Restoring a 1957 Marketeer

[seavandal]

I am new to this forum but have enjoyed reading tons of posts written by you guys. Great ideas!
A few weeks ago, I bought a 1957 (or so) Marketeer car (cart). These were built in the Autoette micro car craze of the 50's and 60's. I'm not sure of the exact year but I do know that the door handle and mechanism are from a 1956 to 1957 Ford Thunderbird interior door handle (and probably other Fords).
I was happy to find that the Marketeer was complete and not trashed. It took several days of working on the electronics and having an auto electrician friend make sense of it all. Everything was basically in working order. I replaced a few switches, cleaned all electrical contacts, worked on the lights, and removed the 80's non-functioning battery charger.
I have taken it for a few rides around the neighborhood. It runs! It tops out at around 12mph and about 7 on a slight incline. I have a feeling that was what the original design was since these were legal to drive on sidewalks in Long Beach (until a few people were killed) and other communities in the 50's and 60's.
Restoration so far:
The wheels were in need of a paint job. I stripped the multi layers of paint off, applied metal etching primer, and finished the wheels with duplicolor Arctic White. They turned out really nice. All bearings were re-greased. New high speed tires (overkill?) and tubes replaced the wheelbarrow tires.
The plexiglass windshield and rear window were broken and scratched. I went to a plexiglass company in Los Angeles and picked up the back window to shape, drill, and install in the fiberglass roof canopy. I left the original windshield with them so that they could bend the plexiglass (slight bend in the middle of the windshield). That should be ready Friday. I will need to drill several small bolt holes in the plexiglass to attach it to the canopy and dash. YouTube videos helped me to understand plexiglass drilling so I won't crack it in the process. I hope it goes well.
I pulled the old charger out and tossed it. It was permanently installed with a timer attached. The new one is a 10 amp 24 volt automatic. Nice upgrade! I will install a new female plug port so that I can just plug the cart in and charge the batteries. The charger will be permanent. I will cut off the alligator clips and replace them with ring terminals to attach to the battery. The 10 amp charger may be a little slow, but I don't mind the overnight charge. Besides, I don't plan on going more than a couple of miles with it each time I go out. For that reason, I am using two 12 volt batteries that I recently purchased rather than four 6 volt batteries (Pricey little devils!). I may need to eventually buy the four if I run out of juice too early. By the way, the motor is a 1 1/2 hp with timing chain drive to a fat sprocket attached to one wheel.
I have burned through a few hundred bucks so far in addition to the purchase of the car. I will have to wait on the body work and paint for another day.
It certainly has the semi beater patina look. It looks its age.
I will update the restoration as time goes by.
Nice to be posting a thread on this site. Marketeer restoration... new hobby!
Chris
Glendale CA

Here are a few pictures of the Marketeer.