Clown Car

 Clown Car
Petkof the Clown squeezed into this tiny clown car at a staged event on Brighton Beach (New Zealand) in the late 1960s.
Lionel modified it from a 1930s sheet metal pedal car and anything else he could find that would add lunacy and humour to its appearance.
One wheel was originally from a baby's pram, another was a square lid from a discarded metal toolbox, another was made with wooden spokes and a piece of garden hose for a tyre and the fourth was a saucepan lid.
These spring-mounted wheels dramatically fell off at the shift of a lever but the clown car still kept moving because of another small set of proper wheels hidden underneath.
An opening under the floor allowed the "driver" to move it along with his or her feet.
The headlight was hinged with a wire connecting it to the steering wheel so it nodded when the wheel was moved.
It had a very loud claxon (klaxon) horn and a brass bell hidden under the bonnet.
Pressing the foot against a water-filled rubber hotwater-bottle hidden underneath, cause a spray of water to come out of the radiator cap.


The photo shows one of Lionel's nieces taking it for a test-drive through some long grass.
Photo and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley.
Published with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley.

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