces of information:
• The seller assessed it as a reproduction dating back to the 1950s/1960s (unclear about the accuracy of this appraisal)
• It was made in Japan, not the USA
• The transaction is dated April 12, 1986, meaning the car has to be older than 1986.
Collectively, I believe that lowcadco's pedal car is a made-in-Japan reproduction which dates back to the 1980s at worst, and at best is an older Japanese repro which was made during Japan's "Economic Miracle", the post-war recovery boom years following the end of WW2.