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 Posted - July 06 2011 : 7:47:52 PM
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This is off-topic, but I know several of you are into cars. Can anybody identify this one? I picked it up for 75 cents at a garage sale a couple weeks ago:
It has a semi-circular notch on each side, and an extra set of wheels on the rear axle. Maybe it was attached to something?
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Posted - July 06 2011 : 8:08:34 PM
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Looks to me like something made in the 1950s 
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Posted - July 06 2011 : 9:04:15 PM
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| That's the thing...it looks old, but I don't know if it is.
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Posted - July 08 2011 : 07:23:58 AM
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quote:That's the thing...it looks old, but I don't know if it is.
Originally posted by burlington77Â -Â July 06 2011Â :Â 9:04:15 PM
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Well, you can generally go by patina if nothing else. This one has metal axles with flattened ends out the sides, and they're rusty. NO toy manufactured today would pass a safety certification with both those criteria! So you can safely assume that this is indeed an old toy, albeit in wonderful condition, probably never played with. Are the tires rubber, or hard plastic? Another indication, as all vehicles now pretty much use plastic molded wheels, not solid rubber. And no modern toy maker would produce, unless it is a reproduction, of something from the '40's in streamlined form. I think you found a wonderful old metal toy from the '50's that is just extremely good shape for it's age. can't tell whether japanese made or not, but the metal looks thick, and they did tinplate, not solid metal like this appears to be in the photos. steel was scarce after the war, and this looks like aluminum, some toys were produced with this material since it was more available, until steel began being allowed back into non-war production uses. Probably a cheaply-made American toy car right after the war. Nice score!
Jerry
old car nut
'70s AMCs, '55-57 Chevy cars and trucks, oddballs, etc.
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
Edited by - AMC_Gremlin_GT on July 08 2011 07:26:58 AM
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Posted - July 08 2011 : 08:06:21 AM
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i have studied this car since i noticed the posting,the 2 extra wheels on rear axle look smaller than rest,and look like guides for something,would have said the holes on side had some play in this but are partially blocked by rubber tyres, aluminium seems to be what its made with,got to have been made by a toy company as its a pressing/mould made model,to good for a one off,so who,i like jerry think us toy firm just at end of war,48 to mid 50s is my guess,any ideas what car its supposed to be,might be way forward,ken
50/1 mercury
tootsie toy/midgetoy
Edited by - catfordken on July 08 2011 11:26:27 AM
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Posted - July 08 2011 : 11:47:54 AM
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My bright idea is that you take a rubber band; using a half hitch, you put it around the axle, between those two inboard "wheels". Then you take the rest of the band and loop it over each of the little half moon cutouts on the sides. Then, you pull it backwards to wind up the rubber band and let her go.
But it appears that the actual wheels may be in the way for this to work correctly.
Randy
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Posted - July 08 2011 : 7:48:52 PM
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I like the rubber band idea, but I haven't figured out how to make it work yet. I'll keep at it.
I think I'm hesitant because it came from what appeared to be a former antique dealer's case. The dealers around here like to rip people off by passing off new fakes as vintage items. They'll go as far as to get new reproduction tin toys, scrape, sand, and abuse them, bury them for a while, then sell them as old.
Those inner wheels also throw me. I can't quite figure them out.
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