1960 king midget, worlds lowest priced car! 

Radiohead creep?

There was a King Midget I would see parked at a house across the street from my elementary school in the 1959-60 school year. I wanted it so much, but as I was a six-year-old, my parents wouldn't go for it. Dammit!

The VW thing was based on the VW German WW2 Kubelwagen.

11:37 "If the engine goes, you can pick up a new one at Harbor Freight." Now *_*THERE*_* is a line never before heard in automotive history !!

The King Midget ad at 1:25 "Practical, safe, low-cost transportation"......I don't know if "safe" is a word I'd use for this, especially if its your 'DIY Disaster' dad/husband putting it together in between long work hours and swigs of Pabst Blue Ribbon

8:45 What a great way to educate young people on the fundamentals of what it takes to make an "automobile" work. Engine, gas tank, battery, starter motor, etc., etc.

Ditto to ALL of the comments below. I remember reading their ads in Pop. Science and Mech. Illustrated and "dreaming" about owning one as my first car. What a trip down memory lane...that was 60 some years ago I did that. Thanks so much for the super "trip."

Have a friend who collects these things - they are fun. You keep referring to the VW Thing. The Thing was patterned after the WWII Kubelwagen (Germany's answer to the Jeep), which was derived from the original VW bug - all by Dr. Porsche. My opinion would be that the Type 3 was more patterned after the Willys Jeep. As a kid in the 60's, we called the Type 3 Midget "Baby Jeeps".

Only ever seen old adds for this car. Definitely has that "hand fabricated" look. Very cool that you found one to feature!

The King Mudgets are poor man's Crosley. I will take the Crosley on every King Midget variation.

My neighbor had one and it was a fun car for short-trip use when the weather was decent. By today's standards, it was a coffin riding on four harps.

“Balls as big as my head…” Nice analogy, Jay…😂

Man... A bunch of people did this. Some of these kits were designed to use, 'drop tanks'- the fuel tanks attached to fighter planes like Mustangs and such, and make them into drivable cars and be speedy little buggers on the race track. A great video, Sir Jay!

Engine sounds like a lawn mower. As for the Bantam, one was featured in a 3 Stooges short, where Curly hitches a ride in one to cross a street. It seems it would be the best choice of all. It certainly looks more refined.

Very cool!!!! 👍👍

The only place I have ever seen these cars on the streets was in large Shriners parades. The Shriners would zoom around their marching brethren while they all wore funny hats that had tassels on them.

Very interesting car. Thank you for sharing this unique car 😊👍🐿

This was delightful Jay! Can't believe you fit in there

As a teen I had an Isetta 300, it was a single cylinder, hard topped, sat 3 (tight), and made 45 mph. 4 speed stick shift, no A/C, no radio.

I'm sure I've seen ads for these in the backs of magazines in the 70s (along with the ones with the "Marlo Flip Girl" promising to "learn guitar in seven days); but the ones I remember more were the kits to build all kinds of specialty cars on a VW Beetle base! Haha!

I met one of the original owners around 1984. Today I work about 300 yards from the King Midget factory building.

Hey hey hey! That 1936 pseudo-car is the nicest one. In my large and skiny country there was a rare car like this video under British brand Nobel, it was an egg shape rounded and wheels same size as your video models. wheelbarrow measures. Greetings from 🇨🇱 Santiago Chile SouthAmerica

I remember going with a friend of mine from Masontown, PA on a trip to Morgantown, WV to buy one from an older gentleman. We loaded it up on my friend's Ford F-150 pickup and brought it to his house. The King Midget was a type III, red in color.

I remember one of these cars in our neighborhood in Portland, OR where we lived til I was 8, along about the same I saw my first BMW Isetta. I even recall one seeing a TV ad for King Midget once. Mom, in her 49 Chevy, got stuck behind one going up the hill near our home twice and the exhaust smell made me sick, lol. Imagine your Toro mower revved up as high as it would go. The Model 3's rear end looks like the inspiration for the Amphicar's. WYR: 1. 1936 American Bantam! 2. Model 1

In 1960 my girlfriend had one of these. She got it as a high school graduation gift from her parents. I thought it was a lot of fun to ride in and drive. As a joke I asked her if we could go to a drive-in movie in it. She handed me the key and said "Let's go". We never did do that.

Used to read the ads in my Grandfather’s Popular Science and Mechanics as a kid.

In 1966 I sent away a quarter for the King Midget brochure. I was in high school at the time. I thought they were great, but never actually saw a real one. The King Midget has an intriguing story, of all the new car companies started after WW2, Kaiser, Frazer, Tucker, Crosley etc none lasted as long as the King. The design was ingenious, simple enough to make in a small factory or machine shop without expensive dies, presses, foundry equipment etc. Somehow they made a profit and stayed in business selling an average of 200 cars a year. There are still people all around the country who love that little car.

Somehow having a "Perforated SteelChassis" doesn't inspire too much confidence...

Wow, I haven't seen one of these in decades! Thank you for featuring it, Jay. I don't know if you noticed, but all of the sheet metal is very simply made--- pretty much a straight bend or two in each piece. They saved a lot on tooling constructing bodies this way.

CarsandCameras has one, they just blew a right rear tire going 350 miles on a Predator 670 swap.

Saw ads for these in Popular Science when I was a kid. We went on vacation one summer in the early 60s, and there was a place in the resort town that rented them. I never suggested renting one, I was like 10 or 11, and never rode in one, but I have seen the real thing, not just pictures, and that's probably more than most people can say.

I went to college in Athens, Ohio. The King Midget owners group would hold a “hill climb” (really nothing more than a moderate grade and about 75 yards long). Let’s just say the times where more like a snail going up hill backwards and… half drunk and all liqueured up!

If i were rich, i would own one and drive it every day!!!❤❤❤

10:37 I'm guessing your camera _WILL_ fit on the "glove shelf." 😆

Amazing review, Jay!!!

Gotta go with the King Midget ‼️ 1: I remember seeing a few of these around when I was young, and Always thought they were cool. I remember seeing the Advertisements, too. 2: It has my name on it. 🚗🤣 It’d have to be the model 3. THEY also made some scooters. Though low production, they were actually a Successful car company, lasting some 25 years. [ the new Regulations for the Automotive Industry was going to kill it off in a couple years anyway]. That’s successful. 🚗😁

The King Midget was essentially a lawn tractor minus blades with extra bodywork...

Hello 👋 good buddy, you just learned me something I never heard of them before..

Where was Ralph Nader on the death wagon? It sure looks like a fun car for off road fun on a beach or a farm.

What an inspiration to create a modern version, using modern materials. Only one problem.... Modern legislation. 😭 Damn...

I want them all!!!!

I saw one of those in person outside an antique mall and needed a lot of restoration to run again

I owned a MG 1200 (2 door sedan?), when I asked for snow tyres, I was told to buy SEARS garden Tractor tyres... (?). These mighty midget cars looked more like mini-Jeeps to me. Not at like the 'thing' (VW). With Federal Required Emmissions, and Equipment, you are nvever toing to see this type of basic (cheap) vehicle allowed.

The American Bantam has style.... But for Oddity 😂 King midget Jr styled pipes on a Chevy Corvair pan could be fun...... Flat 6 with a 200 pound body 😱 ??? Might be Zippy 😂👋👋✌️

At the time the idear was great. Fuel and food was rationed after the war. Imagine going without that today. In Australia at the time farmers made their own fuel to get through.

Best comment....dinghy in a shipping lane....lauphing for a week!

Cars & Cameras just swapped a Predator 670cc V-twin into one, and drove it 300-mi. to be in a parade.

If I had a collection of classic cars, a King Midget Model 3 would definitely be in that collection. I believe a long time ago when I was buying back issues of Special Interest Autos I found one that featured King Midget.

12:00 I do not have "you know whats" the size of your head, but living in a pretty urban area in So. Cal., I actually _could_ imagine myself running over to Trader Joe's or Costco or Wells Fargo or whatever ... nearby errands, in this little car. Obviously not going to drive cross-country in it, but for local errands? It may work! [edit: fix "rural" to "urban," my mistake.]

$500 is $5,000 today so it would definitely be affordable compared to today's cars which could cost upwards of $30k when new. Makes me wonder how many people in 1960 bought one of these when they got their drivers license.

Never seen one in person but any guy my age remembers the ads in the back of car and shop magazines. Federal motor safety laws put an end to King Midget and stopped the importation of numerous small-output car manufacturer's worldwide selling here. That Bantam is a beauty and folks who were old to me said they were fairly popular. When the US Army put out the call for what would end up as the Jeep, Bantam and Willys were the last 2 competitors. They didn't like the Willys engine or the Bantam chassis. Bantam had no funds and was almost bankrupt so they sold the rights to their engines to Willys and closed shop. The rest is history.

Hi Jay!: The King Midget! Saw the ads but I don't think I have ever seen a real one, FOR SURE not on the road! Can you imagine even tooling down a country road and a 1961 Cadillac Eldorado pulls up behind you! Talk about TERROR!! You might just be a bug on his front bumper!! WYR#1 is BANTAM for sure!! #2. . .I kind of like the original version that looks like a midget racer!! As a previous comment posted. The VW thing was a civilian version of the vehicle they had been making for the German Army since EARLY in WWII. That was called the Kubelwagen. There was also an amphibious version called the Schwimmwagen. I think I would be more comfortable driving a Thing on the roads over the KM!!

04:08 But you know that the THING was a remake of the Kübelwagen from WWII, don't you? The wings of this remind me more of the Jeepster (open front).

I'd love it!

That 60’s model reminds me of those 60’s driving lawn mover like Montgomery Ward and Graftsman etc. Anyway, that Bantam was a real beuty. Wonder how may still exists or perhaps none?

My choice, out of pure nostalgia and looks, would be the 1936 American, Bantom convertible.

So kool never seen one , only in magazine

Interesting video. 4:24 Reminds me of the SMZ S-3A & SMZ S-3D made for Soviet invalid veterans. See Russia Beyond "6 Remarkable Soviet cars for disabled drivers.

The King Midget makes a YUGO look like a Rolls Royce!

WYR #1: DANG all three look neat! Cannot choose ...

Hear you this Triton of the minnows? - From The Tragedy of Coriolanus by William Shakespeare, 1607

This was not before or something like the VW Thing. The "Thing" was basically the Kubelwagen. from WWII. Which stood for 'bucket-seat car' or as VW numbered it a type 62. The ads for the King Midget were everywhere, even in some comic books. WYR 1? Bantam WYR 2? None.

Although I had heard of King Midget I didn't know much about the car. My choice from both scenarios would be the King Midget 3 because it has been produced in more recent years than the others. I also like hearing that it might go back into production even if it never materializes.

I'll pick the Bantam, it's pretty sharp looking.

One-wheel Drive - chain drives the right rear wheel only. EDIT: Trying to drive in snow will get you nowhere fast.

There are members of the King Midget owners group that have converted to two cylinder Honda engines making them very user friendly!

I'd take the Bantam just for looks. The King Midget would be a hoot; I knew a guy who used one to deliver fruit juice in Phoenix. I had a '51 Crosley; once was enough. I've got a Geo Metro now; boy are they a hoot!

Thanks. Be nice if there was something more of the front & rear suspension and steering and brakes. No diff, driven by RR wheel only. Wheel & hub are single piece on the front. Wanted/lusted this thing in dozens if not hundreds of Popular Science or Mechanics ads back then. 500 then about 6000 now, lotta used car for that much! Definitely didn't need a finger and voice to recognize the F'n bumper.

I have 2 Lloyd Alexander TSs. 2cylinders,4 cycle,OHC roller main bearings ,made by Borgward

LMAO... "balls the size of my head" LOL 1) King MIdget 2) Model 3 All I can think of is I'd need a showhorn to get my wide @$$ out of it... LOL... it is a cute little thing though!

I'll take the American Bantam. It's always looked to me like something that just popped out of a Duesenberg's exhaust pipe.

1936 American Bantam convertible. Jay, have you done any early cycle cars yet? The Dudly Bug, Mercury Cycle Car, Ajax, Malcolm, Little Princess, Metz, Oh We Go, etc.? All pretty much forerunners, built in the teens and early 20's here and in Europe... Just a thought. 🚗

You've found one I've never heard of. Well done! I'm trying to figure out how the transmission works. My best guess is that there's a centrifugal clutch on the motor, which leads to those two green belts. The green belts drive different sized pulleys which are clutched in and out by another centrifugal actuator in the section holding the first chain sprocket. How does that sound to you?

The VW "Thing" was pretty much a reproduction of the German VW war vehicle, predating the midget car.

It only has the one chain, going to the right rear wheel, no shaft or chain to the left rear ( 9:12 to 9:18 ). This thing is only 1 wheel drive, that would make tight right turns difficult if you weren't already moving. No way could you build and sell one today, it wouldn't pass a single safety regulation.

The VW Thing i not come after the King Midget. It was a civilian version of the VW Kubelwagen, more or less the German jeep in WWII,

I guess I'd go with the 1936 American Bantam and the Model 3. I have never heard of this car, much less ever seen one. But I wish you could open a front hood for storage...can you imagine how hard it would be to retrieve things stored in the front without easy access?

I'll bet it was fun, but the government would never allow that death-trap to be made and sold today.

Now we have the Moke

Definitely Radiohead Creep On the rather, I think none of the above on the first and of the King Midgets the model 1 is the sportiest looking so that I suppose.

I think this might be a good first date car. If she agrees to a second date, roll the Benz.

Great video Very interesting and nostalgic

the bantam and the trainer .... cuz I'm a creeeeep

I'd take 'em all, for the hell of it, but the Crosley was way more advanced.

the Thing is from WWII

Single driven rear wheel? Saves on the cost of a differential.

11:25 FWIW, I'd rather have the King Midget than the Saturn behind it.

As seen on cars and cameras

the bantoms were sweet

I would rather have the 1936 American Bantam convertible. 🤗

on question 2 it would be #2

First 1936 bantem second model one

Gas tank right buy the exhaust and hot engine

It would definitely not be very pleasant to drive. Basically a lawnmower engine, go cart type thing with a jeep like body. Going to be noisy and slow. Basically like driving a riding lawn mower on the street without the blades! LoL...

just for GP purposes i would have gotten the batman.

Bantom, King Midget 3

My 9th grade teacher has one

Bantam/ Model 3/Radiohead Creep

Bantam, then Model 1 KM

What the hell is that.Back yard production.