Sure, how long can it take? Well. life gets in the way, poor kid may out grow this thing before it's ready, so we put a rush on it. Garage Therapy.
This is a 1950s something, looks like a 57-58 Mercury to me. Finished enough, except for making red line tires. Decals, parts, almost anything you want is out there for sale; I never knew.
I also have a 1940s BMC (Binghamton Machine Company) pedal car, which is chain drive like a bicycle, shorter cranks. BMC started knocking out pedal cars after WWII when the lucrative Gov't contracts dried up, just to keep workers working until real machining rolled in. They, along with every other manufacturer in the Country was bought out by Murray.
Chain drive is like this.
The BMC is a hotlink, real life doesn't look like that.