‘Metal to the Pedal’ – See 45 of Wichita collector’s prized pedal cars at museum exhibit

Wichitan Bob Guenthner has brought a portion of his pedal car collection back to the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum for “Metal to the Pedal,” a sequel to his 1996 exhibition.

Twenty-four years ago, “Tot Rods” set attendance records for the downtown museum during a summer-only run. The new exhibition will run a full year. Forty-five foot-powered vehicles were on display when the museum reopened in June after a coronavirus closure and will stay in the Slawson Gallery on the fourth floor through June 30, 2021.

The star of the 1996 show – a 1935 American National Lincoln tandem car – is again on display and there are new models on display for the first time that showcase an evolution in interest and collecting habits by Guenthner, who grew up in Augusta and lives in Wichita with his wife Sue.

Guenthner said his focus has shifted more recently to pedal vehicles manufactured in the 1920s and ’30s. Partly because of the style of those vehicles and also because he can now afford some of those models that regularly go for thousands of dollars each.

“In the 1960s, pedal cars became pretty small, pretty plain and there wasn’t really much to like about them except they gave kids something to ride in,” Guenthner said. “But as you go back through the years from there, particularly into the 1930s and the 1920s, you see much larger, much fancier cars that copied the features of full size cars – rear view mirrors, horns, speedometers, working headlights and handbrakes. That’s really what makes them fascinating.”

His collection totals more than 60 pedal vehicles acquired during the past three decades. He’s found a few locally, but more often finds them on the internet and travels to pick them up, from nearby Nebraska to as far away as New York.

The Guenthner Collection covers five decades of pedal cars, and the “Pedal to the Metal” exhibition includes 45 vehicles representing that 50-year slice of development, from a 1924 fire truck to a 1967 cherry red Ford Mustang.

“Matt Hoofer, the exhibit designer, and I have tried to give a representative view of pedal cars over the 50-year span,” he said. “You’ll see the big 1920s cars, some 1930s art deco cars that are extremely fancy, and you’ll come on up through the 1950s and 1960s to the Ford Mustang.”

Although typically called pedal cars, the vehicles in the exhibition also include fire trucks, ambulances, trains, dump trucks, airplanes and boats. Among the gems on display: a 1927 American National Alemite Packard 6 with tools, including a working grease gun; a spiffy 1931 Gendron Packard 6-wheel car; and a 1934 American National truck that converts into a dump truck, fire truck, wrecker, spice delivery truck or army field ambulance.

There’s also a range of condition in the exhibition, from original (even showing a little rust) to partially restored to fully restored.

Each vehicle in the exhibit is numbered and a printed gallery guide includes corresponding descriptions. Where possible, there are also photographs next to the pedal car showing the full-size vehicle they replicate.

You can access the guide as well as videos of Guenthner talking about individual cars at wichitahistory.org.

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, 204 S. Main, is open Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for ages 6-12. Call 316-265-9314 for a reservation to guarantee admission during current capacity restrictions.

“Metal to the Pedal” exhibition

Where: Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, 204 S. Main

When: through June 30, 2021

Museum hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Admission: $5 for adults, $2 for ages 6-12

Reservations made in advance by calling 316-265-9314 are recommended to guarantee admission due to capacity restrictions

This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 5:01 AM.