You might have a toy car in your attic that is worth more than a real Porsche.
Have you experienced the pain of stepping on a Hot Wheel in the middle of the night?
These toy cars were just 99 cents and eventually ended up scratched, chipped, and buried in the sandbox.
But if you were a child of the late 60s who loved toy cars, it’s time to check your collection.
You need to check for one specific car, which is a pink Volkswagen bus with surfboards hanging out the back. It is one of the best items of toy collecting.
Actually, this car had a mistake caused by the factory. Therefore, this was known as the Rear-Loading Beach Bomb.
Based on recent reports, these tiny vans are now worth more than $150,000.
Now let me tell you how you can identify the difference between the one woth $50 and the rare mistake one.
The Coolest Bus on the Block (1969)
As you remember, back in 1969, Hot Wheels were crushing the market due to their speed. Mattel wanted to capture the cool factor of California.
Enter the Volkswagen Microbus.
It was designed to be the star of the 1969 lineup. It was not just a van. It was a lifestyle.
Plus, it had the unique “Redline” tires with a red stripe on the sidewall. This makes collectors weak in the knees, and it came with two tiny plastic surfboards.
Surboards were sleek, stylish, and a great accessory for your orange truck. The only problem is that it didn’t actually work.
The Fatal Design Flaw: Why It Was “Banned” From Production
Sadly engineers who made this at Mattel made one big mistake. They forgot physics.
They wanted to fit the surfboards to the truck that stuck out of the rear window. In order to do that, they made the van’s body too narrow.
Yes, it looked great on the shelf, but it was a big mistake on the track.
As soon as you power it up with super charger, which is the battery-powered booster station, the bus would wobble and instantly flip. Basically, it couldn’t stay on the orange track.
No stability at all when moving.
As soon as the results came out, Mattel panicke,d and they realized they couldn’t sell a Hot Wheel because it couldn’t handle the speed.
Quickly the stopped the production line, and the big thing was scrapped before it even officially hit the stores.
Only the prototypes remained in the hands of employees. What sad news for Hot Wheels fans.
“Rear-Loader” vs. “Side-Loader”: How to Spot the Million-Dollar Difference
This is how Mattel fixes the problem. They simply made the bus wider. Simple as that!
They basically moved the surboards from the back window to side pockets over the rear wheel, which was a genius move. This improved its stability and was able to keep the balance on track.
After this renovation, they were known as Side-Loaders. First they were called Rear-Loaders.
Because of this upgrade, millions of Side-Loaders were sold.
You just have to look fora Volkswagen bus in your attic. If you found one, congratulations. Now you have a cool toy worth around $100 – $300, depending on the condition.
But let me tell you how to get the million dollars. You just need look at the rear window.
If the surfboards are shoving out through the back glass and the sides of the bus are smooth (no side pockets), you are holding a “Rear-Loader.” This is the one that is worth millions. Awesome right!
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Why this toy didn’t sell in stores and how it’s now worth so much.
Basically, they were only given to the employees or smuggled out of the factory in lunchboxes.
However, if you’re holding one, you have the rarest Hot Wheel ever made. How cool!
Why Is the Pink One Worth $150,000?
Rear-Loader Hot Wheel is super rare to find. But, finding a Pink one is super super super duper rare. It’s basically impossible. But not entirely.
In the late 60s, Mattel tried to market Hot Wheels to girls. How cool right!. This was the reason why they introduced few models in “Hot Pink”. But that strategy flopped. Girls are girls right!
Young boys who lived in 1969 didn’t want to be caught dead racing a pink car. Men know how that feeling is.
Pink models became unpopular and therefore, they made only a few.
However, today that failure woth millions. Surprisingly, only 2 known Pink Rear-Loading Beach Bombs were recorded.
One is owned by super collector Bruce Pascal. He paid lots of money for it. It was considered as the Mona Lisa of the hobby. Amazing right!
The car considered too girly for the tracks is now the single most valuable flex in the collecting world. WooooW!
Don’t Have the Pink One? You Can Still Cash In
Don’t worry if the Hot Wheel you found on attic isn’t pink. Color is not the only winner.
If you found a Rear-Loader (surfboards in back) in any color, which is purple, green, red, or gold, you’re still looking at a van worth between $20,000 and $50,000. Yaaaay!
This amount is still enough to buy a brand new car. I mean a drivable one!
It’s so funny to think that a design failure that couldn’t even hit the market officially became the most valuable collectible in the world.
Now it’s your time to find the Volkswagen Bus with the specifications I described. Just check the location of the surfboards.