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Everything old is new again if you are Ronald Welborn. Welborn has magic in his fingers. He restores antique pedal toys, mostly cars and airplanes. Recently, he started restoring old gas pumps, vending machines and even barber chairs.

Ronald Welborn grew up in Pleasant Garden. Now, he works out of his home in Trinity.

His father, Arthur Ray, was a mechanic and did body work on cars.
“From the time I was 8 or 10 years old, I was mechanically inclined and helped my father. I worked on cars and old tractors. I was fascinated by anything mechanical, so I worked on whatever Dad had in the shop.”

Eventually his father went to work for Central Transport and Colonial Motor Freight in High Point. Central Transport was a tank line, and Arthur Welborn started its body shop.

Ronald Welborn was employed by the High Point Fire Department when his dad started the body shop, and he would work there on his days off. He left the fire department about 20 years ago and worked with his wife for a while in her cookie business. He left the cookie business to start Clayco Restorations, a toy restoration business. Clay is his middle name, so that seemed like a good fit.

He has branched out and does gas pumps, vending machines, big cars, toys and bicycles. He does restoration on almost anything metal.

One of Welborn’s favorite items is a restored 1942 Paidar barber chair. He is a fan of “The Andy Griffith Show” and often sits in the chair to watch television. He calls it his recliner.

His first recollection of a pedal car was one that his grandfather had bought for his aunt when she was a child. It was a 1949 Kidillac, patterned after the Cadillac.

The early pedal cars were designed to look like miniature versions of actual automobiles. The pedals were inside the car and were not visible on the outside. The cars ran on the leg power of the driver.

When he was working at Central Transport, his dad found a pedal car that looked like a tractor and got it for Ronald to restore. Ronald Welborn remembers that tractor as the first pedal car he restored. He disassembled it to see what parts were missing and what parts could be made.

“Sometimes the cars are in such bad shape you practically have to carry them home in a bucket,” he said. “Then you start media blasting/sand blasting, which gets the rust off, ... then take a primer and paint and reassemble.”

Welborn uses automotive paint on the cars because it holds up better. Sometimes you can find the original color of the car on one of the dissembled parts. He tries to restore the car as close to its original appearance as possible. If a customer doesn’t like the original colors, Welborn will customize it. He also can use reference catalogs to see what paint colors were used on certain models.

He spends a lot of time hammering out the parts. It seems that many hunters used the cars for target practice. The cars were thrown in trash piles behind houses, and the hunter would line them up for target practice. Sometimes, dents have to be hammered out.
Welborn says he likes a challenge and always has.

The amount of time spent restoring a car varies depending on the condition of the car and how detailed it is.

He has a restored, very rare 1930 Sports Roadster in his living room. He remembers when his brother-in-law, who was attending a flea market in Hillsville, Va., called to tell him he had found a pedal car.

As he described the car with the teardrop fenders, Welborn realized that his brother-in-law was describing a seldom-seen pedal car.

He also has a 1963 X15 Vroom Batmobile made by Mattel. Ralph Nader got the mobile taken off the market for safety reasons, Welborn said.

Welborn tells his customers one thing about the restored toys is that you can enjoy them. The toy is tangible and will not lose its value.

Most of Welborn’s customers hear about him from other customers. He used to advertise in a trade magazine but is busy enough without doing that.

Welborn says he has been fortunate and has worked on cars from New York to Florida and from England to California.

He has spent 30 to 40 hours on some of the cars, including making the parts. He usually does a before and after picture.

“The after picture is for me and helps me see where I’ve come from,” he says.

Welborn and his cousin Randy restored a 1949 Chevrolet fire truck together. It is gleaming red and looks like it just came off of the automobile assembly line. It was personalized with special features such as miniature fire helmets on the door handle.

Welborn doesn’t think toys now will retain value as these old medal restored ones have. “Most toys today are made out of plastic and snap together,” he said. “They do not hold up as the earlier toys do.”

The oldest pedal car Welborn has restored was made in 1919. He says he likes all of the old cars and does not have a favorite.

Contact Welborn at 861-5112.

Contact Kathy Johnson at mjohnson2@triad.rr.com