# The original Auto World



## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*Hemmings Motor News* has a tribute to
*Oscar Koveleski's Auto World*
with a history of the business and a short video of images that's sure to stir a few memories.










The Responses are worth reading; the first response thread veers off into a discussion of the J.C. Whitney catalog, but after that everything is on topic.

Happy memories.

-- D


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

I wonder if that phone number still works...


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## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

AW used to get money from me every time the new catalog came out! The hobby shops in my area had just enough to keep me busy, but AW added to it.

Marty
Marysville, OH
Marty & Doc in the morning
WQTT 1270
http://qt1270.com/


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

I have a couple AW bucks they use to print off to keep people coming back. I made a few road trips there right before they closed. I got the black/purple whaletail porsche once. 
The first time I went in there was before I hit any slot car shows or internet, so imagine my excitement first seeing cars I never knew existed. I got the #13 capri(i think its a capri) And the black specialty rolls royce. That was one my biggest OMG moments in slot cars, when the guy from autoworld threw a few boxes of mixed cars on the counter and I pulled that thing out, WOW.
Cool times, I was bummed out when I pulled in the parking lot and found an empty building. I think it was around 1992.


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

I always looked forward to getting that catalog in the mailbox every year. I got to meet Oscar and Jim Russell in Chicago back int he 80's. They were promoting the new Rokar line at the time. We wound up having dinner and I got to hear a lots of cool racing stories, 1:1 and slots. These gentlemen were wonderful characters and had so much historical info, I wish I could have recorded the conversation. Once in a life time event, that's for sure. Oscar and Jim signed a Rokar card the cars came on. That's framed and waiting for me to finish my basement walls to get hung up with some of my other slots and racing goodies.

-Paul


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

More personal memories and historical info on the *history of AutoWorld* from _*Vintage Slot Racing Newsletter*_ (VSRN).

There's a link at the bottom to a Gallery of AW cover images.

-- D


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## warnergt (Feb 9, 2000)

Around 1971, while camping at nearby Tobyhanna State Park in the Poconos, I badgered my dad until he finally took me to Auto World. Here's a picture of me out front. 
The showroom window displays signs for Cimie, Lucas, Castrol, Koni, and Hooker headers. Also seen are various mag wheels and a sign that says, "YES WE HAVE FOREIGN CAR PARTS"


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## ajd350 (Sep 18, 2005)

There was little I anticipated as eagerly as the newest AW catalog. My buddy Tom and I used to get an order together when we could scrape up some coin. For a while we had to go through his Mom to write out the check for us because mine wouldn't write me one (didn't want me to spend the money). As a resourceful (sneaky) young lad, tagging on Tom's order was the solution. We NEVER had an order with 100% fill, so we always had a voucher to send in on the next order. I now wonder if that was a standing order from Oscar to keep us on the leash and make us have to come back. LOL. I still have a pile of old orders, coupons, the 'What's New' flyers and of course, a voucher that was never cashed in. Dang Oscar, he still owes me. That stuff is on the shelf next to a stack of mostly well-worn catalogs going back to 1965. 

Paul, I got to meet Oscar briefly at Road America in 1971 while he was working on the McLaren in the paddock area. Mostly just a ''Hi, nice to meet ya" since he was busy tweaking the car. Got to meet Jim Russell at what was probably the same show you did. Great guy to talk to and I wish I had that time you got to have. I got a few stories, but eventually he had to get back to pushing the Rokar line. 

All this was without a doubt a big influence on my lifelong slot car addiction. 

Could have done worse.:thumbsup:


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

I had that 1978 catalog. I poured over it for months, dreaming of all the parts I wanted.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

I have several of their catalogs, as a young man I could not wait for the next one to come out as many times I had worn out the pages of the prior catalog. My success story from the catalog was finding the parts for a Jerobee gas RC car that I bought from a local guy that had crashed it hard, I remember finding everything I needed for the repairs, plus a dual port cylinder for the potent Cox .049 engine, and some new gearing to use that extra power. It did work, I had the fastest RC car in the surrounding neighborhood. Man I still love looking at those catalogs. I would have died, given the chance to go to the actual store, although I have got to give our local store "THE Toy Mart" props for all the HO stuff he had, it was the typical little store with a ton of Hobby stuff from the floor to the ceiling, great store.

Boosted


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

Yeah, I spent alot of my money at Auto World also in the 1970's. At first it was with the Hobby Cars stuff, and later I transitioned over to their 1:1 Auto World, and was buying Speed Parts for my (ahem) "Foreign" Car.
My only regret is that I never made the trip over to Scranton to visit their Store Fronts 
I wish I had kept their catalogs....especially their Model Car ones,


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

That picture really threw me for a loop warner! I've heard of Autoworld pretty much since I joined HT, but had no idea there was a 1:1 Autoworld too. I only knew of the mail order business for hobby stuff, and maybe a 1:1 hobby store; and Tom Lowe's acquisition of the name for brand recognition. Now I think no HO Scale "city" should be without an AW store for both H0 and 1:1. I'll have to plan on one complete with service bays for my next H0 endeavor.


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## mrstumpy (Oct 5, 2013)

Wow, does this bring back memories! I discovered them in the pages of Car Model magazine in the sixties and became a semi-regular customer. I bought lots of hobby supplies and parts for car modeling and both 1/32 and 1/24 scale slot cars from Auto World.

Oscar was a road racer and bought a used Cam-Am car to race. It was a good example that car modeling and racing COULD lead to doing it with real cars. 

When I heard years later that Auto World had sold the name and closed it's doors, it was like "the end of an era." Too bad the new owners aren't living up to the reputation of the old Auto World name.

Stumpy in Ahia


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

Getting back to the 1:1 Car Auto World Speed Parts division. Although this may be the first time I've ever admitted to it, and I'm embarrassed to do so- because I spent waay too much money on those damn cars... I used to Race 1:1 VW's in the mid to late 1970's. Anyway, the most expensive thing I ever bought from Auto World, was an aftermarket SES Fuel Injection system for my Bug. Of course they failed to mention to make the system work, I also had to buy an electric fuel pump and full centrifical advance distributor...and so the money pit began...*sighs* I shoulda stuck with Slot Cars- LOL


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Nothing to be embarrassed about Ralph. I've owned a couple Bugs. I never hopped one up, but I do know they could be built well enough to smoke V8's off the line. My first bug was fully reconditioned for $1400.00!!! It ended up costing us another grand just to get it through inspection!  The money we would have saved in gas over the nice big 63 New Yorker Wagon I was driving (with the 413 under the hood) got totally blown on the car and repairs. I almost died when dad sold the wagon for 200.00. Not a speck of rust, and still ran like new. Even the oil stayed clean, and it didn't burn or leak a drop. 2400.00 would have bought an awful lot of gas.


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## wisky (Nov 26, 2013)

In your photo of the 1978 Auto World catalog, it shows an electronic car race game in lower right corner. I still have that same game. Tried it and it still works, Uses a 9 volt battery


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

slotcarman12078 said:


> Nothing to be embarrassed about Ralph. I've owned a couple Bugs. I never hopped one up, but I do know they could be built well enough to smoke V8's off the line. My first bug was fully reconditioned for $1400.00!!! It ended up costing us another grand just to get it through inspection!  The money we would have saved in gas over the nice big 63 New Yorker Wagon I was driving (with the 413 under the hood) got totally blown on the car and repairs. I almost died when dad sold the wagon for 200.00. Not a speck of rust, and still ran like new. Even the oil stayed clean, and it didn't burn or leak a drop. 2400.00 would have bought an awful lot of gas.


Ya' could'a bought a 1963 Beetle (in '63-'64) FOR $1,400 new.....
had; '60, 62, 63, 65, 68 dune buggys, & "Pipe-Dream" sand blasters & a 71 "Super" (I made into a Baja) ....
NEVER bought 1 for over....$250... yup, mid 1970's....

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

> _*wisky* sez_ -- In your photo of the 1978 Auto World catalog, it shows an electronic car race game in lower right corner. I still have that same game. Tried it and it still works, Uses a 9 volt battery


Aww, gee, Wisky, I guess now that you've gone _digital_ an' all _modern_ an' everything, you'll be getting rid of those old fashioned slot cars. I could use a Tjet Toronado ...


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