Agajarian racers
- DALLAS, TX, November 13, 2007 - From 1948 until 1971,
J.C. Agajanian's race cars won three pole positions and set four track records at the
Indianapolis 500 - and won the race twice. Those unique, sleek cars quickly captured the fancy of both adults and children, and today they are best remembered by a few remaining tin friction toys that began hitting the shelves in late 1953.
"There were probably a total of 10 variations made, and many collectors would like to get every variation possible," said
Kirk F. White (
http://www.kirkfwhite.com), a longtime antique toy collector and dealer. "To be able to see just one of these toy cars is rare; to see more than one in the same collection is unique."
That's why the collection of four
Agajanian racers at
DFW Elite Toy Museum.com is such a find both for auto enthusiasts and for
toy aficionados. With the red-front 42 car, the 98, the blue-front 42 and the red No. 15 in his collection, DFW Elite Toy Museum owner
Ron Sturgeon provides a solid representation of the toy Indy racecars, which originally were created by a Japanese company.
"One of the neatest aspects of these toys is that it's a rare case of a Japanese company doing all the tooling and die work, and creating the initial first toy," White said. "Then they passed it on to a German manufacturer and then it was passed on to the French." The sleek-bodied cars in the
DFW Elite Toy Museum.com collection are between 18 and 20 inches long, and these Japanese models date back to the early 1950s.
"The open wheel race cars are very appealing to real gearheads," said
Rodney Ross, curator of DFW Elite Toy Museum.com. "There's something about the shape of the cars that is very appealing as well. You look at them and you just know that they are a ball to drive!"
For White, the beauty of these dirt track racecar replicas lies both in their history and their design. "The
Troy Ruttman car (No. 98) was the last dirt car to win the Indy 500 in 1952," he said. "To me, these cars really represent the era of the 1950s Indy cars so well. I can't think of another one that is quite as handsome. If you want just one tin friction racing car, this is the one to have."
The
collection of Agajanian racers models can be seen along with the other rare and antique toy cars in the
Toy Museum inside
DFW Elite Auto Rental at 5940 Eden in
Fort Worth. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, with weekend hours by appointment. In Fort Worth, call 817.838. RENT (7368); in Dallas call 214.247.4700. For more information, visit them online at
http://www.dfwelitecarclub.com/toy_museum.
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