If you’ve ever dumped out an old box of toy cars, it might be worth slowing down before handing them off to the kids or dropping them in the donation bin. My kids are obsessed with Hot Wheels, and seeing how many different cars they collect made me realize just how easy it would be to overlook an older model that collectors have been searching for years to find.

Hot Wheels have been around since 1968, and some of the earliest cars are now serious collectibles. Cars from the original Redline era are particularly desirable, but color, condition, production variations, packaging, and even tiny factory details can turn an ordinary-looking toy car into something worth a surprising amount of money.

So if you have an old toy box tucked away in the basement, attic, or garage, these are the vintage Hot Wheels worth looking for before you get rid of anything.

hot wheels car — Image Credit: Jake Spurlock, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

KING Radio Super Van

This black Super Van stands out because it was created as a promotional piece and features distinctive orange KING Radio graphics. Unlike ordinary store-bought Hot Wheels, examples were distributed in connection with a promotion, making an authentic car with its original packaging much harder to stumble across.

Hot Pink Lola GT70

Based on the Lola T70 race car, this early Hot Wheels casting has an opening rear section that reveals its detailed engine underneath. Plenty were played with, but scarce colors such as hot pink or magenta can make surviving examples especially appealing to Redline collectors.

Redline Aqua Custom Cougar

The Custom Cougar was part of Hot Wheels’ original 1968 Sweet Sixteen lineup, and unusual colors such as aqua can make early examples particularly desirable. Look closely for original Redline wheels and early variations such as the painted-tooth grille, with untouched examples in their original packaging being especially sought after.

Rear-Loading Beach Bomb

The Rear-Loading Beach Bomb is legendary among Hot Wheels collectors because Mattel’s early prototype placed the surfboards through the back window, creating a car that was too narrow and unstable for the track system. Mattel redesigned the production model with side-mounted surfboards, leaving the surviving rear-loading prototypes extraordinarily rare and among the ultimate Hot Wheels discoveries.

Brown Custom Camaro

The Custom Camaro was another member of the original Sweet Sixteen, but some colors are considerably harder to find than others. Rare brown examples, particularly unusual early or display variations in excellent condition, are the type of seemingly ordinary little car an experienced collector would immediately investigate.

Red Ferrari 312P

Introduced around 1970, the Ferrari 312P recreated Ferrari’s sleek prototype race car in miniature and even included an opening rear hatch with an engine underneath. Collectors pay close attention to details such as interior color, decals, wheels, and whether the car was manufactured in the United States or Hong Kong because uncommon variations can be substantially harder to find.

Pink Beatnik Bandit

The bubble-topped Beatnik Bandit was one of the original Sweet Sixteen and was inspired by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s famous custom show car. It appeared in numerous colors, but genuine early pink examples are among the variations collectors would be thrilled to discover hiding underneath a pile of ordinary toy cars.

Ed Shaver Custom AMX

The Ed Shaver Custom AMX is an unusual Hot Wheels variation associated with British drag racer Ed Shaver and was distributed in the U.K. rather than as a typical worldwide release. Its special racing decals are an important part of its identity, so finding an authentic example with intact original decals—or even its packaging—can be particularly exciting.

Redline Bye-Focal

With two engines sticking out of the body, the 1971 Bye-Focal isn’t exactly difficult to recognize once you know what you’re looking for. Some surviving cars developed metal cracking and deterioration over time, which makes attractive, intact examples in scarce colors even more desirable.

Purple Redline Oldsmobile 442

The 1971 Oldsmobile 442 has become one of the better-known Redline-era castings, with purple among the colors that collectors watch closely. Original examples can include a removable rear spoiler and decals, meaning a complete car that escaped decades of childhood play relatively intact is a much better find than it may initially appear.