Von Dutch pinstripe job signature verification

trying to get more pictures and Information on this car.
I collect the electric and gas powered mini cars. but I sure as heck know who Von Dutch is.

 

Looks to be the real deal

 

Looks legit, save and preserve at all cost!!!

 

Dont mess with it!!!! Im saying yes that is a dutch

 

I purchased for the Studios a little gas powered 30's model ( Like the 3 stooges used in one of their movies "Dizzy Doctors" ? ) from the Bruckers 20 odd years ago. Von Dutch had restored it from the ground up and add some "Dutch" touches to striping, lettering and leaf work... I would guess it could easily be his work...

Need to find the photos of that little dude.. having a hard time remembering all the details...

 

Restoring it would lower the value of this piece, plus cost him $ to do it (unless he does it himself). Tell him to find another Jag pedal car to restore and sell this one to a collector to fund it.

 

Not a pedal car, it is electric or gas powered. They would be called a go kart today. I don't think restoration is on the table at this point. I have recommended against any cleaning.

 

Von Dutch Hang Over, looks like

 

Got a few more pictures.
The car is in central California South of San Fran north of LA and will probably be put up for sale at auction? The question now is what one would be best? I will continue to follow and update the thread. The only history there is on the car is that it was given to the current owners by a friend about 4 years ago so their kids could ride it. It was not running so the husband attempted to install a Briggs motor but never completed the task. The kids are now too big and it is in the way.

I do not see the round emblem on the other cars (Jaguar cars Coventry) and it is not a sticker. The detail is great enough that I suspect it is also Von Dutch work? Do the experts agree?

 

I need some friends like that!

 

My guess is, at the right auction, the thing may sell for enough to buy those kids a new FULL SIZE car!!

 

Why would you restore it even if it wasn't authentic Von Dutch? I think it is BTW.
Restoration is the same as as sucking the life out of something, gimme wrinkles over botox any day.

 

I will go with 40 &61 thoughts on this one. It looks to be the real deal and should be left alone. Great piece of VonD history. Will bring Big Bucks at the right auction.

 

some do.

 

to the OP:
Im not sure of your involvement of this project and really dont need to know. I feel like the owners of the car are jumping at the dollar signs dancing in their heads. Someone close by must know the entire history of this, whether it was a little kid who drove it who is probably a Google exec now or an old surfer bum living under a boardwalk...Give it a little time. I feel that the VD trend bubble has burst but his works will forever attain high amounts. This should be given the proper research and not a bunch of possibly maybes from us.

 

I will assume OP means Original Poster?
I own the website www.jrcentral.com that has information about vintage powered promotional cars. Basically scale cars that were either electric or gas powered (not pedal cars) that were used by dealerships and other businesses to attract customers AKA sales promotional tools. An unusual and mostly unknown subcategory of collector cars.

I often have people send me pictures of the cars they have hidden away that they do not know what they are, and this is one of those cases. Like I said before the owner wants to sell it since it is in her way and asked me where would be a good place to do it? I had seen the Jaguars before but the Von Dutch I recognized as something important and wanted to pick the brains of the experts here to see if it was real and it appears to be. The value of the artwork could exceed the value of the car but since nothing like this has hit the market before it would be very difficult to establish a value. I have reccomended that the owner sell it at auction but the question is what one? I have no monetary stake in this and I think the seller did not know what she had for sure but I am trying to help her determine this and if I can help her sell it? If it brings more attention to Powered promotional cars then even the better. Did I expect this to garner this much attention? NO! Just wanted to verify that the artwork could be the original work of a well known artist.

As for history I am sure someone out there knows more about this car but the owner received it as a present from a friend that got it from her father. I would love to find more about the cars history also. This forum is great for finding information on this kind of subject as we have seen on many other threads there are a lot of well informed members here and some that just love to speculate.

I have been informed by the owner that the original electrical parts for the car are in her possession so the drive-train can be restored.

 

I just talked to the owner tonight and she is not in a rush to sell.
She is going to contact the previous owner and try to get more information on the car. But it sounds like the PO did not know much other than the car was in the Paso Robles parade at some time in the past.

I am also going to contact some of the Kustom car magazines to see if they might run an article and see if more information can be dug up about it? I am also going to see if I can track down anyone that used to work at the dealership. It's a long shot but I like the research work.

 

Awsome little car. The signature looks right and he dated the stuff ive seen. Right area for him too, considering he lived around that area off and on.

 

For authentic period pieces restore equals ruin............historically, aesthetically and monetarily.....just sayin!

 

I often get people asking should I restore it before I sell it?
The only thing that needs restored on this one is the drivetrain. Take out the briggs and get the original electrical system working again.

 

I have a copy of an old ad, Frank Millard (the man in red) and Roy Rogers were in business with Von Dutch selling "sport" cars at 15531 Ventura Blvd. They advertised Sprite, MG, Morris, Austin-Healey, Sunbeam, Jaguar, Hillman, Citroen and Borgward. Von Dutch did custom painting, striping and louvreing. You could get a Clayton Dynamometer tune for $9.00 courtesy of Howard Klove, service manager. The ad was in support of a local sport car racing weekend. Date not exact but 1960-1962.

 

That's the problem, people ask if they should get it restored, and they have obsoletely no idea what a restoration is. They think they can get a $300 Earl Scheib paint job, zip on seat covers from Walmart and send it off to Scottsdale. Not that this owner is doing that. I've just looked at enough "Restored" cars over the last 50 years to have bumped into lots of those peopled
.