Well, you knew this was coming! One Saturday when the weather was clear, I loaded up with provisions and made the 120 mile trek out to that little shop I found a few weeks ago to pick up some more T-jets! And no surprise, some other treasure hunter had found the stash too, and dropped a cool $2,000 there in between my 2 visits, bearing off some of the jewels I had gone back hoping to procure, including the rare green Maserati 3500GT that I almost took away on that first visit! Coulda shoulda woulda-story of my life! But there was still enough left that I was able to come back with a dozen new toys, a mixture of some Aurora originals, some MEV creations, and some good reproductions that are now collector’s items in their own right!
Here’s a look what I took away in the ore cart from my 2nd trip to “Aladdin’s Cave:”
Model Motoring
1940 Lincoln Continental:
One of only a few “classics” from the original Aurora years, a model of a car that wasn’t even 25 years old when the toy was made! There were several to choose from; this gray version was my pick as the most “stately” color.
Model Motoring
1962 Ford Galaxie
This would have originally been a vibrator, but when I bought it, it was already converted to a T-Jet 500, saving me the trouble; a “value add!” Though tan is not a collector favorite, finding it with a white top and red seats is rare!
Model Motoring
1963 Ford Galaxie convertible
An excellent companion to the turquoise hardtop I got on my first visit!
MEV Originals
1957 Oldsmobile Super 88
One of the most beautiful cars of the ’50’s! What a tragedy that so few of the real thing have survived.
MEV Originals
1957 Pontiac Star Chief
Another of “The General’s” unbroken string of home runs from the best decade since time began
MEV Originals
1959 Buick Electra
Another of my favorite cars of the fabulous ’50’s; I’m almost certain this was molded from the hard-to-find Husky die-cast model.
MEV Originals
1959 Buick LeSabre wagon
Yep, I like ’59 Bu-fords so much I bought two, because if a 2-door hardtop is cool, a wagon is even cooler!
RRR (?)
1969-ish Dodge Charger
No, this is not the uber-rare Model Motoring original in orange that I just saw sell on “the bay” for almost $700; it is a reproduction which I believe is an early effort from Road Race Replicas…can anyone confirm? It may be cliche, but a “Stars N’ Bars” decal on the roof seems like an inevitable addition to this one!
Maker unknown
1967 Ford Galaxie 500XL fastback
This one is a mystery: it appears to be a copy but its an excellent one, so good it looks exactly like the Aurora original, but I know the original was never made in metallic orange. There is a large letter “R” molded into the plastic on the underside of the hood; a maker’s mark, but whose?
Model Motoring
1955 Chevy Bel-Air
I was shocked-shocked, I tell you!-when I saw this, because I had no idea it existed! I have 2 excellent copies of MM’s ’55 BA 2 door see-dan, but apparently sometime around 2000 they released this gorgeous hardtop version in 2-tone India Ivory over Nassau Blue. It was too beautful to pass up-not to mention the awesome white walls appear to be Super Tires, but I’ve never seen ST whitewalls for sale!
Nu-Rora (aka RRR)
1969 Mustang Mach 1
The second copy I have acquired of this early body from Road Race Replicas released under the pseudonym “Nu-Rora.” Any version of this is hard to find and expensive, all the more so in “Grabber Orange.” Its a perfect bookend for my teal one.
Model Motoring Maserati 3500GT
This tan version was the best I could do since the super rare green one got bought out from under me. Its not my favorite color but I am very fond of this model, and its in near mint condition on a near mint original chassis, so I couldn’t pass it up!
A full night of disassembly, oiling, tuning, adjusting and testing ensued, including replacing a few bad parts, installing some better tires, and dealing with one particularly stubborn chassis that I can’t get to run right to save my life. There’s a big variance in performance too, with some of these running very fast while other are slow-pokes, though there’s plenty to be done about that if I choose too. Obviously it made sense to put the faster chassis on the sports cars and muscle cars, since I’m content to let the ’40 Lincoln and the pair of ’59 Buicks lope along just like the real things would.
Well as you can clearly see, there’s a lot more fun ahead for the “H.O. Highway” and these motorists best watch out for construction zones, because the next step is delving back into my big box of old Tyco track and undergoing a highway expansion! Stay tuned for more exciting details, coming soon!
Wow wow wow! What a haul! I’m sorry to hear that someone bought some of the models you wanted but you still procured some amazing ones! I to am shocked by that beautiful 55 Chevy and and am speechless at those TWO 59 Buick’s especially the wagon. You positively absolutely had to get those and honestly, your right, it doesn’t matter how fast they go, they look great at any speed!