Dandy Dave Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Before you were licensed to drive you must have had something that had wheels that lead up to that first gas guzzling auto. Back yard, county road, and side walk cruisers show us your photos. The fellow in the wagon is Miss Patty's Dad in May of1923. The youngster's on the bicycles are family on her Mom and Dads side. Dandy Dave! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhigdog Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 No picture but it was a scooter made from roller skate halves nailed to a piece of 2 X 4 with a wood crate nailed on top. A piece of broom stick served as handle bars. All the kids on the block made one................Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Shared a Radio Flyer with my three brothers. Wore the wheel bushings plumb smack dab OUT in a few months. Ben 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 This young fellow has a License Plate wired to the back. Ready for the road now. 😉 Dandy Dave! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 (edited) Ready for the big parade. The dogs name is Skippy and belonged to Miss Patty's Mom. That Art Deco Trike is out of this world. Edited July 11, 2020 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFitz Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 No pix either, but it was motorized even before I owned a bike. A neighbor kid and I made a go cart from Baby carriage wheels and axle up front, steered by feet on the cross board, on a scrap lumber "chassis", attached to the deck of an old Brigs & Stratton reel lawnmower. Had one speed. To stop and go had to work the idler pulley handle with a rod over the shoulder. The rocks on our dirt road made a mess of the reel, so by the time we realized that, it ended any chance of dual purpose as a ride-on lawnmower. Paul 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 (edited) Well this one will show my age.......my first set of wheels was one of the first all plastic “Big Wheels” trike. I rode the hell out of it. Two years later my father would say that it’s the best money he ever spent. I was on that thing every free minute.......and finally wore the front wheel out by “burning rubber”(plastic). That thing must have had 100 miles on it......and I was only three when I got it. If I could fine one today I would buy it in a second. Edited July 11, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 1 hour ago, edinmass said: Well this one will show my age.......my first set of wheels was one of the first all plastic “Big Wheels” trike. I rode the hell out of it. Two years later my father would say that it’s the best money he ever spent. I was on that thing every free minute.......and finally wore the front wheel out by “burning rubber”(plastic). That thing must have had 100 miles on it......and I was only three when I got it. If I could fine one today I would buy it in a second. If I send one to you, will you post pictures of you doing one of your famous burnouts? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 (edited) My first set of wheels that I could actually drive.... Edited July 14, 2020 by keiser31 (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, auburnseeker said: If I send one to you, will you post pictures of you doing one of your famous burnouts? Or striking this pose... "You messin with my bike son" ? God that brings back some memories... Raise your hand if you had a butch hair cut wore cowboy boots and had a holster with guns while riding your big wheel. Edited July 11, 2020 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history) 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 You can mess with his Duessy but all bets are off when you mess with the Bigwheel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, 30DodgePanel said: Or striking this pose... "You messin with my bike son" ? I had the Rough Ryder pop gun also! And it's still in my gun cabinet today. Here is my second set of wheels..........you guys are going to make me start buying back my memories on ebay........ Edited July 11, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playswithbrass Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Put on enough miles and burn outs that Dad had to replace the front wheel. What is the car in the background behind the BBQ? Dad was proud of that BBQ.pete 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 This and a coaster wagon might qualify but my first set of REAL wheels was a go-kart my dad built when I was about 8. All scrap wood, junk wagon wheels, solid front axle with rope steering, and an old Briggs & Stratton. Unfortunately no photos, I drove it around the yard at probably 5mph but it seemed like 60 to me. Within an embarrassingly short time I crashed it into a tree but the joy of powered transportation never left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 32 minutes ago, playswithbrass said: Put on enough miles and burn outs that Dad had to replace the front wheel. What is the car in the background behind the BBQ? Dad was proud of that BBQ.pete 1957 Chevrolet peeking out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 I was born in '64. Dont remember having a trike, but Im sure I did. I did have a light blue kiddie car that I loved. Never had a 'big wheel', but my best friend did. We probably ran a million miles on that thing around his basement!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.H.Boland Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 I had to literally dig this out for a picture. I couldn't find an action shot. A buddy and I built it about 1959, using an old ironing board for a floor and scrap lumber and wagon wheels for the rest, It had to have that square old car look even then. Protruding out of the dash is a double barreled elderberry gun. A dried out elderberry branch had a white substance in it that could be poked out, creating a hollow barrel.A notch in the top half held a corset stay from a lady's girdle. When "cocked" it could launch a match stick a fair way. Good times. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Can’t recall ever having a trike or any kind of bike as young child. I learned how to ride on a neighbor’s bike. My mother bought this one for me when I was 7. First one I called my own. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just me Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 I don't have any photos of mine. Here are a few of my Grandsons Kassius and Ollie. Charley 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Charley, no Cadillac plate on any of their toys???? Have a safe summer my friend! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just me Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 2 hours ago, edinmass said: Charley, no Cadillac plate on any of their toys???? Have a safe summer my friend! Ed, what a good suggestion. You're much more creative than I. Wishing you all the best! Stop if in the area. Charley 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 First was a 27" English bicycle. Drop center since was about 4' tall. Fell off a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Mine was an Orange Crate, a couple of 2x4s, and roller skates right after dad returned from his WWII service in the South Pacific. I was four years old - money was non-existant, he was a SeaBee and could build or repair anything. I had a pair of goggles and became Barney Oldfield. Next came a 24" 2-wheeler, blue with chrome fenders and a bell, light, and horn. I didn't know until much later that dad had pulled it from somebody's trash, restored it, and made it better than new! When delivering three (3) newspaper routes for the Newark Star-Ledger and the Elizabeth Daily Journal, as well as the Linden News-Observer, we bought a used $3.00 Rollfast springer with a huge delivery basket for me to use. That lasted alongside my metallic red / chrome fendered 3-speed English racer, until the state of New Jersey made me street-legal with my chopped & channeled '32 Chevy 5-window coupe, powered by the '54 Olds OHV 324 ci engine and Hydra-Matic, pushing an Avanel, NJ junk yard Dodge dump truck 2-speed rear end (the '32 Chevy differential almost immediately turned to shrapnel). Wish I had some pics ... but then the '49 red Pontiac convertible - straight 8, 3-on-the-tree - became Queen of the Hop ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bollman Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 My first wheels that I remember I still have it was a windup 1951 Ford. I beat the hell out of it, no longer winds up, but it sits proudly on a display shelf in the shop with some of my other early wheels. I have pictures of me with my first tricycle somewhere. Here was my first wheels with a v8. My Dad did most of the real work on it, but I helped. I'm driving and a good friend from down the street was pushing. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 No picture of me with my first wheels that I received on my third birthday in 1945. Here is a picture of the wagon that I still have and use for moving things that are too heavy to carry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFitz Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) Do my kid's first wheels count ? I built this three-seater for when my kids were little. It'd be old enough now to be antique by car club standards. Made from stuff from the local recycling center. Has a parking brake for the rear axle, and seat belts to keep the little ones from jumping ship. Runs on parent power. Paul Edited July 14, 2020 by PFitz (see edit history) 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Wow some great pics here. Had dad's classic wagon from around 1941 (not sure it was a radio flier) until age 20 or so. Yep there is a story here.. typical late 60s kid stuff, I liked cowboys, so dad took two iron rods, bent using lollycolumns in our basement, drilled some holes and covered it with a sheet. Covered wagon, was fun! At some point I repurposed the poor wagon to hold a derelict small block chevy engine. Weight, grease killed it. Never did anything with that engine come to think of it... Side story, as a child I played cowboys and indians with a real revolver that came out of grandpas back office from his store in the 30s. Old, rusty, and of course without a firing pin, I still have that. Everyone, kids parents thought it was cool, imagine THAT today! 🤔😯😉 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencer yarrow Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 This was taken about 1955 myself in it my young brother pushing it didn't take me long to knock that up 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Byrd Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) My very 1st "ride" was a Railway Express tractor trailer metal truck. No photos of that... Dad worked there and got it for me. My 2nd one that I remember so well and have pics of was a Champion pedal car. Oh, and that is the family Studebaker in the background. Edited July 16, 2020 by John Byrd (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkyardjeff Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 A Radio Flyer wagon then a 20 inch bicycle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 I have pictures of my baby buggy, my stroller, then a trike, but I really arrieved with 4 wheels at age 3. For my 5th Birthday my Grandfather built a Jeep body for my car. Now that was cool 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 On 7/11/2020 at 6:24 PM, Marty Roth said: Mine was an Orange Crate, a couple of 2x4s, and roller skates Marty, we must be the same age as that was my first set of wheels. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Mine was a Thistle, with a varnished wood seat; not unlike these ones: https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/82615-thistle-trike--triang-trike--lines-bro Craig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 (edited) On 7/15/2020 at 9:06 PM, junkyardjeff said: A Radio Flyer wagon then a 20 inch bicycle. For anyone with additional information, Many years ago I retrieved a little red wagon, but not stenciled "Radio Flyer" This one is stenciled in original but worn condition as "Radio Super". Is anyone aware of Radio Super, and how does that relate to the Radio Flyer products? Is there any significant rarity or value? Edited July 17, 2020 by Marty Roth Add photo (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLynskey Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 My first set of wheels was a common 20 inch Schwinn. The second was more interesting. We couldn't afford new bicycles, but when it was time to pass the Schwinn down to my brother my dad came up with an old bike which was sitting unused in someone's garage for years. It was a 24 inch Packard bicycle. I don't know how old it was, but it didn't look like the current (1950's) bikes. It seemed to be shorter between the seat and the handlebars with a single straight bar and wide handlebars. I've never seen another like it. Don 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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