My Hot Wheels Redline Alive 55 Lemon Yellow Chevy Nomad

For over two years I had this Hot Wheel on my Ebay queue. But I never had the chutzpah to make an offer I thought the seller would accept. In that two years I probably only saw a handful even close to it sell. For some reason I really wanted this one.

When I was in single digits my friend Brad down the street had the best Hot Wheels collection on any kid in town. We didn't so much play with his Hot Wheels as we gave audience to them. Sure, me and my brother had many Hot Wheels, but we had a nasty habit of actually playing with them. And they often met tragic ends. Many an avalanche of boulders claimed one of our even most prized Hot Wheels.

Because they were only a dollar. Less than a dollar. You got them on your birthday. You always got one for gift exchange at school. They weren't considered special or something to be treasured. They were toys to be played with.

Little did I know somewhere out there were many kids like Brad who thought differently about their Hot Wheels. I thank them now for being such good curators of these cultural artifacts.

The first day we got our baseball mitts my brother and I were out the door and didn't have much time for any toys after that. But a few years ago I just had this desire to start collecting redline Hot Wheels.

Lemon yellow Hot Wheels Alive 55 redline

All Alive 55's were made in Hong Kong. 

Auguest 12, 2026 update: This was the last Hot wheel I sold on Ebay when I let go of the collection. 

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My Next Two Hot Wheels

My Hot wheels collection is coming along slowly. After seven years of collecting I have 35 Hot Wheels. The next two I want are tricky ones, but fun. 

The Beach Bomb was a second year (1969) addition to the Hot Wheels line. Originally they had a rear loading surf board, but this made the Hot Wheel too narrow to go through the power station on the tracks, so they widened it and put the surf boards on the side. It's one of the coolest and most collected Hot Wheels. I'm seeking one in copper, but I wouldn't pass up one in brown like this. Every year we go to The Pec Thing and this one collector has the same Beach Bomb for sale, and it's nice, and I almost buy it, but since I'm taking my collection so slow I'll just hold out for exactly the one I want. I'd actually prefer one with some of the Hippie or Champion spark plugs or Hot Wheels decals that came along with these when they were released. I'll know it when I see it, and overpay. 

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The Spectraflame paint of the first five years of Hot Wheels was awesome. Nothing compares. But some of the enamel Hot Wheels, like this lemon yellow Alive 55 were almost equally striking. We beat the heck out of these station wagons when we got them as kids because we saw them in the demolition derby, so naturally we considered them beaters. This particular one will now run you about $250 in near mint condition. I probably had for or five of these that I destroyed. In fact, this is an actual Alive 55 I'd like to buy, but the asking price is about double what I think it's worth. This is the color I want, but I would also like an orange one. This car from 1973 is just magnificent, and I'll be happy when I get mine. Might not be any time soon, but this is what mine will look like.

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The Hot Wheel That Broke My Heart

The first car I can remember my family having was a lime green Chevy Vega. Probably a 1973. I remember this car more clearly than cars I've actually owned as a result because I have an uncle who is six foot and nine inches tall and it was an exercise in comedy watching him try to get into that car. 

It's odd the things you remember and the things that will traumatize a four year old boy. For me one of the lingering traumas of my childhood was when I lost my pink Hot Wheel in the crevice behind the back seat of this car. I remember the car being a super shiny magenta with a bubble hood and it reminded me of the Jetsons. In my little boy brain it seemed more like a flying saucer than a car. Maybe I didn't even cry when it disappeared into that seemingly irretrievable void behind the seat. Maybe I did and no one thought enough to look for it. Either way I lamented the loss of that toy my entire life. Until three years ago when I saw...

The 1968 Beatnik Bandit. That was it. The thing that was lost forever, found again. Needless to say I bought it straightaway, but I did more than that. I bought myself the entire 

The original 16 Hot Wheels from 1968. Reclaiming lost aspects of your past is a very important component in Gestalt Therapy. Unfinished business. The Hot Wheels I played with as a boy aren't as old as these, but it's nice to start somewhere, and the beginning is often a good place. I have a goal to own one of every redline Hot Wheel ever made eventually. Maybe that's overkill, but it feels good to get this far down the road and be at peace with things. 

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