A Whole Childhood in an Old Cooler

So, with a little time on my hands and some inspiration from picking up the hobby of die cast collecting in my dotage, I decided to brave the attic and dig out the box containing the toy cars of my youth...

Illustration for article titled A Whole Childhood in an Old Cooler
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As a kid I re-purposed this cooler box into a car case by stripping out the insulation and detailing it with Matchbox Powertrack decals and Knight Rider stickers.

Inside, carefully wrapped in toilet paper, I found...

Illustration for article titled A Whole Childhood in an Old Cooler
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Illustration for article titled A Whole Childhood in an Old Cooler

...the very first Hot Wheels car I ever owned. An ‘original 16' Custom Cougar, and certainly the thing that made me begin a torrid 1:64th scale love affair with American Muscle Cars.

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I also came across my very first Corvette Stingray...

Illustration for article titled A Whole Childhood in an Old Cooler
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...This is a Matchbox Superfast model with glow-in-the-dark windows.

Here’s the full contents of the cooler - mostly Matchbox and Corgi cars, along with a few Hot Wheels, Zylmex, Marx and Majorettes...

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Illustration for article titled A Whole Childhood in an Old Cooler

That’s a lot of adventures right there.

(This drive down memory lane is brought to you by sounds of The Midnight and their excellent highway music album Days of Thunder)