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Harry Bradley's Hot Wheels....

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Jive-Bomber, Sep 16, 2010.

  1. Jive-Bomber
    Joined: Aug 21, 2001
    Posts: 3,754

    Jive-Bomber
    MODERATOR

  2. DocWatson
    Joined: Mar 24, 2006
    Posts: 10,273

    DocWatson
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    .................. and to think so many of them meet a horrible death at my hands as a kid! OH, the shame.

    Doc.
     
  3. Jeff Norwell
    Joined: Aug 20, 2003
    Posts: 14,809

    Jeff Norwell
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    I remember my first Hot Wheel set in Christmas '68....the Hot Heap and the Cheetah...
    I remember that funky car carrier case too... the wheel.....

    So many to be swallowed up in Sandboxes everywhere.
     
  4. Rikster
    Joined: Dec 10, 2004
    Posts: 5,795

    Rikster
    Member

    Last edited: Sep 16, 2010

  5. There was an interesting article on Harry Bradley as the GM designer of the '67-'72 Chevrolet trucks and how GM brass were disappointed in the new "car like" appearance of the new trucks and that was one of the reasons he left GM to pursue other intrest such as Hot Wheels. The GM trucks were heavily changed in the '69 model year with hood and grille change to give it a "tuff truck" look. In '67 you could get a CST model with bucket seats, console, tilt steering, tach, gauges and more. I have a friend who has one, 283 powerglide, awesome truck. I have always like the '67s as they are smooth lines and I am a big fan of the one year only small back window, kind of a coupe effect.
    The Hot Wheels were always number one in my books but I did have a few Matchboxes. And yes, I enjoyed and destroyed mine as well!! :D
     
  6. Jeff Norwell
    Joined: Aug 20, 2003
    Posts: 14,809

    Jeff Norwell
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

  7. BOWTIE BROWN
    Joined: Mar 30, 2010
    Posts: 3,252

    BOWTIE BROWN
    Member

    larry wood ain't to bad either. I like the snake & mongoose.
    i've got a mass collection of old stuff. If anybody looking just yell.
    kool thread.
    thanx
    YOU KNOW THERE IS THE HOT WHEEL GET TOGETHER EVERY YEAR IN SPEED , KANSAS ....HUGE.
     

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  8. Tbomb428
    Joined: Aug 18, 2006
    Posts: 506

    Tbomb428
    Member
    from SoCal

    He's a super talented designer. I don't know if prismacolor pencils have ever been put to better use than by him. Here's his hot wheels style daily driver that I remember seeing around the campus (photo by Xyling):
     

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    Last edited: Sep 16, 2010
  9. thepolecat
    Joined: Mar 24, 2009
    Posts: 687

    thepolecat
    Member
    1. S.F.C.C.

    Still love mine. And I sometime weep at the thought of how many great ones had "accidents with bricks" or got to be "stunt" cars that caught on fire.
     
  10. Had the Vicky in gold, two Custom Fleetsides in purple and green, and a sihlouette in red! Still have the vichy and the CFs!

    Man, the memories...........
     
  11. Dynaflash_8
    Joined: Sep 24, 2008
    Posts: 3,038

    Dynaflash_8
    Member
    from Auburn WA

    the cheetah sure looks alot like the car craft dream rod
     
  12. I still have 9 of the original 16 !! When those cars hit the stores I just had to have them. But living in a small town we were limited on what we could get. I did collect more of these and still have them today >>>>.
     
  13. Jeff Norwell
    Joined: Aug 20, 2003
    Posts: 14,809

    Jeff Norwell
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    Larry Wood is a very nice fella!
    and talented x100
     
  14. belair
    Joined: Jul 10, 2006
    Posts: 9,013

    belair
    Member

    My first three were the Camaro, the Cougar, and the T-Bird. Wore them out and then gave them to a younger cousin. Loved my Chaparral. Good memories. Still have most of the metal buttons.
     
  15. Mr Haney
    Joined: Jul 17, 2008
    Posts: 1,000

    Mr Haney
    Member

    I saved two cases of hotwheels mixed with matchbox cars, passed them on to my boys. The older boys passed them on to my youngest son Dean ! Funny he is playing with them right now . Best toy ever produced IMO
     
  16. fbama73
    Joined: Jul 12, 2008
    Posts: 989

    fbama73
    Member

    Some restored versions of the "original 16"

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    Because there are people out there who restore these and try to pass them off as originals (for big $$) I always reassemble mine with screws instead of emulating the original spun posts. That way, nobody would ever mistake one for an original.

    [​IMG]
     
  17. johnny bondo
    Joined: Aug 20, 2005
    Posts: 1,547

    johnny bondo
    Member
    from illinois

    i have most of those in the basement in the original wheel shaped carrying case.
     
  18. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 18,828

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California

    still have most of mine along with my matchbox cars.

    here's a tale any Hot Wheels collector could only dream of. my buddy who would be 50 now passed in 1993. about 4 years ago I saw that his mom was selling the house and stopped by. she was having a garage sale the next day, and brought out his Hot Wheels collection that she was going to sell. there was like 40 of them and they were all near perfect in a perfect case. she was going to sell them for $1.00 each.:eek:

    I suggested that I sell them for her on ebay. I got her over $1700.00 for them.
     
  19. Sweepspear
    Joined: May 17, 2010
    Posts: 292

    Sweepspear
    Member

    We used to bend the rear wheels down so they looked more jacked up in the rear.
    I was 7 years old when they came out.
    There was a gas station (I think a Mobil) that gave them out free with every fill.
    I remember for a time insisting I go with Dad when he gassed up the cars.

    I also remember we all thought Johnny Lightning cars sucked!
    Bad detail, and they didn't roll as far, or as straight as a Hot Wheels car would.
     
  20. I think I got my first in '69 and I still dig them up in my parents pack yard. lol :rolleyes:
     
  21. 31Apickup
    Joined: Nov 8, 2005
    Posts: 3,366

    31Apickup
    Member

    I have 8 of those original Hot Wheels, got them when they came out. The Custom Fleetside and Custom Mustang where my first two, they were well used. Have the Boss Hoss silver special and the Hot Wheels club certificate too. Even at 48, when I pass the Hot Wheels dispaly in Target, its hard not to check out the latest ones.
     
  22. weez
    Joined: Dec 5, 2002
    Posts: 860

    weez
    Member

    That photo of Harry's El Camino with his comments about the wheels and tires blew me away! I didn't know it was the inspiration for the Hot Wheels wheels- too cool.

    I checked out the last version of the ElCo called "Blind Faith" in Harry's garage back in, uh, '91 maybe? along with my Dad, Tom Vogle and Pat Ganahl. It was a memorable experience getting a tour and explanation of all the modifications by the Harry himself.

    Wonder where his five spokes and redlines are now, seeing as they are "the" Hot Wheels!
     
  23. bluemeanie
    Joined: Apr 7, 2007
    Posts: 68

    bluemeanie
    Member

    O my god I killed so many of those things as a kid,wish I still had some of the originals.I just cant pass them up in any store.Still buy them for myself even at the age of 43.
     
  24. duste01
    Joined: Nov 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,213

    duste01
    Member

    See what you started.......
     
  25. The Hank
    Joined: Mar 18, 2008
    Posts: 779

    The Hank
    Member
    from CO

    I still have one of those , metalic rootbeer color. The wheels are all bent to shit.
     
  26. stanlow69
    Joined: Feb 21, 2010
    Posts: 7,348

    stanlow69
    Member Emeritus

    LOL-- I used to crush a few in my dads vice-the ugly ones that is. Needed a few for my junkyard. It wasn`t bolted down- landed on my big TOE. It put an end to my crushing days. Still to this day, my own vice isn`t bolted down. ---Still amazes me how little his Chevy(La Jolla) went for. still go to the toy isle everytime I go shopping. Harry Bently Bradley- Probly the reason Hot wheels are better than the rest to this day...
     
  27. Boeing Bomber
    Joined: Aug 5, 2010
    Posts: 1,079

    Boeing Bomber
    Member

    As a little kid my big brothers had an Aurora Thunder Jet race track. When Hot Wheels came out, I couldn't believe how cheap they were. Got a paper route to earn the money to buy the Stunt set. I was disapointed when I took the car out of the box and saw it had no motor. Set the track up and sent the Silhouette down... My life changed that day...
    A few years ago, while strolling through a swap meet, I spied a first gen. carrying case. I picked it up and it was HEAVY. when I opened it, it was CHOKED full of first year Red Lines. Practically the whole set, even the Python
    (originally the Cheetah before they were forced to change the name) The guy selling them told me "$50.oo" When I picked my jaw up off the ground, he said, "yeah, I know, I just want to get rid of them", you never saw $50.oo fly out of a pocket so fast. I sold a few, mostly between $50.oo to $200.00 (the Python) but kept @ a dozen.
    Here's a great tip...Home Depot sells clear plastic tubes to go over 6' florescent lights for protection, and they come with caps on the ends. I took 4 pieces of Orange track, taped my collection to it under the cars so you can't see the tape, slid them in the tubes, and capped it. then mounted the whole thing in my shop. now dusting them is as easy as running a rag down the length of the tube.
     
  28. Boeing Bomber
    Joined: Aug 5, 2010
    Posts: 1,079

    Boeing Bomber
    Member

    I was expecting to read that you snagged them all from an unsuspecting old lady. cheating her out of the true value. What a great guy you are for helping her get top dollar.
     
  29. ynottayblock
    Joined: Dec 23, 2005
    Posts: 1,954

    ynottayblock
    Member

    Harry Bentley Bradley is a genius, his sketching ability always blows my mind. He will draw up a custom, and list off all the parts needed to make it and you'll scratch your head and say "how the hell would that be possible?" then you'll see the next page with the explosion drawing and it all makes sense. Thats what sets him apart from the rest, he could draw something up while figuring out exactly how it could be made...a true designer
     
  30. Jobe
    Joined: Oct 19, 2004
    Posts: 1,248

    Jobe
    Member
    from Austin, Tx

    So cool, thanks for the history lesson.

    Hell, I'm still racing them today!
     

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