Leroy Air king

This story is for all those who believe that there are no more "good" pedal vehicles left to be found. Believe me.......there still out there!

I went to a huge antique show this past weekend. As usual I searched every booth, nook and cranny, hoping to find that next rare find. I found pedals here and there, but only those that every has and those that no one wants.

I came upon one very nice original, 20's American national. I was excited! It was a plain Jane model that had no fenders, wood frame and two piece metal body. It was all there and appeared to be untouched. It was beautiful, but not the most exciting model of the century.

Of course, I was looking to buy it until the dealer told me $4500. WOW! I know originals are pricey, but this was just too much. He loved his car a bit too much for my tastes. A bit disgruntled because I am a cheap ass, I left the booth with my money in hand and car left where I had found it.

On with my hunt! I spent about 4hrs searching the entire show. A bit disheartened I headed for my car. I had to cut through a furniture dealers booth when I spotted it. I was several yards away when I saw a wing, then the body and propeller. From a distance I thought this plane was a triang, but as I got closer I couldn't believe my eyes. It looked like a Gendron Air King. It seemed impossible. I had never seen one and have never heard of anyone that had seen an original.

I walked up to the plane and sure enough. There sat a 1940, Gendron Air King. It was only missing a wing and was solid as a rock. My heart started beating like mad. You have all been there! You know the piece is coming home with you, but want to look mildly interested at best.. lololo (never truly works). I found the dealer amongst all the furniture, hoping that he did not know what he had.

He knew he had something, but did not know speicifly what he had. He went on to tell me it was a Steelcraft and was worth some ungodly amount restored. I just stood there and smiled. He wanted 1500 for the plane. I kinda choked. It was over priced.

After 20 minutes of haggling, I bought it for 1k. The dealer kept telling me how I ripped him off and stole it. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr I hate that crap.....You???

The dealer had only paid 400 for it the day before form another dealer. I found someone that saw the plane the day before at that price, but had no idea what it was.

I was excited to get it home and see if any of the bucket paint would come off to reveal any graphics. Once home, I looked it up in my books to find that it was made in 39' and 40'.

The 1939 model was yellow with green striping and graphics, while the 1940 was silver with red.

I then broke out the Windex and lacquer thinner. Scrub and rub, scrub and rub. All of a sudden a mystery graphic appeared. "Solo" en scripted over a single wing. This blew me away. I can not find any reference to the graphic "Solo" in any material I have. (Does anyone have info on this graphic????)

Nothing else on the plane was unusual. It was all intact with the exception of one wing. I liked it so much, it was bumped to the head of the line for restoration.

Off it went and will be back in a few months. Restored pics of this piece will be posted once it is completed.

I hope everyone enjoys this piece as much as I do. Please let me know if anyone has info on this plane.

WOW! After only 18 days, my restorer turned my Gendron air king into a piece of art. He copied all original graphics off the plane and re set them on the restoration. I think it looks fabulous.