M2 Christmas Bundle

Just got this across the pond (with Super's help) regardless of the pandemic and all the hassles that entails

Wow, that takes me back to all the custom car and hot rod magazines of my youth! I remember when guys built cars and trucks like these and they weren’t luxury items that cost more that a house.

There’s so much here that it’s hard to know where to begin. Life long favorites I see here include the 49 Mercury, 56 Ford pickup and 67 Chevy Nova SS hardtop. I love those early-to-mid 50s Studebaker pickups and even that crazy 53 Ford Victoria limousine.

awesome, nigel!! i love the pez one. what an incredible haul.

I didn't know they sold such cars with alternative wheels and (what look to be) axles. Those would be great for building scratch built vehicles and not strictly repairs.

P.S., you might want to censor or clarify the first one to avoid misinterpretation (for those who don't know it's an exhaust brand). These are all excellent choices and I love the variety. Congrats on the purchase.

I guess I’ve been a car guy for so long that it wouldn’t have occurred to me that Hooker Headers might disturb somebody!

FWIW, the brand was started in the early 60s by Gary Hooker. When I was a wee lad a decade or so later, they were still considered an essential part of performance engine building. Headers are low-restriction exhaust manifolds that replace the stock manifolds. If you’ve ever seen a racing engine with a series of exhaust pipes snaking away from the sides, that’s what you’re looking at!

I’m sure the heart logo was intended to be a bit tongue in cheek but it has remained for nearly 60 years and is instantly identifiable to gear heads the world over.

And now, I’ll stop hijacking Nigel’s thread.

[Super]

These are great models Nigels and I know you have a huge collection of these type of vehicles. Do you know how many you have so far?

Ahhh...Hooker Headers...... bring back memories for me. Back then, early 70's, there were two types of Headers the cheaper kind and the 'Tuned' kind. The tuned kind were the best for Horsepower and sound because each pipe was exactly the same length and deflection so each cylinder had the same back pressure. I wanted the best for my go-fast car so I bought a set of Tuned Hooker Headers and with a couple of straight through Thrush Mufflers (brand name) gave the car a deep throaty sound that no modern cars can duplicate.

Forgive the picture as its a shame that the 50 year old pictures have started to fade. Wish they had Clear Plastic Laminates back then.

Thanks guys for all the info and interest.  I'd been getting the usual hot wheels stuff for years but it was only late last year I ran across the M2 Machines brand.  At that point I lost all interest in hot wheels and started collecting these.  I know they don't have such a wide range of castings as HW, but what they do have are superb with a level of detail on 1/64th scale cars that absolutely blow away most of the competition.  I know there are other brands which are good, but at this sort of price point these hold their own easily.

It also helps that I like the older cars from the 50's-70's so this range is perfect for me, favourites include the Mercury Coupe, Dodge Charger Daytona (yes I know there's none in this batch, but I got plenty already) and the Bel Air's etc...

The 'Auto Wheels' sets where you get the alternate wheel sets I think are superb, great for providing additional wheels for wheel swaps on other models.  It's amazing how often you get some quite nice castings from other companies which then have really poor quality wheels on them.  This is quite a cost effective way of getting spare sets for swaps

Finally the 'Hooker', I must admit although I know what else that can elude to it didn't occur to me that anyone might actually think it was advertising the oldest trade in the known world   That truck is awesome though being a 1/24th scale model with appropriate levels of extra detail on it.  Have to say the real thing I loved about it was the colour, just stunning model.

Other 1/24th's I've got since collecting include the following;

These are great models Nigels and I know you have a huge collection of these type of vehicles. Do you know how many you have so far?

Ahhh...Hooker Headers...... bring back memories for me. Back then, early 70's, there were two types of Headers the cheaper kind and the 'Tuned' kind. The tuned kind were the best for Horsepower and sound because each pipe was exactly the same length and deflection so each cylinder had the same back pressure. I wanted the best for my go-fast car so I bought a set of Tuned Hooker Headers and with a couple of straight through Thrush Mufflers (brand name) gave the car a deep throaty sound that no modern cars can duplicate.

Forgive the picture as its a shame that the 50 year old pictures have started to fade. Wish they had Clear Plastic Laminates back then.

Oh, I know exactly how many M2's I've got, I keep a spreadsheet so I don't end up duplicating models accidentally, although the odd one I may get 2 of if I really really like it

Nice car you got there Super, I've always wanted one like it, but frankly our roads are too congested and too narrow for the big old american muscle cars.  Add to that the current 'green agenda' and I doubt it will be possible to afford the fuel for any combustion engined car over here let alone a muscle car.  The current declared government aim is to ban the sales of all new combustion engined vehicles (except hybrids) by the year 2030, so that leaves us with 10 years to enjoy real cars that can drive more than 200 miles without needing a stop-over to recharge (I'm not including hybrids as I think they are the worst invention ever and new sales of which are due to be banned also I think by 2035).  At this time there seems no appetite for Hydrogen Fuel Cell cars which in my opinion is just stupid as they are greener than electric cars as they don't need lithium cells and the polution created by the manufacture of, and above all else can be re-fueled quickly to allow you to travel a good distance in a day.  So for now I'll stick with my dirty old Mercedes until they price me off the road...

Geez Nigels, that reminds me a of song!
“Down in barn, my uncle preserved for me an old machine, for fifty-odd years. To keep it as new has been his dearest dream”. Yep, this sudden obsession with the “Green Future” of 2030-2035 has me thinking Mad Max might be preferable!

Super, that’s a sweet ride! Tuned headers, cherry bombs or glass packs and a “rump rump bump stick” to make all go fast and sound awesome doing it!

I have to admit that, to this day, a 66 Chevy Nova hardtop with a tricked small block V8 (and modern Wildwood four wheel power disk brakes!) is a dream ride of mine. The folks I knew just a bit older than me were able to buy these cars used for fairly cheap prices and trick them out. Sadly, I saw a LOT of what are now high dollar vintage cars get trashed street racing and through general teenage male automotive carnage. My next door neighbors may have singled handedly created rarity in the today’s vintage Mopar market! Yes kids, modern, high performance brakes and suspension may not be all that sexy but it’s very necessary!