Today's Hot wheels

[Dave Van]

One of my favorite sets I got as a kid was something called "Road Chase" for Sizzlers. It came in three sections that you fit together, and it was basically a country road but in miniature. I see them for sale on the 'Bay occasionally, and sometimes they go for a reasonable price. The box is usually yucky, but I'd like to find one sometime that has a decent box, and not go for an arm and a leg.

ONE of the very few Hot Wheels Sizzlers items I never got.......and still want one today. I have most of the HW sets and most of the Fat Track sets....or the major parts of them. There are a few really odd single lane Sizzlers items I saw in catalogs but never in person.  

Once about 1969 my buddy and I combined our HW track, set it up outside (So Cal). He lived on a steep hill and we made a track about 100 feet long with curves etc......to be 12 again!! 

[SfanGoch]

The subject of toys we had as kids definitely deserves a thread of its own.  

Does anyone remember the Crusader 101?

This was one of the best toys, in my opinion, that I ever had as a four year old. It was about three feet long and had an opening trunk with a spare tire, jack and lug wrench to actually change the tires. Plus, the turn signal lever, steering wheel and gear selector all moved.

 

[Petetrucker07]

The series I was asking about was the California Customs, not Dreams. They were from the early 90s, florescent colors. 

[Tom Geiger]

Once about 1969 my buddy and I combined our HW track, set it up outside (So Cal). He lived on a steep hill and we made a track about 100 feet long with curves etc......to be 12 again!! 

I remember being involved with the Pinewood Derby in 1967 and thinking to myself that I'd love a track like that for my Matchbox cars.  Then suddenly there were Hot Wheels with that exact track and I was in love!  I was ten that year and lived in Jersey City, NJ with my mother and sister because my army officer dad was in Korea for the year.  We lived in a row of new two family houses that had the garage and basement at ground level, and the second and third level were each an apartment. There was porch across the front on level two and stairs that wrapped in an L that accessed i from the sidewalk.   We would start a track on the porch railing, run it down the stairs, curve on the L, then as far down the street as we had track.

There were several of us and we were always scheming to buy more track.  To keep things honest we all had our initials on the back of every orange track section.  It was huge fun!  Maybe ten years ago my wife and I were out for a walk and someone had put out the remainders from their garage sale at the curb for trash.  I saw some familiar orange track sticking out of a black bag. The first piece I pulled out had initials on the back!   I smiled!    

[Dave Van]

Some track in my stash still has masking tape on the back  with a red crayon mark......that was my mark!!!!

[Tom Geiger]

I got to thinking about that track and went to Google Earth and found the house.  Here's 46 Liberty Avenue. It was a brand new house in 1968, the entire row of houses was built when an old commercial building was torn down. That building went street to street so there were new houses behind us too.  Funny thing, the last time I remember that house there were 1960s cars lining the street!

But here's the porch.  Picture the track running down those stairs, with a left curve at the bottom and running  down the street a few houses!

[SfanGoch]

Boy, if you and your friends had a couple of Super Chargers, you could've had one fantastic setup running back to your house.

[slusher]

I LOVE Hot wheels! I was into a collecting binge back in the '90's/early '00's, but I bought them not so much to make bigger money down the road. I bought them because they were a BIG part of my childhood as every kid I knew had a ton of 'em. I even have a couple of the playsets and unfortunately, lost a few sets when my place got flooded back in '11.

Here are just a few of what I have..........like Carl, I'd like to keep mine in a case, but for now, they're wrapped up in individual tissue paper, and put in a box. A few I have sitting out---------I don't mind dusting them off occasionally. It's easier to dust them off instead of model cars!

 

 

 

Bill, I bought bought about 15 Hot Wheels and 5 Matchbox cars a couple of years ago and wrapped every one of them  in tissue and put them in a box. We think alike.  all was from mid to early 70's like new 20 bucks. The Larry Tow Truck is selling for 20 to 40 right now. I really like those trucks never seen those 3. I wish I had mine back, had a case full all like new and at 18 gave the to my nephews and they destroyed them.... 

Edited April 24, 2016 by slusher

[MrObsessive]

Carl, the trucks were part of Hot Wheels "Heavyweights" line, and are kinda hard to find in good shape------like a lot of Hot Wheels Redlines. Particularly the ones painted white are the ones to get as for some reason, the paint they used didn't always play nice with the metal........a lot of cracked and peeling paint is how many ended up even if they weren't played with.

I also have the Ambulance, and once had the moving truck although I don't know what happened to that one. Of all the Hot Wheels I've ever had, the Tom Daniels "Sand Crab" has got to be my favorite! You see that I got two of them, and I also have the Monogram plastic kit which someday I'd like to make into a BIG Hot Wheel! Mags, redline tires, and of course painted in some sort of "Spectraflame" color.

I've always like that lime/antifreeze color.................

 

[BLOODBANE]

Got to add that it is the original packaging that makes most toys valuable. I have some Star Wars stuff thats worth a bit because the plastic clamshell it came in is undamaged (I know star wars is different from hot Wheels). Its almost the same with guns. I have some nice rifles and the nicest one, I didnt save the box. Its still worth a bit, but would have been worth more with it (it is a gun I will never fire)

[MGL]

I immediately rip open new Hot Wheels and play with them, car sounds and all. At my last unit I had a desk and always had a couple of Hot Wheels on it. You should have seen peoples faces when they would walk in and see a 40 year old Chief playing with Hot Wheels at work.

[slusher]

I immediately rip open new Hot Wheels and play with them, car sounds and all. At my last unit I had a desk and always had a couple of Hot Wheels on it. You should have seen peoples faces when they would walk in and see a 40 year old Chief playing with Hot Wheels at work.

I am buying some along and going to put them in a case. I have several sitting around my model room now...

[Greg Myers]

A childhood birthday gift , early fifties, still have it and it still runs. 

[Greg Myers]

I've got a bunch from this series ( anything nice in a plastic box like this ) 

[Greg Myers]

Occasionally they pop out some good ones.  

Edited May 13, 2016 by Greg Myers

[Greg Myers]

For awhile there were a bunch every year, Then they stopped.  

[slusher]

For awhile there were a bunch every year, Then they stopped.  

All those look great...

[1930fordpickup]

I have a few but as other have said , I only buy the ones I like. Sometimes my brother gives me aset because of 1 cool car in the mix. The great nephew loves the extras no matter what they are. 

I had the second gen Sizzlers the wide black track oval set up. I remember putting them on my brothers old single orange tracks more. We had many different pieces and parts from those over the years. 

I will say one thing about the orange single tracks. Mom loved them, the boys in the family would get a crack with our own toy. Mom called them a tricks track. Was that a marketing name from back in the day or because Mom tricked us into a crack with them? 

[Tom Geiger]

 

I will say one thing about the orange single tracks. Mom loved them, the boys in the family would get a crack with our own toy. Mom called them a tricks track. Was that a marketing name from back in the day or because Mom tricked us into a crack with them? 

Ha!  I think we all got whacked with Hot Wheels track!    A never advertised feature, but somehow mothers everywhere figured it out on their own!