1969 Hot Wheels Trestle Drag Set

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.

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1968 Hot Wheels Long Distance Set

“Pack the kids into the car and hit the road”.

For many of us, summer vacation road trips were a big part of growing up. And one of the classic Big Road Trips is Route 66.

First established in 1926, the “Mother Road” ran from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. That’s a distance of 2,448 miles (3,940 kms).

Historic Route 66 map.

Although the original road has been largely supplanted by interstate highways, there is still a lot to see on what’s left of Route 66.

Museums like this one in Clinton, Oklahoma.

Restaurants like the Big Texan in Amarillo, Texas. If you can eat their 72 oz. steak in one hour…it’s free.

Road side attractions like the Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo, Texas.

Hotel and motels of every description.

And lots of great cafes.

Today I’m making a custom track; the 1968 Hot Wheels Long Distance Set.

This layout uses 46 feet or orange track,  20 joiners, 2 full curves, 2 red trestles and 1 universal clamp. Including the track and the curves, this set is nearly 50 feet long.

Here are the 8 cars that I have selected to go the distance.

l to r: a red Ford GTX1, a black ’10 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake, a yellow C6 Corvette, an orange 2005 Ford Mustang GT, a white Dodge Charger Drift, a green 24 Ours, a plum ’69 Corvette, and a blue ’73 Firebird Trans Am.

See which of these cars travelled the furthest on my YouTube video:

So there you have it. A custom track. The 1968 Hot Wheels Long Distance Set.

It’s still fast. Still fun.

Front page image from a Hot Wheels coloring book. Now that’s a road going station wagon! Copyright Mattel, Inc.

Another coloring book front page with Rodger Dodger on the road. Copyright Mattel, Inc.