Auto World Hot Wheels Snake and Mongoose Set is finally here

[ourwayband]

I was 8 in 68 when "the fastest metal cars in the world" came out..Saturday morning,if you were smart you had any chores done during the week,if so,the morning was yours..
Mom would fix you some breakfast,then you could watch a little TV,one of the 3 channels that you had......This was done early in the morning,before the grown up shows came on.the Captain Kangaroo show, Banana Splits,, Saturday Morning cartoons.Bugs Bunny,Mighty Mouse,Underdog,you know,the good stuff..Then you would see it,a Hot Wheels commercial..Wow,so cool,so fast,so,,,, I got to have one of these......
Save your allowance and you get one,then another, then another..They are faster down the strip then the one ol' matchbox car that you have..
Every once in a while you get to see some racing on ABC's Wide World of Sports.If you were lucky they were drag racing.Guess what two teams were the hottest thing going.Snake and Mongoose..
So now after all of this rambling,here is the set.What 60 year old Kid could resist this..😀

[Sadco Racing]

Oh yeah, did all those things as a kid. Had a hot wheels oval in the hallway all the time. Loved the parachute feature for these cars too. Still have most of my HW stuff. Looks like a set I gotta have too!

[ourwayband]

Yes sir,have most of my Hot Wheels too.Still enjoy them to this day! .Here is a quick set up with a return course added for more fun.Yep,O gauge trains too.Do they match in scale??
Does it really matter?

[RvE]

Those "funny cars" look great. I had the Mongoose hot wheels car, and my brother had the Snake. I still have mine, but its a bit beaten up from all the use it got. Great post, thanks for sharing. Cheers RvE

PS - I too remember all those Sat morning cartoons......but I think you missed Speed Racer from your list...haha

[dge467]

Those look great Rusty!

[vins123]

very nice

[ourwayband]

Thanks guys!!!

[BRS Hobbies]

Rusty,

What do you give the set scale 1 out of 10 as far as the fun factor?

[ourwayband]

Hey Brian,well I've had these sets before,just not the Snake and Mongoose.With it being "that" set I would rank it almost a 10..😀
But I am bias when it comes to those two racers..
A couple older sets had issues with some of the lights not working.This one works perfect.
Just plain fun to watch these two cars battle it out.Plus with the extra track I've added,they get to race a road course on the way back.
Kinda like the ol' Lakeland track that used to be in West Tennessee out side of Memphis.
We've been building a few Die-cast slots,they are fun to race on this rig too..
Simple fun,the best kind...

[BIG E]

Auto World did a nice job on this set, I got mine for a good price a couple of weeks ago from a local dealer friend.
Another buddy just completed a two lane vintage Aurora lock and joiner road course in his basement. He's a 1/1 scale drag racer, and wants the set WITHOUT the cars, so like the Beatles, I said... "We Can Work It Out" !! He's only interested in running his vintage Aurora Thunderjet and A/FX cars. I'll set him up with TOMY trigger controllers and a better power supply, too.
I was debating whether to open my set, as I had only bought it for the Snake / Mongoose connection. I had also purchased the first drag strip set Auto World offered with the the John and Ashley Force Castrol Mustangs. Been using that set since new, but I quickly squirreled the two cars away with zero miles on them. I've already got two complete sets with spare start/finish gates and plenty of extra 15" straight track in two big plastic storage tubs. Using my six foot folding resin tables, depending on available space we can set up an 18 or 24 foot long 'strip in about 30 minutes or so. To promote the model/slot car hobby, I bring it out to real car shows (unfortunately, probably not THIS summer). And it's a blast to set up in a friend's garage for a few hours of FUN, too! I use four (ya gotta have spares, right?) of the yellow early type full size AF/X Russkit 45 ohm trigger style controllers (the ones with the screws so they can be serviced), and an MRC 22 volt, 10 amp power supply. All are wired to plug right into an Auto world (or TOMY AFX, for that matter) terminal track. I take the Auto World plunger style controllers and the wall wart supplied with the sets, cut off the wire with connecting plugs, and leave about a foot on them so they can still be spliced in as replacements for someone else. The remaining wire with the plug is used for adapting my upgraded gear, the unused Auto World controllers and wall wart I sell off cheaply (and quickly) at the slot car shows.
Glad I'll now have the Prudhomme and McEwen cars to tweak* and run at the two full function computerized HO drag strips (1 Maxx, 1 TKO) I race at here on Long Island. In another month or so we hope to be racing again, at least in the open garage location. Bring your masks and hand sanitizer, guys... and NO controller sharing, either! I always use my own controllers, anyway.
Personally, I like the Auto World vintage 4Gear Funny Cars. They bring me back to the early 1970s and all the Funny Car events I attended here at New York National Speedway. The bodies are nicely detailed replicas I can relate to, unlike the nearly common template modern Funny Cars. However, I do have a few of the modern bodied type cars, just for club spec racing purposes. So for the time being, at least, I'll keep my new Snake and Mongoose set complete and unopened.
Hope everyone has FUN with theirs... Let's go racin'! Stay safe, stay healthy. -- Ernie :>)

* My favorite tweaks are an AFX style steel guide pin, Super Tires on the rear, O rings up front, and sometimes Wizzard motor brushes. ENJOY!

[ourwayband]

Big E,you know how to have fun!!
We also use Aurora/Tomy controllers and power supply..

[BIG E]

Rusty, I found the trigger controllers just worked better for FUN racing, providing a more natural, positive, quick action. Many of my "guests" at the 1/1 scale cars shows were actually trying to squeeze the Auto World plunger controllers! Also, some of the younger kids (with the smaller hands) had a problem getting them to full throttle quickly. The reason I'm using the MRC power supply is because I was having a problem when running cars that pulled a bit more power at the start, like the TOMY Turbo and TYCO 440 X2 chassis, which is mainly what I use for my drag strip "Rental Car" fleet. If the two drivers reacted at almost the same moment, the cars were stuttering on the line, there just wasn't enough amperage available, even when using the TOMY Tri Power wall wart set at 22 volts (expert setting).
Of course, when club drag racing I use a few different PARMA "Turbo" frame controllers, with various ohm resistors to suit the car or format I'm running.
Have FUN with the Snake and Mongoose! -- Ernie

[sweet]

Just spotted your post, Rusty....HMMM, maybe I'll pay the credit card bill next month, instead of my wife..

[ourwayband]

great idea there buddy!!!