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Austin Pedal Car Book

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AUSTIN PEDAL CARS by David Whyley

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AUSTIN PEDAL CARS by David Whyley
Table of Contents (80 pages)
Introduction
Chapter 1 - A Joy to Own
Chapter 2 - The Joy Car Department
Chapter 3 - An Absolute Gem!
Chapter 4 - Pre-Production
Chapter 5 - Experiment in South Wales
Chapter 6 - Full Production
Chapter 7 - The Workers
Chapter 8 - Fun, Fame, & Safety
Chapter 9 - The Last One & Beyond
Chpater 10 - Finding & Restoring
Epilogue - The Joys of Pedalling
Appendix - Colours & Facts
Acknowledgements

From the Introduction by David Whyley:

"The Austin J40 pedal car has an indefinable charm. It looks captivate both young and old. It has a timeless appeal, attracting as many longing looks today as it did when first unveiled in 1949. As a small boy on a family Christmas trip to Birmingham in the early 1960's, I can remember gazing into a toy shop window at a gleaming red J40. Of course, like all children before and since, I fell in love with it and wanted to own it. This was never to be! Priced beyond the reach of a working class family, the J40 stayed a dream. That is until much later in life, when I purchased a full sized A40 Devon, the J40 for grown-ups! With the arrival of our children I got the excuse to finally get the pedal car itself. The story of the J40 and Pathfinder pedal cars has proved to be an interesting and revealing tale of secrecy, innovation, social co-operation and responsibility that is unique. The book itself has been produced to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the pedal car factory at Bargoed."

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David Whyley with Alice (one of his daughters) in
her restored J40 at the Austin Village, Longbridge.

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From "Chapter 6 - Full Production"

"For the final phase of building the Joy Car, it stood vertically on its front bumper and with the wheels, hubcaps and steering wheel attached, the working mechanism of the whole car was checked. For those cars which were for export or had to be carried a long way, the final job was to pack the car in its returnable wooden crate. The rectangular wheel plates were bolted to the base of the crate while the wheels were placed in the boot. Mr Musgrove recalled that the factory assembled crates cost nearly as much as the actual car! Many cars were ordered and collected direct from the factory. The J40 pedal car was very popular, and was soon the pride of many families..."

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To order a copy of AUSTIN PEDAL CARS by DAVID WHYLEY, contact:

Contact	E-mail	Phone
Rob Stuart 800 S. Pacific Coast Hwy., #8343 Redondo Beach, CA 90277	rob@austinworks.com	(310) 372-7985

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AUSTIN WORKS designed by Rob Stuart

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