1969 Hot Wheels “The Fast Cars Book”

For 1969, Mattel commissioned a photo book of Hot Wheels in action for kids.

Front Cover of The Fast Cars Book.

The book only cost 29 cents. That was significantly cheaper than the price of a single Hot Wheels car.

The book was published by Golden Press of New York. Jo Anne Wood did the writing and aimed it at young kids. But it’s the photography by Gerry Swart that stands out.

Although there was no 6 lane raceway in 1969…

2017 edition of the 6 Lane Raceway.

…the book starts with that layout.

l to r: Ford J car, Custom Firebird, Splittin’ Image, Deora, red Hot Heap and aqua Hot Heap.

Next, the book takes us into some curves.

Ford J car in the curves.

Twinmill running hot!

Splittin’ Image blasting through a full turn.

Then we see some stunting.

A Custom Camaro and Silhouette in the loop.

Taking the jump.

Here comes the 2 lane Drag Race Action Set from 1968.

The Silhouette beats the Custom Camaro to the flag.

The 1969 Action City play set is the backdrop for the next page.

Action City’s full layout.

A red Hot Heap on an Action City road.

For the Service Station picture, this 1968 Pop Up play set gets used.

Pop Up Service Station – front.

Pop Up Service Station – back.

A Custom Camaro getting full service treatment.

Back to Action City.

Next up, the 1969 Talking Service Center.

For some reason, the blue Splittin’ Image is travelling backwards down the top floor ramp of the Talking Service Center.

Finishing up in Action City.

Last page.

Back cover.

Here’s my YouTube video of this book.

So there you have it. 1969s Hot Wheels “The Fast Cars Book”

Showing Hot Wheels are still fast. Still fun.

1969 Collectors’ Catalog picture of the Action City play set. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

1969 Hot Wheels Super-Charger Grand Prix Race Set (part 2)

This is Hot Wheels’s biggest track set for 1969, the Super-Charger Grand Prix Race Set.

Box art – front with included cars visible. Courtesy eBay.

There are a lot of track pieces.

The layout is huge.

Here’s the fully assembled race track.

Time for some perspective. It’s 1969 and we are about to embark on “lap after lap” action. Just the year before, we experienced ground breaking gravity tracks from Hot Wheels first year of production. And, remember, the year before that we were pushing our Matchbox/Dinky/Corgi diecast cars around the floor by hand because there were no Hot Wheels.

Now, in 1969, a massive one hundred lap race is at hand. The orange track is 44 feet long. There are 12 half curves measuring just over 1 foot each. That’s more than 56 total feet (17 meters) of track. One hundred laps means the cars will cover more than a mile (1.6 kilometres) together. From hand pushing diecast cars to mile running in just 2 years. Simply amazing!

On this track today, I am putting a gold 2010 Ford Mustang GT with Faster Than Ever wheels up against a blue 1971 redline Six Shooter.  New school vs old school. 

For more information on this track, check out my earlier review of the Super-Charger Grand Prix Race Set (part 1).

1969 Hot Wheels Super-Charger Grand Prix Race Set (part 1)

Hot Wheels Store Displays

From 1968 to 1970 Mattel produced elaborate displays that were intended to showcase the Hot Wheels line-up for store customers.

This late 1968 display looks like something right out of a big car show in Los Angeles or Detroit.

1968 Store Display. Courtesy http://toycarcollector.com/x_animatedgifs/hotwheels3.jpg

Each of the “Sweet 16” cars is represented. Five of the cars have custom paint jobs just for this display. This includes a Watermelon Custom Mustang, Chocolate Brown Custom Camaro, Honey Gold Custom T-Bird, Light Blue Custom Cougar and the Ruby Red Custom Barracuda.

For 1969 three displays are offered. The first diorama shows Hot Wheels cars on a hilly coastal roadway crossing above cars that are travelling through a tunnel.

1969 Coastal hill and tunnel display. Courtesy http://www.hwredlines.com/menu-grp-cars/Displays/display-US-69.shtml

The second display is located in Europe, possibly Monaco, where Grand Prix race cars are being paced at the race’s start by a Maserati Mistrel. Spectators have parked their European cars nearby. A ship at water’s edge is a nice touch.

1969 European Gran Prix display. Courtesy http://www.redlinegrandprix.com/Redline_GP_OddsEnds.html

The third display puts us at the Daytona Motor Speedway where race cars are on the high banks of the track. In this case, spectators from a vintage car club have shown up presumably to cheer on the Classic ’57-Bird.

1969 Daytona display. Courtesy http://www.planetdiecast.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=83&id=55385&limit=15&limitstart=90&Itemid=0

Close-up. Courtesy Instagram by Bruce Pascal. http://www.online-instagram.com/media/894901587630698938_1622287635

The 1970 Display is a ‘Multi-Mural’ diorama with a white curved sloping track.

1970 display. Courtesy eBay.

The first three murals, from left to right, show a Spoiler style car, a heavyweight vehicle and a race car.

Close-up left side.

The last mural on the right reveals the open road for Hot Wheels to travel on.

Close-up right side.

Top view – left.

Top view – right.

Also, for 1970, Hot Wheels was going ‘head-to-head’ with Matchbox so in England a special store display was used.

1970 U.K. display. Courtesy pinterest.com.

The English store display is an open six-tiered white grandstand made of wood.  The entire display holds 50 cars (6 rows of 8 or 9 cars each) and has a colorful backboard illustrating a Porsche 917 with the caption, “ Here’s why more Boys prefer: Hot Wheels”.  Obviously a direct challenge to Matchbox whose display looked like this…

U.K. Matchbox display. Courtesy pinterest.com

So there you have it. A look at some of the early Hot Wheels diorama displays used in stores.

It’s still fast. Still fun.

For more information you can check out http://redlinewheels.com and look under “articles”.

1969 Hot Wheels Quad Jump Drag Set

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.

1969 Hot Wheels Double-Double Drag Set

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.

 

1969 Hot Wheels 2-Way Super-Charger

The 1969 Hot Wheels 2-Way Super-Charger.

Box art – front.

Box art – side.

Here are the instructions.

Instructions. Page 1. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

Instructions. Page 2. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

Instructions. Page 3. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

Instructions. Page 4. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

The 2-Way Super-Charger was only sold by itself and in 2 other sets:

The 1969 Grand Prix Race Set

Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.

And the 1970 Hi-Performance Set

Box art – front. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

The standard Super-Charger typically goes with oval tracks.  It’s pretty easy for a Hot Wheels car to run on a track with just 2 full curves.

1969 Collectors’ Catalogue. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

The 2-Way Super-Charger powers figure-8 layouts.  Figure-8 tracks are a lot harder for Hot Wheels cars to deal with because they have to negotiate 6 half curves on every lap.  Appropriately, Mattel calls this figure-8 layout “The Tricky 8”.

Box art – back.

Today I am putting 6 Hot Wheels cars through their paces on “The Tricky 8” track.

l to r: Aston Martin Vantage GT3, ’07 Shelby GT500, ’68 Mercury Cougar, Custom ’15 Ford Mustang, Corvette Grand Sport and Olds 442.

Each car will attempt to run 10 laps non-stop. Here’s what happened:

So there you have it. The 1969 Hot Wheels 2-Way Super-Charger driving the figure-8 layout.

It’s still fast. Still fun.

Box art – end.

1969 Collectors’ Catalogue. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

1969 Collectors’ Catalogue. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

1969 Hot Wheels Competition Pak

Back in 1969, if you had a bunch of orange track and you wanted to go drag racing, the easiest way to do it was to get the Competition Pak.

Box art – front.

Box art – back.

The Competition Pak comes with universal clamp, start gate, finish gate and elimination merger.

With this drag set up I’m running 4 world cars.

l to r: orange ’73 Ford Falcon XB, silver 1963 Aston Martin DB5, yellow ’74 Brazilian Dodge Charger and black Toyota 2000 GT.

These 4 cars are from South America, Australia, Europe and Asia.

The 1974 Brazilian Dodge Charger was actually a Dodge Dart with a modified Charger front clip and swept back roof pillars. But it came with a 318 cubic inch V8 and was considered “the fastest car in Brazil”.

The Ford Falcon XB, built from 1973 to 1976, was a performance car made by Ford Australia. Under the hood was a 351 cubic inch V8.  A modified version of the 1973 car was driven by Mel Gibson in the 1976 movie “Mad Max”.

The Aston Martin DB5 was released in England during 1963. It came with a magnesium alloy body and an all aluminium engine. This car is famously featured in the 1964 James Bond movie “Goldfinger”.

351 Toyota 2000GT’s were built between 1967 and 1970.  It was Japan’s first supercar and a convertible version was used in the 1967 James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice”.

Enough about the cars…time to go racing.

So there you have it. The Hot Wheels 1969 Competition Pak.

It’s still fast. Still fun.

Box art – side.

Box art – end.

1969 Hot Wheels Collectors’ Catalogue. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

1969 Hot Wheels Collectors’ Catalogue. Close-up of Competition Pak. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

 

1969 Hot Wheels Talking Service Center

A filling station is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants for motor vehicles.

The most common fuels sold today are gasoline (“gasoline” or “gas” in the U.S. and Canada, generally “petrol” elsewhere), diesel fuel, and electric energy. A filling station that sells only electric energy is also known as a charging station.

A Tesla charging station.

Originally, filling stations were of the full-service variety. A service attendant would meet you at the pumps and take care of your automotive needs. He would fill your tank, check the oil, measure air pressure in your tires, clean the windshield, etc.

Chevron postcard from the 1950s. Courtesy eBay.

In the 1970s, two periods of gasoline shortages (1973 and 1979) caused higher fuel prices which in turn resulted in permanent closure of many full-service gas stations as consumers looked for price relief that came in the form of self-serve operations.

A pair of Mopar’s getting self serve.

In the U.S., a filling station that also offers services such as oil changes and mechanical repairs to automobiles is called a service station.

A classic service station on historic Route 66.

Until the 1970s the vast majority of gas stations were service stations.  Today, service centers are tied more to car dealerships than to gas pumps.

Entrance to a modern Service Center.

Work bays inside a modern service center.

The Talking Service Center is a Hot Wheels play set that goes back to 1969.  With this set kids are encouraged to “Drive ’em, Service ’em and Park ’em”.

Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.

Box art – top. Courtesy eBay.

Box art – back. Courtesy eBay.

Box art – bottom. Courtesy eBay.

Box art – side. Courtesy eBay.

The sides…

Front – courtesy eBay.

Close-up front. Courtesy eBay.

Close-up back. Courtesy eBay.

…unfold to reveal a drive through gas pump area on one side and drive-up ramps for the 3 levels on the other side.

The gas pumps side. Courtesy eBay.

Step 1: The track side folded up. Courtesy eBay.

Step 2: The track side unfolding. Courtesy eBay.

Step 3: The track side unfolded. Courtesy eBay.

The second level has 3 moulded lube racks for oil changes and servicing.  There is roof top parking on the third level.  And orange Hot Strip track can be attached to the third level.  That means cars can be launched from the roof and head out for the open road.

1969 Collectors’ Catalogue image. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

The unique feature of this play set is the talking function. Pulling the string cord on the side produces 10 different sound tracks.

1.  Now there’s a hot set of wheels.
2.  Wow! Your car’s a beauty.
3.  Out of gas?
4.  Check under the hood, sir?
5.  Lube and tune-ups on the second level, sir.
6.  Regular or super, sir?
7.  Fill ‘er up, sir?
8.  Sir, park on the third level, please.
9.  So, how fast does she go? vroom. vroom.
10. Vroom. vroom. She’s ready to race now.

Here’s a video showing the 1969 Hot Wheels Talking Service Center TV commercial. Courtesy Mark Roach.

So there you have it. The 1969 Hot Wheels Talking Service Center.  Where Hot Wheels stop, service and go.

It’s still fast. Still fun.

Alternate 1969 Collectors’ Catalogue page. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

Side view. Courtesy eBay.

Side view close-up. Courtesy eBay.

Close-up of the other side. Courtesy eBay.

Front cover of “The Fast Cars Book” published by Golden Shape in 1969 showing the Talking Service Center in action. Courtesy http://www.onlineredlineguide.com.

1969 Summary and Extra Pics

The track sets first released in 1969 are dominated by Super-Chargers.

1. The Double-Dare Race Action Set.

2. The Super-Charger Sprint Set.

3. The Super-Charger Double Action Set.

4. The Super-Charger Race Set.

5. The Super-Charger Rally ‘N Freeway Set.

6. The Super-Charger Grand Prix Race Set.

Here’s a video summary of the 1969 track sets that I documented on my YouTube channel.

Here are some extra pics for 1969.

Ready to go at the Double-Dare start.

1969 COPO Corvette flying around the Super-Charger Sprint Set.

Parked for lunch at the Super-Charger Double Action second floor restaurant.

Charging past the finish line on the Super-Charger Race Set.

100 laps on the Super-Charger Race Set is a long way to go.

The road is full on the Super-Charger Rally ‘N Freeway Set.

Super-Charger “Safe Driving Rules”. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

Front page – 1969 Hot Wheels Collectors’ Catalogue. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

Box art – back of a Full Curve Pak showing a Super-Charger “Over ‘N Under Freeway” layout. Courtesy eBay.

Comic book ad. 7 sets available in 1969. Courtesy eBay.

Box art – front of 2 Way Super-Charger. Courtesy eBay.

Box art – side of 2 Way Super-Charger. Courtesy eBay.

Box art – back of 2 Way Super-Charger. Courtesy eBay.

Hot Wheels in 1969.

Still fast. Still fun.

1969 Hot Wheels Super-Charger. Inner workings.

A few weeks ago, I went looking for a Hot Wheels Super-Charger.  Easiest place to find one?  It’s gotta be eBay.  Getting a good one?  How hard can it be?

A promising looking machine was listed for the reasonable price of $18 plus shipping. Seemed nice.  Hopefully it had been well looked after.  And the icing on the cake…the ad stated, “It works!”  Sweet.

When the Super-Charger arrived it looked like a good buy.  The stickers were in good condition, the housing was intact, and the battery area had it’s little door.  How good is that!

It looks good!

I put batteries in and fired it up.  Yup.  It worked as advertised.  But…the howling squeal from the electric drive motor was akin to finger nails on a chalk board.  Turn it off!  Turn it off!

Whew!  Peace and quiet.  That’s better.  I suspect there is no useful lubrication getting to the internal workings of the drive motor any more.

So…what do you do?  Send it back?  Shipping costs make that unreasonable.  A lot of times returns are not accepted.  Keep using it?  Maybe you get use to the racket after a while.  But how would you hear yourself think?  What about opening it up?  There is a video on YouTube of a Super-Charger that was opened, had a transformer installed, and now runs on plug-in electricity. It must be possible to look inside.

Turns out it is possible…but not advisable.  Mattel never meant for these things to be serviced.  Super-Chargers are sealed with glue around all the edges where the roof meets the walls.  A knowledgable person might know how to get inside without causing a lot of damage, but I don’t.  Working with a used dental pick and some thin wedges, I was able to, eventually, get the roof off.  But it wasn’t a clean job and the roof took a beating.

Still…the inside of a Super-Charger is now ready for inspection.  With the roof off, here’s what’s inside:

Let’s start with a closer look at the throttle and rheostat. The rheostat is a metal coil (looks like a fine thread screw).  When the throttle is moved, the metal slider attached to it also moves up and down the rheostat.  This changes electrical resistance and alters the amount of current reaching the electric motor.  As the throttle is moved to the “faster” mark, the metal slider moves closer to the electric motor, electricity has less distance to cover so resistance goes down, more current flows to the motor and the motor spins faster.

Throttle with attached metal arm to slide along the rheostat.

Rheostat attached to electric drive motor and it’s little drive wheel.

The little drive wheel in the foreground is running the two big wheels.

The big wheels with their foam covers propel the Hot Wheels car onto the track.

One big wheel out for a side view.

Both big wheels out.

Now everything is out. Only the battery housing in the foreground is left.

This little electric motor is running this big, old Super-Charger.

Out of the house and lined up.

Oiling the electric motor shaft helped, but it was still abnormal.

What was my final solution?

Admit defeat, write a blog, make a video and buy another one naturally.

Here’s my YouTube channel showing the inside of a running Super-Charger.

So…my next purchase came from North Tonawanda, New York.  Here it is:

And this time…success.  Great condition, starts right up, runs smooth, and no tired squealing components.  Booyah!

So there you have it.  The 1969 Hot Wheels Super-Charger.

It’s still fast!  Still fun!

From 1969 Collectors’ Catalogue. Copyright Mattel, Inc.

Box art – front.

Box art – back. The electric motor is “Made in Japan”. Everything else is “Made in the USA”.

Box art – side.

Box art – flap.

German Super-Charger: box art – front. Courtesy eBay.

German Super-Charger: box art – side. Courtesy eBay.

German Super-Charger: Box art – back. Courtesy eBay.