# Help Identifying Wild Ones



## 82whiskey (Sep 6, 2009)

Hey all, Can anyone tell me how to tell if an Aurora Wild Ones chassis is original? I know they had silver pickups and a different arm than the regular tjets but is there a well to tell an original wild ones chassis? Arm?

Thanks
Brian A


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

closest I can get you is that a Wild Ones armature has green wire and gray tips. a couple of sources have published this, such as:

http://www.slotmonsters.com/slot-car-thunderjet-500-pancake-motor-armatures.ashx

they also list a red tip version... the couple I've seen that were definitely Wild Ones have been the green/gray combination.

as far as the chassis... the Wild Ones I have are all open rivet chassis, but I don't think there's anything more definitive than that...

--rick


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## 82whiskey (Sep 6, 2009)

Thanks Rick, is it also the wild ones chassis that has the red Hong Kong label?

Brian


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

now that you mention it, i did get a couple that had that.

--rick


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## 82whiskey (Sep 6, 2009)

Cool, thanks Rick.

Merry Christmas!


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

ParkRNDL said:


> as far as the chassis... the Wild Ones I have are all open rivet chassis, but I don't think there's anything more definitive than that...
> 
> --rick


 Way back, my friend and I used to run our cars. He had bought all his cars before we had first gotten together. Then one day we both bought the same car - a Wild Ones Ford GT. After we bought that car, he left his pit kit at my house and said he'd pick it up the next time we got together for racing. Well, it's been about 35+ years, and he hasn't come back to get it yet. He now lives halfway across the country and only comes home for one holiday a year. And every year I ask him when he's going to pick it up.

Anyway, the point is that his Ford GT has a closed rivet chassis while mine has an open rivet chassis. I don't think either of us ever swapped them around, so I believe they came that way.

I think that's possible. I do have at least one AFX closed rivet chassis too.

Joe


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Interesting, and it leads me to a point I've been pondering the last few days.

I recently bought a small lot of cars from an acquaintance. Well-used Tjets with a couple of Tycopros thrown in. There are 3 or 4 or maybe 5 that look like Tuff Ones because they appear to have the silver-plated chassis electricals (and the right color arm and the right gear and some TO bodies too...) but they have closed rivets. I was always under the impression that closed rivets were only early Thunderjets, and all Wild Ones and Tuff Ones, being later in the production run, would have to be open rivet. All the Christmas tree arm cars I've seen that were likely to have been all original have been closed rivet. I assumed that at some point (when production moved overseas?) they went to the open rivets. I guess that's not the case? If my cars are indeed closed rivet Tuff Ones, and you have closed rivet AFXs, then apparently my assumption was wrong...

Are you keeping your friend's cars tuned and driving them around the block every so often? Ya can't just let 'em sit, ya know... it's not good for them... 

--rick


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## tjetsgrig (Nov 1, 2009)

I have several TO closed rivet chassis. I even have a card of the closed rivet bare TO chassis. The Wildones came with either version of motor, red tip, or grey tip. The come in around 5.5 ohms. They do have the red Hong Kong label. They have the silver pickup shoes, and a 9 tooth pinion with the standard small tjet hubs.

Jim Sgrig


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

tjetsgrig said:


> I have several TO closed rivet chassis. ****snip**** Jim Sgrig


Me Too...they're out there!


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## bearsox (Apr 22, 2006)

Grandcheapskate said:


> Way back, my friend and I used to run our cars. He had bought all his cars before we had first gotten together. Then one day we both bought the same car - a Wild Ones Ford GT. After we bought that car, he left his pit kit at my house and said he'd pick it up the next time we got together for racing. Well, it's been about 35+ years, and he hasn't come back to get it yet. He now lives halfway across the country and only comes home for one holiday a year. And every year I ask him when he's going to pick it up.
> 
> Anyway, the point is that his Ford GT has a closed rivet chassis while mine has an open rivet chassis. I don't think either of us ever swapped them around, so I believe they came that way.
> 
> ...


Joe ,
i have seen and had both rivet versions for my wildones and tuffones. Even had differing colors / materials of rivets. Not sure what brought each version about but Aurora did some odd stuff so could just be they used whatever was available or least costly.

Bear :wave:


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

tjetsgrig said:


> I have several TO closed rivet chassis. I even have a card of the closed rivet bare TO chassis. The Wildones came with either version of motor, red tip, or grey tip. The come in around 5.5 ohms. They do have the red Hong Kong label. They have the silver pickup shoes, and a 9 tooth pinion with the standard small tjet hubs.
> 
> Jim Sgrig


 
And they had those thin sponge tires on the backend.  rr


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