Originally Posted by DIYGranny

Help needed - my husband has a 1940's/1950's Sunshine tricycle which his father sent him (to England) when he was a little kid and we now want to refurbish it for our granddaughter. In his various moves the seat for the tricycle has gone missing and we would love to get a genuine sunshine seat to replace it if we can find one! I have managed to source replacement tire rubber as it is the solid one with the metal wire inside and the wheels (except the front one) are in good condition, will need to get the front one welded. Could do with some advice too - the metal frame with the handlebars and going to the front wheel/pedals is very wobbly/loose in the joint where it goes through the metal frame of the seat - how is that joined and how do we fix it - i assume there are either bearings or rubber bung, ideas of where we can get parts for this and what we would be looking for? Sorry about the description - I don't know the correct names for the various parts! We also have not yet taken it apart - will post before and after photo's when we start work on it. Another question - the paintwork is actually quite good despite the age of the bike and the amount of use it has had - to paint or not - what do you suggest - should we just remove the rust or paint it to make it look like new? If we paint, what paint should we use to get it as authentic as possible? It was a red but don't think it was a bright red, rather a barn or perhaps a 'dull' red - definitely not fire truck red.

Any help would be greatly appreciated - a source for a new seat, how to fix the frame and should we paint or not and if so, what paint colour/type?