Part 2 of my "Hidden In the Hot Wheels" cars. These are real replica race cars found within the common .99 cent retail releases. Without a knowledge of the real car or their history, many might not ever realize these represent real racers. I enjoy posting these on the Hot Wheels and custom boards of my favorite three hang outs. I hope you enjoy the cars, custom touches and history.

While they are cool on their own, I can't help but add a little paint and decal detail as well as wheel and tire swaps. I have really enjoyed looking for these lately. Several more are already on deck.

This week it's the 1961 Ferrari F156 Shark Nose F1 casting. This car carries a ton of history, as this represents the car of PHIL HILL. Phil was the first American (and one of only two) to ever win the world championship in F1.

The Ferrari Shark Nose ( the name derived from the distinctive radiator openings in the front) was an amazing car with it's 190 hp, 120 degree V6 power plant being developed far ahead of it's competitors with the smaller displacement rules introduced for the'61 season.

While Phil, along with team mate Wolfgang Von Trips (Killed at Monza of that year) wore several numbers in the '61 season, the #2 is considered the definitive number representing his 1961 championship season.

We just lost Phil in August of '08 at the age of 81. He was still racing well into his 70's! Also, we have lost the Ferrari F156 as well. Not one single original car has survived. There is a re-creation on the historic scene, even driven by Phil at the recent Goodwood events, but no original cars remain. So with this release, HOT WHEELS pays a wonderful tribute to both these legends... gone but not forgotten.

As for the custom work, a lot of little detail and correct tires and wheels...Thanks for the look and I hope you will find a new appreciation for this "common" casting! Enjoy.

Ward

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y255/WilsonRacePhotos/Wilson%20Customs/DSCN1122.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y255/WilsonRacePhotos/Wilson%20Customs/DSCN1117.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y255/WilsonRacePhotos/Wilson%20Customs/DSCN1072.jpg

Nice work, Ward.

Thank you for the info on that Ward, I'm not big into Ferrari's, but I loved that car when I found it and bought 2 so I could do what you did. Where did you get the wheels for it?

Thanks guys, the wheels came off a 100% release 1934 Ford Convertible. Here is a link to one on ebay (not my auction) so you can see where they came from.

http://cgi.ebay.com/100-HOT-WHEELS-1934-Ford-Convertible-Cool-Collectibles_W0QQitemZ140300346602QQcmdZViewItemQQ ptZDiecast_Vehicles?hash=item140300346602&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A15%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Great job, it definitely is a great casting:)

Nice work Ward. Thanks for the history lesson too.

A great custom, informative read. Cool post!
So thats where the wheels and tires went... :thumbsup:

Great looking custom and history, Ward. Is there a before picture of this casting as it came from Hot Wheels? So we can more fully appreciate your "little details" as you so humbly describe them.

I would like a before pic as well. Just to compare.
Thanks for the bay link also. I need a new windshield. Thats a tough one to remove!

A great custom, informative read. Cool post!
So thats where the wheels and tires went... :thumbsup:

:p yep...now you know the rest of the story!

I will pick up a before from the local flea market and grab a pic.

Awesomeness! If you made one person apprieciate old race/automtive history, you have done your job.
I missed Part 1 of your series, what car did you feature? I can't find the thread.
The Hot Wheels 250 LM is another automotive masterpiece rendered by the mighty Mattel company as you know. I will look foward to a piece on that car if you happen to do so. I won't post pics of the ones I did work on in this thread incase you wanna honor this car yourself.

Awesomeness! If you made one person apprieciate old race/automtive history, you have done your job.
I missed Part 1 of your series, what car did you feature? I can't find the thread.

Thanks Lummox, the history is a big part of the fun for me. I bumped the other thread back to the front, it is Part 1 of thise series. It says Panoz in the subject line.

I'm all about the realistic look of customs and your doing a killer job doing so. Keep them coming or maybe even make 2 of each and send one to me everytime you finish one.:dude:

I love the old racers. Plus im a huge old ferrari fan. Is this a HW cast? Its very nicely done btw.

Thanks guys, and yep, it's the HW casting.

I was in DC this week end and just about missed this one. Very nice.... Replications are the reason I started this. Over the years HW's has documented many landmarks in world cup auto events. Oddly I've never done anything with the "Shark Nose" though I have several I could work with.

The oddest two replications I've seen, and greatly appreciate, were the Cunningham and the 100/M Austin-Healey.

When I opened my import car shop in 1973 I painted the Cunninghams in the pits at LeMans on the back wall. Imagine my surprise when 30+ years later HWs comes out with one. I immediately made a C4RK out of one. The 100/4 not the 3000 has always been my favorite car of all time. I've actually got enough stored to make a real one but I've never got the money and the time; at the same time. Cool choice to cast IMO.

Some more landmarks I've worked were the FORD MKIV, McLaren M6A, LolaGT70, (Made a Donahue T70 out of a GT.) FORD J-Car, D Type Jag, 3 different Chaparals (Don't get me started on how much I wish they's finish that series out.) FORD GT-40, Ferrari's out the ying yang. The list could make up a thread itself.

Thanks for the info. Disapointing to find none still survive.