Racing Toward the Past

The year was 1968. The day was Christmas. The place was the garage of 1223 Woodlawn Circle, Denison Tx. One of the best Christmas presents ever was nailed to a 9 foot by four foot plywood board. The Eldon International 500 Race Set! I had seen the set that was set up at Sears, and now I had my own!

Now this thing was BIG (hence the huge hunk of ply) and featured a full banked curve. I ran the little Porsche and Ferrari like crazy over that track, and actually got pretty good at it. Times were good.

Unfortunately, when we moved to Garland, the set was taken down and never fully set up again. Eventually it sat in a closet and then went missing as so many bits of childhood do.

When I started collecting my old toys back, I put the set on my list. However, there was a problem. Although the set isn't particularly rare, finding a complete one that works can be tough. The biggest problem, however, is that, as I said before, this thing is HUGE. The boxed set weighs in at over ten pounds, which puts shipping in the 30.00 to 40.00 range.

Recently, however, a complete working set popped up on eBay. The clincher is that the seller lived just a few miles from my house! A few messages back and forth, a meeting at a gas station for "hand off," and I was once again the proud owner of the race set! Here are some pictures:

The box. They were proud of that banked turn. It actually did make it easier to drive fast around it!

This side shows the layout. When assembled, this set is very impressive!

The other side shows off the cars. Interestingly enough, these cars have different markings than the ones on the top.

Inside the box. The banked turn is on the right side. The lap counter track (with numbers 1 through 0) is in front. 

The cars. These actually do work. I tested them when I got home with a 9 volt battery. 

The Eldon controllers feature a "speedometer" built into the top. I'm about 99% sure that they aren't close to being accurate, but it's a fun feature anyway.

And on the side, we still have the Sears price tag! This set may have been a Sears exclusive. Santa was very generous!

I still haven't set it all up because I just don't have room...yet. However, someday soon I should have the cars screaming around the track again!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

A Bit of Luck from Old Denison, Texas

Today I'm going to share something that's actually my wife's. You see, I gave her this item several years ago as a gift, but since we live in the same house, we share the same attic, right? Before I show you the item, I'm going to give you a very, very quick (and very, very undetailed) history lesson.

In 1883 State National Bank opened in Denison, Texas. Denison was a rail hub, of course, and money was pretty much everywhere. The bank built a grand building in full Victorian glory on Main Street. This building lasted until 1970, when someone decided a marble box would be cooler. Here is a postcard that I found on line that shows the two buildings:

After...and before. I guess you can't tell which one I like better...

It was a sad day for a bank that, up until 1935 actually printed its own money! By the way, the box is still there, although the State National Bank is no more. I'm not claiming that tearing the old building down doomed the bank...but I'm not going to dismiss the idea either...

If only they had had a little bit more luck...like, maybe, THIS!

Yep, in 1958 State National Bank gave away aluminum key chains that held a shiny new 1958 penny! These were to celebrate 75 years of banking in Denison, and the "heads" side sports a four leaf clover, a horse shoe, and a wish bone in addition to the lucky penny!

I gave this to my wife for our seventh anniversary, since it was the "copper" anniversary, and she loves antiques. Also, the year is special as well.

So there you have it. She keeps it in her crystal ring box. Oh, and by the way, today is our 12th anniversary. Happy anniversary, Laurie!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Custom Customs...

When you collect tiny cars for a long time you may find that you have a whole lot of the same (very common) cars. They might come in a box that had something you wanted in it, or maybe they were priced at a garage sale for ten cents and....well, come on, TEN CENTS.

A few years ago I took three cars that I had tons of, some bondo, some super glue, some paint, and a Dremel tool and, in a fit of really weird creativity, made the following...

The first one was actually pretty tame. A quick wheel swap, jack up the back, slap a blower on the hood and there ya go!

The second one was pretty conservative too, in a way. However, it did take more work. I took two 1957 Chevys and cut them in half....Well, not exactly in half. I was going for the stretch limo look...

Which brings us to this...thing. what do you do with the other parts after you make a limo? Glue 'em together into a '57 Chevy Super Short! I actually like this one the best!

I soon got tired of chopping up Hot Wheels so these were the only ones I did. Still, it's kind of fun to have them around.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Testing- One, Two, Three...

This week I'm going to feature an item that really has no practical purpose any more, but I still think is just plain cool. I was at an auction in Denison, Tx a few years ago, and I picked up this...

This is the Aiwa TP-31 portable tape recorder from around 1968! Here she is without the cover...

The TP-31 is a very small unit that was made for recording on the go. Heck, it doesn't even have an external power jack. Power comes from two C cells and one 9 volt. And this unit is very, very hungry. Batteries don't last long.

Oh yes, it works. On the tape is a kid from the 60s or 70s singing....something. Obviously, they were playing around. Here is what they used to record...

Yep, it's not exactly high tech, but it does have an "On/Off" switch. So....there's that.

So why do I think this silly thing is so cool? After all, you can do everything it does (plus a whole lot more) with your smart phone. Heck, I'm writing this on my phone right now! Still, I have a feeling smart phones are never gonna have the same kind of "cool" these little reel to reels have.

For one thing, there is Mission Impossible. Not the retooled, slick, Hollywood, Tom Cruise movie- but the original 1960s masterpiece that always featured a tape burning away after presenting the mission; "...should you choose to accept it."

Also, there were these guys...

That's Bob Andrews and Jupiter Jones, two of the Three Investigators. Oh, look what Bob has in his right hand! Obviously, these things are cooooooooool! Add to all of that the fact that I had a similar unit when I was a kid, well I just had to have it!

By the way, Aiwa is still around. Here is my amp for my office stereo...

And what about getting a really nice reel to reel for listening to music? Well, it turns out I recently got that covered too...

Extremely cool, but in a very different way. You're not going to catch bad guys with that unit (although you can listen to tapes in quad...and that is just... so... cool)!

So there you go. Why do I need that little recorder? I don't. But I have it, and I like it, and I guess that's what matters.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Building a Garage...

This week we're going to give the Hot Wheels a little rest and look at the estate sale find from a couple of weeks ago. This car was one of three that I bought for 50 cents each. The other two ended up being worth about 10 bucks each...this one was over 20 times that!

So, how do you display a car that valuable? Well, you don't have it in a cardboard box with a bunch of other cars (which was how I found it). You need a display that says "I'm something special!" However, I also didn't want to spend a fortune on it. Hobby Lobby came to the rescue!

Step one: buy a pretty cool Camaro by M2. Use your 40% off coupon!

Out of the cardboard box, you can see what I was really after a little better. Although the car is cool, I bought it for the case!

As you can see, there is even a place for the name of the car!

A little time with the ol' printer and the M.G. has a new home! Easy as pie!

And there you have it! It's now happily on my mantel. Don't worry about the Camaro. It's also happy...on my bookcase...without a case...

So there you have it! A bargain displayed in a bargain! Never underestimate the value of being cheap!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

1971 Goes on....

Here are the next three! We're getting very close to a "problem area" in the collection, but we'll whistle past the graveyard and bravely go on!

I had the Jet Threat when I was a kid. Who wouldn't want a car that's 75% jet engine? It has a hatch in the middle that opens to expose an orange turbine. Do jet engines really have those? Heck, I don't know, but it's cool anyway!

This is the Mongoose II. The Mongoose I was red. This is blue. So now you know...

While we're on the subject of Mongooses (Mongoosi?), this is the Mongoose Rail Dragster. The clear "wheelie wheels" in the back work, since there is a weight in the rear that can make this car pop a wheelie when a hook is engaged. Interestly enough, although it is considered a "redline" car, it doesn't actually have redline wheels. There is also a version of this car that has clear front wheels. Whew, that's a lot of info...

So there you have it for this week! If you want to see all of my cars in my 1968, 1969, and 1970 collections, you can look back through earlier Stu's Attic posts.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

1971...The Next Three

Ah, you thought after last week I had forgotten about those 1971 Hot Wheels...WRONG! They're baaaaaack!

This week we have the next three in the series. Let's take a look, shall we?

First we have the Hairy Hauler. The cool thing about this car is that the whole front of the car tilts forward to allow the driver to get in. 

Then we have The Hood. It features a small black plastic convertable top that extends over the seats. It's closed in this picture...

Finally, the star of the show...The Ice T! This car features a black tailgate in the back that lowers to show two clear plastic "ice cubes." Very cool...literally!

Well, there you have it. We still have plenty more 1971s to go, even though the year isn't complete.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!