Will this 1969 king midget run after 26 years in a barn It has a 12 hp 1 cylinder engine and a top speed of 50 mph and weight 670 pounds Will it run after 30 years Will it run 
Ikr, it's like one of those toy cars you can find in a playground except it's real. And both the body and the engine are as good as new. Bonus points for the classic styling
Wow! I'm 72 and when I was a kid I always wanted a King Midget! A dumb cool car! I'd love to have one now, haha! Clean it up and have fun with it. Thanks!
yep i would too ...talk about alot of people turning their heads ....i know a long time ago they would have cars an stuff in magazines that u can piece togather
I searched king midget here on you tube and theres very few informative videos and even less of them at speed on the road. A full restoration might be a bit excessive, just getting it to drive and stop would be fine. I'd buy it in a heartbeat
@@maggs131 ... this doesn't really need a restoration. I'm thinking brakes, tires, and maybe a buff job would put it at 9 points out of 10. Original condition is worth more.
@@rupe53 I totally agree. Clean it up, fix the brakes and lights and sell it to me. That Kohler only needs the points cleaned, new plug and an oil change. I'd give him $3000 as it sits.
@@maggs131 ... the next question... what is it really worth? Based on some other old microcars I have to think it might have a higher value, but it's all about demand... and condition. This one has the condition, no problem. I have no clue what the demand is.
King Midget was made from 1946 till about 1970 with a total of about 5,000 cars. Starting price in the early days was around $500 (and change) as a kit. Eventually they sold a finished car but I couldn't find a price on that. The final production year was 1970 with only a hand full made due to a fire at the factory. Emissions and crash standards caused the price to not be competitive and the factory was never rebuilt. This was about the same time you could buy a VW, Honda, or even a Rambler for well under $2k.
I worked with a guy who had one of these years ago. He told me that his main complaint was when he drove it on a rainy day, the centrifgul clutch and the belt would slip like crazy. A very neat little piece of history you have there.
That thing's a real museum piece, probably the lowest mileage King Midget 3 in existence. There's even that instruction sticker in the window! Pretty amazing find.
Just clicked on still watching. I’ve got two of these that grandpa came up with when my mom was a kid. His first one had been used at an amusement park where they had a fleet of them. When he found it the chassis was down to the frame rails in sand inside a huge sandbox at a campground. The second car came from a friend of ours who drove it in parades with the Shriners. It’s an earlier model that didn’t have metal floorboards they were built with plywood floors. It’s rare to find a car that actually has the top bows,cloth and seat cushions. The centrifugal clutches are hard to find for them and they’re bad about sliding the friction material off of them. Can’t remember the name of the company but there’s a place in Evansville Indiana that relines the clutches.
Jumping jitterbugs, you are so lucky! I would love to have a King Midget. I would drive that thing till the wheels came off. that be my daily driver, going to the store and back and running up to the post office, you name it I would drive that thing all over the place!!!
Now that is neat! I'd swap out the one-banger for a liquid-cooled twin cylinder Rotax, add a heater and side curtains, with windows, of course, and make a usable trunk in the front.
@@mixerman1 exactly the small cars are worth their weight in gold I used to have a Vespa 400 and I should have never got rid of it but King midgets are made in the USA and I would rather have a 12 horsepower Kohler than a two-stroke any day
Don't call it a lawn mower my God are you worried people are going to make fun of it and you're just going to go ahead and do it for them? stop it already please it's a nice car clean it up detail it and you will get as much money as some of these other people are telling you about at least three grand depending $2,000 no problem.
TWO uploads in a day? Epic! Thanks for hard work. Watching you wrestle with various parts that won't behave or electricity that keeps wanting to 'sting' you makes ne feel better about my own car issues. The 'everything goes smoothly and to plan' channels are ok but its the stubborn engines, cruel electrics and bolts etc that make this channel awesome 👌
These were originally released as kit cars but were later released as complete cars until 1970. I can't imagine anyone sane driving it on the highway as it really is not much more than a go-kart. There are clubs out there for people who collect them, I imagine some club member would love a three mile original.
You stay finding gold!!! For what it’s worth, you’re one of my top favorite channels, real damn close to Derek at Vice Grip. The weird sh*t you find is awesome
Nancy's guy Frank here, when I was a very young guy I found the ad for these cars in the back of Popular Mechanics Mag. I wrote to the comp. and got info... loved them from that point on. Found a fellow who was driving one to the local college (Richmond Professional Inst. at the time now Virginia Commonwealth Uni. now)... he said that he took it on I-95 for about ten miles each day to get to school, would run about 55 but that was flat out. Great MPG and easy to find a parking place in Richmond Va too. Never did get to own one.
Wow that body is not rusted or paint chipped in one freakin spot it had to have been covered in a barn or something there is no way it would come out that prisitine lol Every time you get these old engines/cars started or driving I get gity like a little kid in a candy store man! I love your channel thanks for documenting all of these cool videos!
Drake ... I'm sure it was just a joke. OTOH, I was working a job on an old farm a few years ago and I stumbled on a buried fuel tank behind the barn. (the pump had been removed some 25 years prior) Put a stick in there and took a sniff. Smelled just like I remembered from the old days. Most likely leaded regular for the tractor. How did it not go bad over time? I can't say for sure but I do know that controlled temp storage (under ground) probably plays a part. Then of course we all know the old gas kept longer than the crap we have today.
My first car waas an Austin Mini, 1000cc tranverse engine so engine mountings were always a problem, always needing attention. Darn thing effectively broke in two down to having transverse engine! It got worse and worse til Friday night when it escalated too far! When you accelerated there was a huge BOOM and when you braked another 'CRASH'. Had to get home but journey was hairier than a sasquatch in December. I felt something pushing back on brakes! Got my buddy to look under mats on passenger side, accelerated 'CRASH', braked 'BOOM' the huge plate in each footwell of the floor was rising inches when I braked and crashed back diwn when i accelerated! Apparently moving forward made bottom of the wing move inches...my garage pal looked at me and said you drove that home on motorway...? (I didn't want to be touching brake accelerator constantly was my theory but i was real young, first car had licence week or 3)
Used to have a Neighbor that had something similar to this. Before I moved away couple years ago. I was used to seeing him drive around in it daily. He would go to work, grocery store in it. It was fully Licensed. I think he did something to the Engine or had different one in it. Cause He would take it on the Thruway in New York and Go down to Delaware in it every couple months.
You Find Some Of The Coolest Vehicles,, I Am Absolutely Jealous..I Am Disabled & Only Need To Make Short Little Trips To The Store,,, Doctor Appointments,, Etc. & This Little Gem Would Be Perfect For Me.
Dang someone's going to love that car , !! Well looking forward to the old GM truck project that's the best first start in my opinion !! Thanks for the video and update !!!
Such a cool little rig. I think that little buggy genuinely might only have 3 miles on it. They likely bought it, drove it to town, deemed it too underpowered or a death trap, couldn't get their money back, and parked it.
Love this little King ! Nice job getting her running again Mr. Jennings!. Kohler is a great engine, That model has an internal compression release . A little cam lets the exhaust valve hang open just a hair, so it can crank over easy. Then when she fires, the centrifugal force lowers the cam so the exhaust valve can fully close getting full compression. Great design. Love to own that little car . peace
Mustie1 has one of these! His was not as good this one, but his video might be worth a look-at even if it's just for the hell of it. Engine service every 20 to 25 hours of use, and avoid E10 fuel. Should be good for years to come!
One thing I respect and enjoy about your videos is that there's no foolish phony acting and hooplah. No acting like a sugar high having child, as a grown man. No blatantly obvious orchestral setup to it all. I guess Arkansas does a have few decent people in it after all. 🤣
