Hot Wheels redlines. Kid approved.

My 13-year-old son hated trudging through flea markets and antique malls. Unfortunately for him, his mother and I enjoy going to places like that. A couple years back, someone gave the kid a Custom Barracuda Hot Wheels car at a garage sale. The Barracuda was one of the original 16 redline castings introduced in 1968. He did a little research, and found out how collectible a Hot Wheels redline can be. Now, our junking excursions are a little more tolerable for him. If we run across an interesting car that doesn’t cost a fortune (usually 12-bucks or less), we’ll grab it for him. You can be sure that he pays a lot more attention to what he’s looking at. The residual effect is that he’s amassed a nice little collection of Hot Wheels redline beaters. Last weekend, he helped me stage some photos of the cars in his collection so I could put a story together. These things are always more fun with an assistant.

2nd-Annual Auto Fair at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville brought hot rods to the high banks

Once a month, there is a big flea market at the Nashville Fairgrounds. We went to that on Saturday, and it really is enormous. But just as we thought we couldn’t take another step, it was time to pass through the gate of the Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, where they were holding Auto Fair, a car show, swap meet, and track day for local enthusiasts. Morning rains and hot, humid conditions probably kept some participants at home, but those that were there seemed to be having a good time in the pits of the historic speed plant.

Shopping for vintage car toys and models in Wichita

If you’re into vintage car collectables, the Internet is a blessing and a curse.  On the plus side, someone will eventually offer anything you could possibly want up for sale no matter how rare it is.  But the likelihood that you’ll stumble upon a bargain is pretty remote.  And it really takes away from the fun of scrounging around to find that hidden treasure.  That’s why sometimes you need to get offline and check out the real world.  We did that last weekend when we stopped at the huge Mid-America Flea Market at the Kansas Coliseum and the Paramount Antique Mall in Wichita, Kan.  I found hundreds of interesting car models, toys, parts, and more. 

Ararat Shriners continue Kansas City swap meet tradition at the Antique Fairgrounds

For as long as I’ve lived in the Kansas City area, there has been a tradition of annual automotive swap meets, and the biggest ones are usually hosted by the Ararat Shriners.  They have been held everywhere from the Crown Center parking garages, to the Woodlands, to Worlds of Fun.  There were two such events this year, and the last one was at their new location in the Antique Show Grounds in Lathrop, Mo.  This venue is a little out of the way (especially with the road construction on I-35 north of Liberty—ugh!), but once you get there, the trip is worth it.