Hi Linda,
If you recall, last year you were responsible for putting Mark (in Florida)
and me in touch so I could purchase his restorable 1937 Steelcraft
Streamliner pedal car. You told me to repay you I needed to write a story
about my pedal car for your newsletter. While I was restoring the car I
was too busy to do anything else, but now that the Streamliner is finished I
have written my story which is attached below. There are also photos of the
pedal car restoration and finished product attached to this e-mail. Thank
you again for making my lost dream a reality again.
Bob Campbell
Arvada, CO
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MY 1937 STEELCRAFT STREAMLINER
My next door neighbor was Mr. Brown. He was a nice man and was friendly towards me. He always had a good word or greeting for everyone. He was also an avid baseball fan. He could read the sports page, listen to a ball game on the radio, and have one on TV all at the same time and he could tell you about each game in detail! When it came to mechanical things he was at a loss. When I got older I took care of his household maintenance needs. He was a great man and neighbor and I enjoyed knowing him very much. I had to give you a little background about Mr. Browns' kindness and generosity in order to make my pedal car story complete.
In about 1944 or '45 when I was 3 or 4 years old, one weekend day Mr. Brown saw me playing in our driveway. He came over and said in a loud but friendly voice, "Bobby Campbell! Come over here. I want to show you something." I went over to his back yard and he took me into his garage. He pointed up into the garage rafters and said, "Do you see that little car up there?" I looked up to see the neatest little (big) black metal car I had ever seen. I replied, "Yes." He said, "Would you like to have it?" Of course I was elated and said I would. Mr. Brown went over and got my dad and they carefully took the black car down from the garage rafters and placed it on the floor. It was very dusty so he took an old rag and gave it a quick wipe down. Man! I couldn't believe what I was looking at. I was in heaven! What I was looking at was a 1937 Steelcraft Streamliner pedal car. These cars didn't come cheap either. It was the lesser model that shared the same body to the Steelcraft 1937 Supercharged Auburn. Mr. Browns' own two kids had out grown it a few years before and he had stored it up in the rafters. We took the black pedal car over to our garage and cleaned it up and my dad oiled the wheels. I hopped in it and away I went. Man, was I something in my own sidewalk pedal car! As time went on, I lived in that pedal car. It was my all time most favorite thing. I pedaled on the sidewalk around the block all the time. In those days it was safe and not a problem to do that (remember ?).
In 1947 we had to move to Salida, CO so my dad could take a job there. The rest of the family didn't want to go, but dad laid down the law. We rented our house in Denver and we made our move to Salida. My pedal car came along with me and I pedaled around the new neighborhood in Salida. After about 9 months of living like pioneers in Salida with fuel oil heat and a wood burning cook stove dad quit his job and got another one in back in Denver. We were all thrilled. We moved back to Denver in 1948.
I continued to drive my Streamliner pedal car around, and was very happy to be back in my old home neighborhood. When the renters lease was up in January of 1949 my dad decided I had grown too big for my pedal car and wanted to give it to the renter. He had a little kid that wanted it. I put up a big protest to keep it and then the renter offered to buy it for $5.00. I still didn't want to sell it for anything but my dad took the five bucks and I was heartbroken to see my old pal Streamliner get loaded into the renters car trunk. Christmas of that year I got my first bicycle which was nice but I still missed Streamliner. I have missed that little car, even into adulthood so much I decided that someday I would find another one like it.
While surfing around on ebay I happen to see a 1937 Steelcraft Supercharged Auburn pedal car listed for sale. That got my blood flowing again for my old Streamliner. Even though the Auburn wasn't exactly like a Streamliner, it did share the same body so I decided I'd throw a bid on it. When the auction ended the Auburn sold to another bidder for $5600.00. That really got me wanting a real Streamliner so I started looking on the Internet for pedal car collectors. I found a few and sent them e-mails telling them what I was looking for. Linda Portell replied and said she would put the word out for me. Within 24 hours I was contacted by a gentleman named Mark who lives in Florida. He informed me he did in fact have a 1937 Steelcraft Streamliner stored in his garage. I phoned him and we talked about the condition and completeness of the pedal car, and if in fact it was a '37 Streamliner. He assured me it was, and the next day he sent me several pictures on the computer.
I was very pleased and excited that I had actually located a Streamliner that was for sale. We talked price and agreed on a deal. The following day I sent Mark a Bank Cashiers Check for the full amount plus shipping. Mark is a great fellow and he got busy making a huge shipping carton. When the payment reached Mark he took the boxed pedal car to the UPS shiping center and sent my streamliner on it's way to it's new home. When UPS delivered the huge box to me I was overjoyed because I once again had my very own 1937 Steelcraft Streamliner pedal car sitting in my garage. It needed a total restoration and lots of work but I had many hours of enjoyment bringing this little car back to like new condition. It now has a good home and it will not get away this time.
