Meet Bruce Pascal: Inside the Collection
Start your engines, collectors! We're kicking off season six with the pedal to the metal!
Apr. 6, 2025
Everyone, start your engines! We’re kicking off season six of Collector’s Call with a bang! Bruce Pascal combined his love for antique cars and childhood toys to create a mini car museum, which has now transformed into a Hot Wheels museum.
And hot it is—these mini cars come with a big price tag! Bruce’s collection features all sorts of makes and models, with about 12,000 items and 8,000 to 10,000 cars. Hot Wheels debuted in 1968, when Bruce was just seven years old, and it quickly became his passion.
He knew he had to have them all, and today, it seems as though he does! His love for cars has remained with him throughout his life, and now he’s here to share that love with all of us.
Check out the first collection of the new season as we put the pedal to the metal. Take a look!
1. Ferrari 308 Wood Model
This is a hand-carved wood model used to create the Ferrari 308. The models were carved this large only to make them as small as a Hot Wheel!
It would take 200 to 400 hours for a master woodworker to craft each one to the exact standards of Ferrari.
According to Bruce, the Ferrari is the king of all car models—and the most beautiful car ever made. Before the computer era, this type of woodworking was done for every Hot Wheels model.
Because it’s wood, it could easily be damaged. To protect the original, a resin copy would be made, which is why these wood pieces are incredibly hard to find today. There are even rumors that Mattel would toss them if they weren’t needed anymore!
Fortunately, Bruce got his hands on this one. He owns 32 different wood models—talk about wheely impressive! It’s a piece of Hot Wheels history!
This would cost around $12,000 to $15,000—talk about a hot price for an even hotter Hot Wheels item!
2. Original Sketch Olds 442 Drawing
All Hot Wheels have to start somewhere! To make a Hot Wheel, the process starts with a drawing, followed by a technical drawing of all the parts.
This is the technical drawing used to make the Olds 442, a car that debuted in 1971.
Bruce ended up buying hundreds of files with details on different Hot Wheels models and their paperwork. And there are some Hot Wheels holy grails in these files!
This particular car, the Olds 442, was only made in 1971. It was the epitome of the best muscle car ever, and this is the original production of one of the rarest Hot Wheels ever made.
This one is worth around $10,000 to $15,000. But forget the value—this is like the Smithsonian of Hot Wheels history in these files, which is more important than any price tag.
3. Over Chrome Camaro
This is one of Bruce’s favorite Hot Wheels!
There’s something extra special about it—aside from its shine! Mattel wanted Hot Wheels to really pop in TV commercials, so they made about 50 of these. It’s a Camaro in an antifreeze color, and it’s in mint condition—one of the rarest Hot Wheels in the world.
This one came from a former Mattel employee who sold Bruce about seven or eight of these shiny cars. Bruce paid a few thousand dollars for them, but later, after realizing their true value, he sent the employee a check to make up for underpaying him.
The car has a clear coat, an incredibly expensive paint technique, which is why it was only used for TV commercials. There are about 20 of these cars in existence, and Bruce owns three or four of them. When it comes to Camaros, they are the Holy Grail.
According to our expert, this one is worth $50,000 to $60,000!
4. British Display Set
This beautiful display of cars is from 1971, and it’s from England. Only about three are known to exist in the world with the original poster board and all 50 cars intact.
Bruce spotted it in an auction catalog in England and knew he had to have it. He calls it the “king of hobby displays.” All 50 cars are still attached to the cardboard, held together by strings, with their names listed.
It was the first time our expert had ever seen one of these sets—he didn’t even know it existed!
This isn’t just any display. Individually, these cars are rare, but having all 50 together is an incredible feat.
Our expert valued this display at $100,000 at auction.
5. "Tognotti's T" Roadster (Hot Heap)
This car won the 1964 Amber Award, cementing its status as one of the most beautiful cars in America. When Mattel selected famous cars for the first year of Hot Wheels, they chose this one to be part of the lineup.
For Bruce, it’s thrilling to match a real car with its Hot Wheels version. The car runs and drives well, and so does the Hot Wheel.
Built by Don Tognotti, a legend in the Hot Rod world, the car has a rich history, making it a perfect candidate for Hot Wheels. It was among the first 16 cars produced and remained in Mattel’s lineup for several years in a dozen different colors.
According to Bruce, he had this Hot Wheels car as a kid—it was his second Hot Wheels, and he still has it today.
Today, the real car is valued at around $175,000.
6. Pink Rear Load Beach Bomb
This is the “Mary K” of Hot Wheels, according to Lisa.
It’s the Holy Grail of Hot Wheels collecting. This Volkswagen bus embodied California culture and was originally designed with surfboards that fit in the back.
There are about 50 Beach Bums known to exist, including only two in pink. Bruce owns a unique transitional version—somewhere between the first and second designs—making it different from any of the others out there.
Today, this piece is worth around $1,000,000 due to its rarity and the fact that Bruce has one of the only known versions. It’s the hottest collectible out there. But he would never consider selling it—this van truly completes his collection.
For a bunch of little cars, we’ve sure heard some big numbers today!
7. The total value of Bruce Pascal's Hot Wheels collection:
2 Comments
Hot Wheels. I missed this program and needed to establish an account to see it here. We have
a box of old Hot Wheels that belonged to my son in our basement. We'll have to go through it. I
was old enough in 1968 to be building my own hot wheels.
