Yahoo Autos Jumbo-Sized, Street-Legal Pedal Car Is One Awesome Toy
In retirement, some take up golf, or woodworking, or even the restoration of classic cars. Pennsylvania’s Dan Hryhorcoff wanted a different kind of project to occupy his leisure time, so the semi-retired engineer and machine shop owner opted to replicate a vintage Murray General pedal car, in larger-than-life fiberglass form, with the help of friend and “car guy” Jim Gibbs.
Related: The Land Rover Defender lives on, in kid-powered form.
Dan Hryhorcoff’s giant Murray General. Photos courtesy Dan Hryhorcoff and the AACA Museum.
Dan had previous experience working with fiberglass (he built a working submarine, with a fiberglass nose and tail, circa 2000), so he opted to return to this medium for his latest project, his first attempt at building an automobile. He quickly realized that he lacked the creative skill necessary to design a unique car body on his own, saying, “Instead of taking a chance at creating a visual monster, I decided to copy something.” Copying an existing full-size automobile would hardly be breaking new ground, so Dan instead opted to replicate a popular child’s pedal car, in a more adult size.
Related: Kinetic sculpture, internal-combustion style
Underneath the “Sad Face” car body is a rear-drive 1997 Ford Ranger pickup that served as a donor vehicle for the project. The Ranger’s rear track helped to set the scale (4.5:1) for the project, but extensive fabrication was necessary to shorten the wheelbase and create the desired ride height, which is aided by the 24-inch wheels (re-engineered to fit the Ranger’s hubs, then fitted with red fiberglass covers) sourced from Coker Tire. Coker also supplied the 24 x 5.00 tires, which were the narrowest Dan could use according to the Pennsylvania vehicle code (and yes, it is registered and plated in the state of Pennsylvania). Powering the plus-size Sad Face is a stock 3.0-liter Ford V-6, producing 147-hosepower and shifting through a four-speed automatic.
Note the hole for a conventional steering wheel, to the left of the instrument cluster.
