This time I am using a Dual-Lane Rod Runner to power a drag set with 2 sets of triple loops.
You gotta be fast to bet through all these loops. So, I have selected three “fast” cars.
l to r: Fast Fish, Epic Fast, Phastasm and La Fasta.
Here’s my YouTube video of these 4 cars taking on the triple loop drag set.
So there you have it. A custom track, the 1970 Hot Wheels Dual-Lane Rod Runner Triple Loop Drag Set.
It’s still fast. Still fun.
When I was a kid, although stunting and circuit layouts were important, it was hard to beat straight forward drag racing for fun.
Dual-lane Rod Runner. 1970 Collectors’ Catalogue. Copyright Mattel. Inc.
So, today I am taking a 1970 dual-lane Rod Runner, adding some track and sticking a finish gate at the end. Your basic track.
1970 Dual-lane Rod Runner instructions.
And to show this track in action, I’ve got 8 classic muscle cars ready to go.
l to r: red ’70 AAR ‘Cuda, orange ’68 Barracuda Formula S, yellow ’71 Challenger, green ’69 Coronet Super Bee, light blue ’70 GTO Judge, teal ’69 Cougar Eliminator, purple ’69 Charger 500 and a black ’70 Buick GSX
Here’s a rip down the strip.
Yellow ’71 Dodge Challenger vs green ’69 Dodge Coronet Super Bee.
And…they’re off!
Blasting down the track.
Almost there….
The Challenger wins. This race is done.
Here’s a video of what happened when these 8 muscle cars got on the track.
So there you have it. A custom track. The 1970 Hot Wheels dual-lane Rod Runner Basic Drag Set. It’s still fast. Still fun.
Box art – side.
As a kid, the very first Hot Wheels accessory that I received was the Jump Ramp Pak.
Box art – front. Copyright Mattel Inc.
And I loved it! To see Hot Wheels catch big air, make a perfect landing and power down the rest of the track was too cool.
Today I am making a custom track by putting 4 jump ramps together in one drag strip.
Of the current crop of cars, I find that ’67 Camaros work very well on jumps. They roll quickly and their metal bodies on metal bases provide enough weight for the cars to sit down and stay on the track after taking a jump.
Here are the 4 ’67 Camaros that I will be racing.
from l to r: orange ’67 Camaro, green ’67 Camaro from the Mod Bod series, black ’67 Camaro and a yellow ’67 Camaro.
And here’s the video of what happened on the track.
So there you have it. A custom track; The 1969 Hot Wheels Quad Jump Drag Strip.
It’s still fast. Still fun.
Close up of box art – front. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
Box art – back. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
Box art – side: Copyright Mattel, Inc.
Box art – end. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
Box art – other end. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
Contents. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
Italian version – front. Courtesy eBay.
Italian version – back. Courtesy eBay.
Today I am taking the 1969 Hot Wheels Double-Dare Race Action Set…
1969 Collectors’ Catalogue. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
and I am adding another pair of loops to produce the Double-Double Drag Set.
Here are the 4 cars that will take on this track.
from l to r: a green ’70 Ford Mustang Mach 1, a yellow ’67 Pontiac Firebird 400, a blue ’71 Dodge Demon and an orange Mercury Cougar.
Here’s a run down the track.
Ready at the start.
And they’re OFF!
Way up into the first pair of loops.
Hustling between the loops.
Powering through the second set of loops.
Here comes the straightaway.
Flat out!
Almost there…
This race is done!
See how the cars faired on my YouTube video:
So there you have it. A custom track. The 1969 Hot Wheels Double-Double Drag Set.
It’s still fast. Still fun.
Back in 1968 Mattel released the single lane Stunt Action Set to give us a taste of loops and jumps.
1968 Collectors’ Catalogue. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
The following year, 1969, Mattel showed a TV commercial which included a dual lane drag set complete with dual loops and dual jumps. Â But it wasn’t until 1976 that Mattel actually produced this set. It is called the Dual Action Stunt Set.
Box and track for the Dual Action Stunt Set. Courtesy eBay.
Here’s what this track looks like with 1968 components.
This set includes 28 feet of orange track, 2 loops, 2 jumps, 1 start gate, 1 finish gate, 1 universal clamp and 6 joiners.
Assembled.
Time for a run from start to finish.
Ready at the start.
Charging down the track.
Into the loops.
Here come the jumps.
Stretching to the finish!
And this race is done.
These are the 4 cars that I will be using on this track.
l to r: blue Flat Out 442, green ’72 Ford Gran Torino Sport, violet ’84 Mustang SVO and a gold Chevy Camaro Concept.
To see who wins this event, check out my YouTube video.
So there you have it. A custom track, the 1968 Hot Wheels Dual Action Stunt Set.
It’s still fast. Still fun.
Box art side and back for 1976 Dual Action Stunt Set. Courtesy eBay.
The hills of San Francisco…
…have been the back drop for one of the most famous car chases in movie history. Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen, featured a 1968 Ford Mustang GT in pursuit of a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T.
The film editing of this muscle car chase played a major role with Bullitt winning the Academy Award for Editing in April 1969.
Minimal Movie Poster #214. Courtesy of Chungkong Art.
Today, I’m creating my own chase track using the 1969 Hot Wheels Trestle Pak.
Box art – front. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
By adding 36 feet of orange track, 16 joiners, 6 trestles, 1 universal clamp, a start gate and a finish gate…
…I can make this drag set layout.
The start.
The first 2 sets of trestles.
The 3rd set of trestles followed by the finish gate.
Sticking with Mustangs and Chargers, here is my 4 car set for racing.
l to r: red 1971 Dodge Charger, gold 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1, blue 1969 Dodge Charger and green 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback Coupe.
This is my YouTube video of Mustangs going up against Chargers.
So there you have it. A custom track. The 1969 Hot Wheels Trestle Drag Set.
It’s still fast. Still fun.
Box art – back. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
Box art – back. Close-up.
Box art – back. Close-up.
Box art – back. Close-up.
Box art – back. Close-up.
Box art – front. Close-up of stylized Corvette.
Box art – front. Close-up of Silhouette.
Box art – end. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
Box art – top. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
Box art – side. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
1969 Hot Wheels Collectors’ Catalogue. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
1969 Hot Wheels Collectors’ Catalogue. Close-up of Trestle Pak. Copyright Mattel, Inc.
Trestle Pak from the U.K. Courtesy eBay.
The arrival of Hot Wheels in late 1967 meant that we now had cars that could “GO”. Â And putting all that “GO” to work meant the cars needed some place to run. Â Thankfully, Mattel gave us track at the same time. Â It came in sets and it was also offered as “Add-On Accessories”.
The “Add-On Accessories” page of the 1968 Collectors’ Catalogue.
With this page…
Add-On Accessories from the 1968 Collectors’ Catalogue.
…I’m going to build a custom track.
The 1968 Hot Wheels Split Curve Drag Set.
Starting Gate.
The Split part.
And the Finish Gate.
Here’s what a race down this track looks like.
A yellow Corvette C6 and a green Corvette ZR1 at the start.
Full charge out of the gate.
Blasting into the first set of half curves.
Way out there. Coming off the full curve.
Racing back together on the second set of half curves.
Who’s ahead?
Across the finish line. This race is done.
For my YouTube video of this track, I’m going to run 4 late model Corvettes.
l to r: red 2009 Corvette Stingray Concept, green 2009 Corvette ZR1, blue 2011 Corvette Grand Sport and a yellow Corvette C6.
See which ‘Vette comes out on top in my YouTube video.
So there you have it. A custom track. The 1968 Hot Wheels Split Curve Drag Set.
It’s still fast. Still fun.
The half curve pak was first sold in 1968. Â Each pak included 2 banked 90 degree curves.
Box art – front.
1968 Box art – back.
1969 Box art – back. Canadian version.
This time I am going to use 2 sets of Half Curve Paks and make a custom drag strip.
Gravity start.
Two half curve sets. The first set adheres to some particle board to reduce track movement.
And a finish gate at the end.
Here’s a run down the Half Curve drag strip.
A green 1968 COPO Camaro and a purple 1971 Dodge Demon at the start.
They’re off!
Hard into the first set of curves.
Racing ’round the second set of curves.
Charging down the final straightaway.
And the winner is…….
Check out the Half Curve Drag Set action on my YouTube site:
So there you have it. A custom track; the 1968 Hot Wheels Half Curve Drag Set. It’s still fast. Still fun.
Close-up of 1969 box art – back.
Close-up of track instructions.
Box art – end.
The 180 degree full curve was sold as an accessory beginning in 1968.
Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.
1968 box art – back. Courtesy eBay.
1969 box art- back. Courtesy eBay.
Today I am building a custom track using 4 full curves.
Here’s the start:
The middle section of the track:
And the finish:
Now for a run through the track.
Rivited and Maximum Leeway at the start.
They’re OFF!
Racing across the upper deck of the double decker track.
Into the first set of full curves.
Charging down the elevated track.
Rounding the second set of full curves.
On the lower deck.
Heading for the flag!
Across the finish. A close race!
Using these 4 cars…
l to r: blue Maximum Leeway, red Impavido 1, chrome Rivited and plum Teegray.
…here’s my video of this track in action.
So there you have it. Â A custom track. The 1968 Hot Wheels Full Curve Drag Set.
It’s still fast. Still fun.
Original European full curve with Dutch language on one side. Courtesy eBay.
Close-up of Dutch language. Courtesy eBay.
Original European full curve in Danish language. Courtesy eBay.
Close-up of Danish language side. Courtesy eBay.
Close-up of European full curve artwork. Courtesy eBay.
Double-loop drag race sets are a staple of the early Hot Wheels years. In 1969 we have the Double-Dare Race Action Set. Â For 1970 there is the Mongoose & Snake Drag Set plus the Twin ‘Chute Action Set (UK). Â And 1971 brings us the RRRumblers Daring Duo Set (UK) and the RRRumblers Rip Roarin’ Set (Australia).
The Daring Duo Set. From http://www.GranToros.com.
The Rip Roarin’ Set. Courtesy eBay.
Rip Roarin’ Set box art – side and back. Courtesy eBay.
The difference between the Daring Duo and Rip Roarin’ Sets is the finish gate. The Daring Duo Set uses the automatic finish gate…
and the Rip Roarin’ Set uses a standard finish gate with the contact arms cut off to allow the taller RRRumblers motorcycles to pass through.
Modified finish gate of the Rip Roarin’ Set. Courtesy eBay.
The Daring Duo Set includes 28 feet of orange track, 10 joiners, 1 universal clamp, 1 start gate, 1 automatic finish gate and 2 daredevil loops.
Here’s a run down the Daring Duo track.
At the start: green Straight Away in lane 2 and yellow Choppin’ Chariot in lane 1.
And…they’re off!
Climbing the loops.
Round and down the loops.
Out of the loops and onto the straightaway.
Flat out!
Just about there….
Great finish!
Drag racing…RRRumblers’ style.
Here’s a video of the Daring Duo Set in action.
So there you have it. The 1971 RRRumblers Daring Duo Set from the U.K.
It’s still fast. Still fun.
Daring Duo Set on the bottom (German version). Courtesy http://www.GranToros.com.
Rip Roarin’ Set made in Australia. Courtesy eBay.
Rip Roarin’ Set box art – end. Courtesy eBay.
Rip Roarin’Set contents. Courtesy eBay.
Rip Roarin’ Set contents: close-up. Courtesy eBay.
Rip Roarin’ Set contents: Close-up. Courtesy eBay.
Hot Wheels Race Tracks 68-71 