Auto collectibles and paraphernalia...

fintail

It's not particularly rare, but it is popular. A decent enough looking example with some chips can probably be found for no more than $30 or so. A mint/boxed example won't go for under $100 though, $125-150 being a normal range. It is also an odd casting susceptible to handling wear, hard to find one without a rub or pin prick at the line at the top of the windows.

The American cars made before 1963 or so are among the more expensive non-rare variety period Matchbox. The T-Bird, 59 Ford, 59 Chevy, and 60 Pontiac all can easily cross the $100 mark when mint in box. The more boring looking 56 Ford isn't far off.

fintail

Recent acquisitions, both bargains:

Matchbox #10 Foden Sugar Container. Issued late 1960, this model is an early one as the box type seen behind it was changed in 1961,and this box is tough to find. Had some superdetailing that I mostly removed, got it for the price of an unboxed model:



Matchbox #27 Bedford Low Loader, issued in 1956. This is a tiny model, truck and trailer total just about 3" long, it is very delicate and finely cast. I already have it boxed, but found a bargain buy it now price, and with the Groupon $15 for $7 ebay certificate, got it for just over $10 delivered. Near mint, just a couple tiny chips:

fintail

Scored another little collection:

lemko

What is the pink car in the cent next to the two boats? Is that an Opel Kapitan? I imagine the blue car all the way to the right is a Ford Anglia.

fintail

It's a 1958 Vauxhall Cresta, PA series - probably the most American style British car ever:





Sadly, it is one of the most playworn cars in the lot. It is a very sought after model, too. The car at right is a 105E Anglia, exactly, the box dating the model to 1961 production.

Mr_Shiftright

It looks Packard-y/Hudson-y, with just a dollop of Mopar, kinda sorta. :P

fintail

And it's a GM product...go figure.

uplanderguy

The rear-end looks like a '60 Mercury to me.

stever

I don't collect auto stuff, but for $2, I figured what the hey.

fintail

I recently found another "American car" old Matchbox, the 1959 Ford wagon, issued in 1960:

uplanderguy

Very, very nice! I've never seen that one before, but then I got into them more in the mid'60's. I was a weird kid, but even then my Studebaker Wagonaire Matchbox, with the hunter and dog, was my favorite.

fintail

It's a relatively uncommon car, especially in that style box. It was discontinued in 1964. The Studebaker is from a couple years later, and is newer than what I collect, but it is a neat car.

I got the Ford out of a local collection week before last - got a couple dozen other cars, spent what will be most of my yearly toy budget, but I got some rarities. The owner had one of the other American cars I want, the 59 Impala hardtop, but he knew what he had - sold it on ebay for about $150, I gave him advice on how to sell his inherited collection. The earlier models are appreciating better than many other collectibles or investments, quality items have doubled in price over the past 5 years.

fintail

One for Lemko...

Testing out my camera after a warranty repair, snapped a pic of one of my latest finds. A 1976 issue Tomica (Tomy) Cadillac Fleetwood, the company who sold "Pocket Cars" back in the day. I bought this last week in an assortment of mint period diecast for barely more than $1 apiece. This is a wonderfully accurate casting, especially for its small 1:77 scale. The whitewall tires are an extremely rare variant and an expert I showed it to doesn't know what it is, but it is likely some special Japanese issue. I'll get better pics later:



I also have similar models of a Continental Mk IV and a Toronado XS that will get pics.

lemko

Wow! That is super cool! I once owned a 1975 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. The detailing on that diecast is pretty good, especially for the time. Note the "Fleetwood" script on the front fender.

fintail

It's really a lovely little model, and I knew you would get a kick out of it. I found an empty box for it, here are some better pics:









One cool thing about these Tomica models is that the steering wheels are usually the correct shape - uncommon on a cheap small scale car:



And the other American cars I found with this - first the Toronado:







And the Lincoln:







They also made afew other American models - a Cadillac ambulance, a Mustang II, a bustleback Seville, and a Pacer...I am probably going to want to find them all.

lemko

Heck, even the box art looks good for that Fleetwood!

fintail

It's a good representation. Found the box for about $5+ shipping, car was $1.50, not a bad acquisition.

fintail

Found this in a junk pile at a yard sale yesterday. Japanese tinplate friction 1958 Corvette, made by Yonezawa. I first saw it and thought it was a modern copy, but looked it over and knew it was real. Far from perfect condition - needs windshield and steering wheel, but has almost zero rust and the colors are bright and nice. Still has considerable value, not bad for $1.

0patience

Now that's a find. Those can go from $250-up. I've seen them as high as $1,000 with the box.
You mostly only see the blue ones, so the red may be one that might be more desirable. Nice find.
When I find stuff like that, it is so far gone, it's hardly worth messing with.

fintail

I searched ebay and saw one that looked worse than mine sold for $100 or something not long ago. Not too shabby. I am thinking of fabricating some windshield glass for it, don't know what I will do about the steering wheel though. When I have $1 into it, I am not rushing to sell it, although eventually I probably will as I prefer smaller diecast cars or toy fintails.

berri

I've been looking for a model of a 69 Cutlass coupe with no luck. Anyone got any ideas? Thanks

fintail

I am certain there are some 1:18 models of 442s and similar, and probably ~1:64 diecast too, but if you seek a standard Cutlass with no muscle trim, it might be hard to find. More "normal" cars make it into scale modern form pretty infrequently, but a maker called "Neo" has been making a lot of odd stuff lately.

uplanderguy

Geez, great find fintail! Pretty cool.

uplanderguy

Speaking of collectibles, anybody going to Hershey? I'm driving out tomorrow and staying with a buddy in his motorhome there. Just curious...I know it's impossible to run into anybody there!

lemko

Andre1969, grbeck, and I are planning on being there.

uplanderguy

If I see three characters looking at late '70's/early '80's full-size GM's and Mopars in the Car Corral, and one of you are tall, I'll know it's you guys!

uplanderguy

If you see a short, balding guy with a big gut, that's me. Wait, that'll be half the entire place! I'll be wearing a bright blue jacket that says "Ohio Region Studebaker Drivers' Club" on the back. I know there's never much Stude stuff at Hershey, but it's fun for me anyway. I'm able to enjoy looking at most anything '50's through '70's (except Nashes!).

fintail

I recently finally found a good example of the Matchbox 1959 Impala, which was introduced in 1961. I wanted one in the early style box, which this is - a box only made in 1961. It is one of the most popular, and really lovely, models of the period - very well proportioned, and the colors are beautiful. I found it for under $100, which is no easy feat these days:

uplanderguy

Nice find. That's one I have never seen before, but then I didn't get into Matchbox cars for a few years after 1961.

stever

I'd appreciate it more if a red one wasn't in my family in the 70s. What a dog of a beast. :P

fintail

Finally got ahold of another American car Matchbox I had wanted for awhile, the squarebird, issued in 1960:





Fairly hard to find in this condition

lemko

Wow, nice! I didn't even know Matchbox had one! What other 1950s era American cars did Matchbox issue? I really want one of those 1958 Cadillacs! Did they ever issue a Buick?

fintail

No Buicks that I can recall. Really, I think I have shown all of the 50s American cars...maybe I'll get them all together for a group shot. There was a model of a 60 Pontiac that I want - I have a later black wheel release but I want one of the early silver or grey wheel variants. There was also a 61 Ford police car that I don't have. They made many 60s American cars - I recently got an empty box for the 63-64 Pontiac GP 2 door HT, but the car is newer than what I collect so it will eventually be traded or sold.

Other British and European makers made numerous American cars too.

boomchek

He's only two but we started off with the most common and newest matchbox and hotwheels cars. Plus he's got my 1:24 BBuragos too. And it gives me a reason to play with my old toy cars again

fintail

I think I see some older Majorette in there. The early series Bburago cars are just becoming collectible now.

boomchek

There are three: one is a black Cadillac limo not in the picture, 1:64 scale, with all 4 opening doors and a sliding opening sunroof, the other a white Toyota Van sitting 8 rows back, 8 spots deep to the right. I remember the day I got it too when I was 9, back in Italy in a corner store a block away from where we lived. The third is a black Countach that's very well done, with doors that popped up, opening hood, rubber tires. Sitting about 6 rows back one car in.

There are a few hot wheels in there too, maybe about 25-30, the rest all Matchbox.

When I was in my early 20s (late 90s) I went on a toy car shopping spree for about a year, buying nearly every Matchbox out that year, and some really old ones at flea markets and swap meets.

fintail

I spotted that van, I remember I had that one too, it was blue and I think maybe I had a pink one as well. Majorette also made a realistic period Ford Transit van with a sliding door during that era. I recognize the Matchbox MB in the pic as well.

I've been working on my collection of vintage Matchbox lately, no entire collection pics as most are boxed cars and on a boring shelf,

But here's a neat fantasy display I got on ebay to hold some loose mint models...these are all from the late 50s and early 60s, pic is too big for the old timey constraints here.

stever

A reporter is interested in talking with people who collect hood ornaments. To share your story, please email pr@edmunds.com no later than December 15, 2011. Please include your daytime contact information and a few words about your collection.

I don't suppose one ornament counts as a collection, but here's mine:

fintail

Another early Matchbox, #31, the "American Ford Station Wagon", issued in 1957. It's a 1956 car, but as the models were still primitive then, it lacks windows and a wraparound windshield. This model was made until early 1960 when it was replaced with the 1959 style model I posted earlier.

uplanderguy

I'd never seen those Fords. '56 Fords are my favorite real Fords, followed by '58's (I know, nobody else does) and '61's.

omarman

The problem with diecast toys for me is that there's not enough detail or attention to the basic lines of the car that they were modeled after. Here's Lee Iacocca's 1956 Ford Mainline for $56:

As for '58 Fords, do you like the '58 T-Bird too? I've read that the '58 Ford lineup was styled to identify itself as the "Thunderbird family."

lemko

That Mainline is wearing wheelcovers from a 1971-72 full-size Ford.

berri

That's kind of interesting Uplander. Two very conservative designs sandwiching a rather flambouyant one. When I was young I always heard that the 58 Ford's were problematic, but I don't really know. I'm certainly not criticizing here because I'm a fan of 59 Chevy's which are a much unloved car too!

uplanderguy

I'm not at all a fan of '58 Thunderbirds, although I see the similarities up-front, mostly, with the regular Ford line that year. I think the wheelbase on the T-Bird is too short, which IMHO gives it awkward proportions. I also think that for '58-63 T-Birds, Ford went to lengths to actually make the car resemble a bird with its wings tucked under at the sides. Don't really like those years at all.

Now, '59 Chevys...they've been seen so many times over the years, what would be an awkward design for anyone else seems almost normal now! My take is, why get a '60? If you're going for one of those two years, get the original--the '59! Among big Chevys, the '61 and '65 are my favorites.

fintail

To be fair, those toys are just that, toys - cost 39 cents new and were aimed at kids, not meant to be precise scale models, and they were made with old tech. I think they are actually pretty realistic for small metal cars - no others of that size (roughly 1:60) and era (1955-60) were better. By 1960 the cars got windows and finer detailing.

lemko

See how crude diecast cars could be back in the day. Some of these diecasts barely resemble the cars they're supposed to be:

Retro Rockets

fintail

I've seen those on ebay before, I think they are still fairly inexpensive. Man, that paint quality, hard to believe "made in Japan" meant something like that once :shades:

omarman

There have been many posts in other topics about the strange nexus of car styling for just about everything on wheels in 1958. Ford in particular was falling on the sword with both the Edsel brand and the "Thunderbird family" styling of the Ford lineup that year. It's got to be tough for a toy maker to capture the beauty or the beast in car styles when dealing with small scale size and price point.

I've always liked the '58 Corvette despite the jukebox trim and chrome. It was the first "muscle car" looking Corvette with a bigger cockpit, gauges in front of the driver, a 4-speed option all year long, etc. My brother in law bought a '58 Vette in the late 60s with the 283 dual 4bbl engine. He sold it for used-car-money ($1,500) in '74.

Re: 1959 Chevy
They were real attention getters and I still like them. A year later the Ford Starliner came out with tail end styling that seemed to borrow too much from that Chevy.

berri

1961 was a good year for GM styling. The big Pontiac was my favorite. I liked all of the big Chevy's during that period. The 61 was a stunner when it came out. The 62 was very simple and elegant, but some criticize it as so clean as to be somewhat invisible. The 63 was very popular. Some didn't like the change from bubbletop to a more formal coupe roofline, but I liked it. However, I prefered the big Ford that year. 64 was probably my least favorite of that era, although still decent. I thought the styling was a bit heavy and still preferred the Ford. The 65 was my favorite. I think they stepped backwards with the 66 update. I thought it was too squared off in the front and I didn't care for the back end either. But I liked the 67 including the extended fastback coupe that seemed to either be a like or hate affair.

lemko

I love the 1961 Chevrolet and I can be a bit biased as it is the very first car I can remember as my Dad had a 1961 Biscayne two-door sedan when I was a very young child. Even that "plain jane" 6-cylinder sedan was a sharp car. Unlike most Biscaynes of the time, Dad's car had whitewall tires and full-wheel discs that really dressed it up.