Custom Fleetside (1968)
 


  The Custom Fleetside was designed by Harry Bradley, based on his own customized 1964
El Camino (pictured below). Although several aspects of the car were changed, the
similarities to the El Camino are obvious.


Harry Bradley's conceptual sketch of the Fleetside. (Courtesy of Bruce Pascal)




The Custom Fleetside was introduced as one of the original 16 Hot Wheels in 1968. The
casting was re-introduced in 1970 with an orange ramp replacing the bed cover and called a
"Sky Show Fleetside". The car was part of a playset that included glider-style planes that
could actually be launched from the moving car with an ingenious triggering system!

This casting is very popular with collectors and offers something for every level of collector.
Some colors - such as orange and purple - are readily available at reasonable prices, while colors
such as brown or light blue were only released as part of certain playsets. These colors are very
difficult to find - especially in nice condition - and command premium prices. In addition,
finding any Custom Fleetside in a blister pack also is a very difficult task.  This is especially
the case for tougher colors like the beautiful US "antifreeze" Fleetside pictured below.



  The Custom Fleetside was produced in the United States and Hong Kong, with the usual array
of minor differences. The HK version had blue-tinted glass, chrome wheels, and paint that exhibits
occasional roughness and a tendency to tone over time. US Fleetsides were produced with clear
glass, silver wheels, and generally lighter, smoother paint in a wider range of colors (see the
color chart below).


Purple US (L) and HK (R) Custom Fleetsides.

Custom Fleetsides also had several paint-scheme variations that are indicative of when they were
produced. The earliest HK models - found only in orange and purple - had the underside of the tails
painted in the same color as the body of the car. Some cars also had the underside of the front
end painted. These are more uncommon than the tail-painted only version.


Orange and purple HK paint scheme variations. (Courtesy of R. Pace)

The mid-run of both the US and HK Custom Fleetsides had red tail-lights and black
painted tails that wrapped only slightly to the underside of the car.

Late-run versions had a tail-paint configuration identical to that of the Sky Show
models: two horizontal red light strips were painted above a black block that also wrapped
slightly to the underside.

Early (L), mid-run (C) and late-run (R) Fleetside rear end detail.

Fleetsides were produced in a wide variety of spectraflame colors, but with only one interior
color: black. This is likely due to the fact that the plastic bed cover is part of the interior piece
and black was deemed to be the appropriate color for the cover.


Color chart

US COLORS:	COMMENTS:
purple	common
orange	common
aqua	common
green
red
gold
antifreeze
blue	uncommon
lime	uncommon
copper	hard to find
light blue	rare
brown	very rare
HK COLORS:	COMMENTS:
purple	common
orange	common
aqua	common
green	hard to find
copper	hard to find
blue	rare
red	rare

A rare brown US Custom Fleetside (Courtesy of Ralph Antone).


Some very early HK Fleetsides had silver-tipped stacks!












Photo & info credits: Gary Galehouse

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