Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: The Hot Wheels Legends Tour Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Need someone to stand next to you, take notes for you ? So much fun - toy store coming to life. My child car life started with Match Boxes, Hot Wheels and Model Cars. That is totally Bitchin' If I'm reading number 3 on your list correctly, what will be most interesting is that eliminates the most exotic mega dollar cars that were not built by the owner, but paid for by the owner to big name builders to be built.
Great Pic Gary ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ That is about every car kid now in their mid to late 50's - early 60's.
Man, I was 7 when Hotwheels came out in 1967. One of the guys in the neighborhood had a pretty big hill in his front yard, everyone pooled all of out tracks and set up a Long downhill track. What a blast it was, I remember having all the cars that are now super valuable collector pieces. We had fun with them and used em up... Never in my wildest dreams back then did I ever think that I would own the real car of one of the 16 original Hotwheels....
So rad! Still have all of mine plus my lil bros and my sons. LilT is now 6 foot tall but called me the other day and asked if I could gather them all up for him? My wife said "don't take my Torino collection!" She digs Torinos
I was already too old to want Hot Wheels when they came out. But over the years as an adult I occasionally saw one that was of some car I owned, so I bought a few of those. One thing I always wondered was why Hot Wheels never seemed to want to make any narrower front tire/wheels? Every car they ever built seemed to have the same fat tires front and rear.
I'm sure it's mostly about cost. Some of the early cars did have smaller front tires, which was more realistic. But having one standard size wheel used everywhere is a huge cost savings over having to have different sized wheels. Two different manufacturing and assembly processes just for the wheels. Then having to keep track of different sizes on the final assembly line. I'm sure some bean counter said "Look how much we could increase our profits!"
There is an old house about 2 miles from where I now live. I drive past it often. And every time I think "if only I could excavate that back yard." I know I would uncover at least a dozen Matchbox cars. Lived there until I was four. This was pre HotWheels.
My buddy still tells the story how my 33 Plymouth body`s price went from $650 down to $480 and 7 Redline Hot Wheels.
Congrats. This one won the Chicago Legends Tour in 2019 and went on to SEMA. Although it didn't take the final win it was one hell of a experience.
@Jive-Bomber hot wheels thread has inspired me to get this off the shelf and build it into a wall hanger tribute to the Python hot wheels. When I restored the dream rod I had to cut the whole back panel off and start over as the Tiger shark was the wrong shape. I have the tail light and enough House of color tangelo pearl left from my last pickups flame job to paint it. I framed the back edges with conduit and made a bracket to hang it....
I was too old(currently 74years young) to enjoy Hot Wheels ,but somewhere amongst my many swap meets and travels managed to acquire a 34 Ford red coupe that has Hot Rod on the roof and flames on the trunk. I’m sure I did NOT pay much money for it.Says 1979 embossed on the frame.
Hello, When we were little, the only things around were Matchbox and Corgi little metal cars. Most of our Matchbox toys were Army Green vehicles. At Christmas holidays, it was fun to go to the toy store to see the displays in the windows of the train going round and round. Inside of the tracks, were usually scenes of the Matchbox cars and wagons in various white specked locations. The random small metal cars were gifts at various stages and were part of the two brothers growing up. Those little metal cars took a beating in the backyard dirt, being clobbered with tall grass/dirt bombs and the hit/overturn from the army vehicles actions. The older Matchbox and Corgi cars were as cool as the later Hot Wheels, but that was comparing a standard 4 door sedan to a custom hot rod. It was an eye opener, even though we were well beyond the play with small car phase. We now drove a 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery with a 327 SBC motor. So, the new fashion Hot Wheels were usually attached to the myriad of presents for the holidays and birthdays. Once a hot rod guy/family, always a hot rod family. They too, took a beating until some of them were given to our cousins. Some actually remained in the cardboard box until we bought an official blue plastic compartment car holder. Jnaki By the time our son was old enough to hold small cars and wooden trains, he started to get the added Hot Wheels supplements to his toy cache. We had a custom made, long trestle wooden table with two benches for our dining area. The table was almost indestructible. So, the large flat table top surface was the neighborhood streets and houses using his blocks, Legos and his small, but growing collection of Hot Wheels cars and adding them to the old Matchbox/Corgi cars from our old toy boxes. He drew what he thought was a streamlined dragster with a big motor to be a new Hot Wheel model. As he was old enough to travel with us to our favorite antiques stores in the City of Orange, we had a great time looking in the glass cabinets for any older models we did not have. One find was a VW van with a surfboard that fit right into our So Cal surf/beach lifestyle family. As the years rolled on, the kid area displays for ready made action, were taken down, stored into their respective cases and placed in the garage attic. When my wife’s sister was now a grandmother, she needed something for a young boy to use during “grandmother visit” days. So, she is now the recipient of the whole collection of old and new hot wheel cars, trucks, vans and old war cars. When those playing days are over, she will give those back to us to clean up and store for the third generation of future kids, at a much later time. But, time marches on and so do the historic and classic hot rod toys. The most valuable? They all were, since they added to the fun of growing up and playing with cars, not just stored in boxes on a shelf. There was one that held a special meaning. Especially, one Purple Pontiac Hot Wheels car that our granddaughter found buried in the sand at the Balboa Pier Beach. She was totally surprised as she dug her trenches for her tall sandcastle. Out pops this corroded Purple Hot Wheels Pontiac car that looked as if it went through a war zone. Memories and old metal cars, including Hot Wheels were a big part of our son's formative years and our granddaughter's growing up days, many years later. That Purple Pontiac does not need to be buffed and polished, the corrosion just brings back more valuable memories as is, for that period of our granddaughter's childhood with us.
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