The man who revived his childhood dreams

CESTICE, SLOVAKIA. – There must be only a few members of the older generation, who would not remember the legendary Moskvitch, Chaika or Lada. The lucky ones could have been the owners of these pedal cars, but not everyone could afford them. A jack-of-all-trades from Cestice (Slovakia), László Bűdi has just begun to renovate small cars to make one of his biggest childhood dreams come true.

We‘re probably not telling you anything you don’t already know, but the pedal car used to be a rich kid’s toy, as the price of these fairy-tale cars was almost equal to one month’s pay in the ’70s and ‘80s.

The waiting list

Still, there was a demand for it… when the Moskvitch factory began producing the toy models, customers had to sign up for the same waiting list as those who ordered a real car. László Bűdi, living near Košice, says that he had always dreamed of such a tiny car as a child, but had to wait nearly forty years to boast of his own piece.

Childhood memories

“Unfortunately, my parents couldn’t afford to buy me a car like this. I did my first restoration when I bought such a car for my three-year-old son. I loved watching him play with it, so I bought new pieces for my restoration project. Creating these cars is a two-handed job using long-lasting materials of high quality – and I think this is very important. I’m not the only one who thinks that way – a lot of people turn around when my son rolls down the street” – the handyman said. The small cars bring back very special memories of his childhood. 

“While renovating I go back in time and I feel like a kid again. All the old memories come flooding back, and I’m so happy to be able to pass it on to the next generation. I see that my family and my friends like what I do, but truly, the kids are happier about it” – he added.

„While renovating I go back in time and I feel like a kid again.”

A long process

As it turned out, it takes about two weeks to make a complete overhaul of a small pedal car, but of course, it depends on the condition and what components he needs to buy. Since these cars are no longer manufactured, used parts and other components are acquired by friends or via the Internet. Renovating is László‘s hobby. Behind their family house, there is a garage, built with the help of his family and friends, where he spends all of his spare time assembling the cars. 

“I‘m very lucky to be surrounded by people who support my hobby. I mean not only by my wife, but also my father, brother and many friends. The garage behind our house is mainly their work, they helped a lot with building it. Currently, I’m working on cars in my spare time, but as my son is getting older, I try to focus on the family. Regardless, I happen to be in the garage for up to ten hours a day because of a project. Still, it is just a hobby. However, renovations have potentials, seems to be more and more attractive, I will not rule out the possibility of making a living from renovations in the near future.” – László Bűdi said.

foto: Németi Róbert