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SSP Racers
by Kenner
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Read memories from others. |
More memories from:
2005-2006
2003-2004
This memory was added on: February 8, 2008
If you weren't racing a Laker Special.. you were "losing to one"!!! I had my best days ever as a kid during recess while attending a K-8 Catholic school just south of Baltimore in the 60's. Even with the uniforms (no jeans, no sneakers, and we had to wear a tie) you couldn't keep boys from playing rough. Man did I catch hell just about every week for putting a hole in the knee of yet another pair of dress bell bottom pants, or scuffing the bejesus out of the toes on my platform dress shoes. In 1970 I was in 4th grade and that's when we first started really playing "catch one... catch 'em all" for keeps. It amaizes me now that I can't remember one case of a kid getting a concusion despite full contact sports being played on a "paved parking lot"... and platform shoes were "far from ideal" for maintaining your balance when running.
When SSPs first began to show up just after Christmas of '70 I can recall the entire back of the parking lot filled with these cars going back and forth for the entire recess period. It was like a game of horse shoes... only instead of U shaped metal, it was "fly wheel lightning" and bright colored plastic shooting from one end to the other with lines of kids on either side waiting to retrieve your car and send it back, just as you were doing on your end with theirs. If the cars collided in the middle... "bonus points"!!! On other occassions when the numbers were lighter and you had more room, it was all about the "maximum distance" you could get out of your favorite car. This is where the Laker Specials just "could not be beat". Granted I was probably a year older and a little stronger in 1971, but I recall my last purchased SSP (a purple Laker Special) on the verge of setting a personal best when it traveled so far it ran out of the "safe zone" and onto the entrance ramp for cars at the far end... "just as a car was coming in". I have no idea what the actual distance was, but it seemed like the longest run I had ever made in my life by the time I finally arrived at my car's final resting place (literally). It was totally flattened, but for the now sideways fly wheel... which appeared more like a top.
During the year or more before that misfortunate incident that ended my SSP racing days far too early, I recall felling bad for the kids who had those damn Bananna Split Dune crawlers, or that "dreaded" Daytona Superbird (all show and no go). I believe I had 6 SSPs all told. One red, one orange and one purple Laker Special... one blue Eliminator and one red CanAm Racer (that car was a piece of crap... which I talked some younger kid you liked the way it looked into trading for his orange Laker Special). Looks shmooks... if it couldn't make it to the other end of the lot, I wasn't playing with it. I did have one very creative friend who was all about the looks, and he actually built models and mounted them to working SSP chassis. I recall a "perfect" Herby the Love Bug. The problem was... at first we would all admire these creations, but soon after the conversation would turn to... "let's see how well it runs"! We would eventually bug him to the point (sort of the double dog dare thing, only no such phrases were ever used that I can recall) of putting them to the test. Every first run would end up the same... "disaster" for the much more fragile model plastic... and I can't even count the number of times that occured. So many times, that maybe Ricky actually enjoyed destroying them??? Hmmm...
One things for sure... SSPs kept a boy active and entertained, and not one battery was necessary!!!
Victor
1961
This memory was added on: November 4, 2007
Wow, the things that a person remembers after 30+ years!
I had some of those ssp devices. I can't remember all of them, but I do vividly recall my super groovy-neatest of all cool wows
Smash Up Derby Set!
Holy Moly! The fun and constant use we got out of those things! I had the Smash Up Derby set with the Nomad and the old Ford(?, I
think it was). We used those toys all winter, then all summer and finally, when they were little more than shards of plastic, with
stripped "rip cords", we would huck the wheels down the street to see how far they would roll. Mine rolled into a sewer. Never saw it
again.
But I did see the parts to those cars for years afterwards; a door would show up at the bottom of this box of toys, a snap-on wheel
in the corner of the garage, a hood in that box of toys. For years afterwards. Might still have one or two chunks kicking around
somewhere.
I also remember the searing pain of catching a finger in the 500,000,000,000 rpm wheel after pulling the "rip cord" with all the
strength that my massive ten year old frame could muster. I swear, sometimes it would get spinning so fast it would create, for a
brief instant, its own gravitational field.
Or how about stripping the flesh to the bone when you made the foolish rookie mistake of running the "rip cord" against a hand that
was placed to close to the little square holes in the top of the machine? Did I cry? Hell no! By that point my lust for speed had
clouded my vision to the extent that I didn't feel a thing until much later at night, in bed, when I would wonder how I nearly cut
my hand in half. Oh baby, those were the days!
Have I grown so old that I can no longer see the joy in kids toys now-a-days? Am I just out of the loop? Or does it seem to others
here that the toys of those glorious seventies were more adventurous, less politically correct and just more fun? It seems to me that
those old toys had an element of imagination and physicality that is lacking somewhat in the toys of today. I might be full of it,
but it also seems that the 1970's were the best damn times to be a kid. We were so ignorant and blissfull!
Of course, now I am all maudlin and reflective. If I were to come across an SSP set, I think that I would have to pass it by, knowing
that I am no longer that barefoot boy with cheeks of tan that found great pleasure in dislocating his shoulder in an effort to get
that last little bit of speed out of his SSP in order to trounce and humiliate that other kid from down the street who had the
audacity to challenge me to a race. Sigh.....more's the pity.
SSP's ROCKED.
(so did Hot Wheels Sizzlers and Legos and....)
Cliff Eisler,
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
This memory was added on: October 14, 2007
My memory...
THESE ROCKED!!! Nothing beat pulling the t-cord and hearing that sound. I remember they played up the sound aspect in the TV
commercials, which made me want one so bad...and MAN, I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED! I didn't get that much into toy vehicles, when I was
younger (I really only started collecting Hot Wheels in my late 30's - early 40's), but these I had to have. I had both a red one
and a blue one. I cannot remember for the life of me, what the model names were. The blue might have been a Ramjet and the other
possibly a Detonator, but I'm not sure. THOSE SUCKERS FLEW DOWN MY DRIVEWAY LIKE NOTHING ELSE! Something else I must replace at some
point.
rob
42
rob@johnnysupersonic.com
This memory was added on: May 23, 2007
I'm 43, and yes, now I know why I must go see a shrink once a month. The euphoria,
the adrenaline rush, the endorphins experienced in childhood growing up in the 70's have all gone
away. The main culprit, my beloved front engine dragster SSP which I have been without for 30 plus
years. Yes, for a couple of years I remained undefeated, in the neighborhood, at school, racing,
jumping, whatever, that was a most prized posession for most of us growing up in the 70's. As
everyone can see from most of the writings, no ones SSP lost a race, we were all one in the same
with our own SSP, just like the pocket knife our dads gave to us, our Schwinn Stingrays with that
big'ol stickshift, or a steering wheel, or our Hotwheels or Matchbox cars. Those are wonderful
memories of days past, days when a couple of good quality rugged toys was all you needed.
Saturday morning, watch a couple Bugs Bunny- Roadrunner shows, grab your SSP, your bike and head
to your friends to win some races. Yes, just like the glass marble clackers, a few too many
parents of Suzy, Donna, or Linda, who got scalped by their brother or brothers friends SSP,
probably sued Kenner, and after so many law suits, Kenner just decided to stop making them,
thus, stripping us of what was most important, an irreplaceable toy. After the SSP became
extinct, it was back to playing a game of Kick The Can.(amazing how much use an old coffee can
got) I hope everyone has the best of luck getting over the loss of their SSP's or the best of
luck finding a good used one so they can have some closure. If Suzy, Donna, or Linda is out there,
lets see you in those tight big bells and Foreigner T-shirt.
Steve
1964
sixstringsrw@cs.com
This memory was added on: May 17,2007
I loved the SSP racers. Me and my brother would race them and we had the Plymouth Superbird and the Rail Dragster
Tim W.
1962
t_warneking@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: April 18, 2007
I loved my ssp's. I had the Black Jack Special and a blue and I think silver Kenner Lake Special.
John
1963
This memory was added on: April 8,2007
These things were awesome. The power these things had when you pulled the ripcord...unbelievable! In fact, I'm thinking back on the SSP's, the Strange Change Machine, and the "clackers" and they were all fairly dangerous. which, of course, is what made them so much fun to play with.
We used to have races with these bad boys. There was even a "Smash-up-Derby" set that featured old Chevys and Fords molded like beat-up 1950's junkers that had pop-off doors, bumpers and wheels. You'd rev them up and aim them at one another and WHAMMM! Plastic would fly everywhere and we'd hoot and yell in delight. Fun memories, indeed.
D.P.
1965
flaylepayne@verizon.net
This memory was added on: April 6,2007
OMG I had the smash up derby kit with the chevy coupe and nomad wagon I beat the crap out of these cars for so many hour, it was especially a close thing for me because when I was a kid in the early/mid 70's my father was stationed in Hawaii and he used to drag and do the demolition derbys. Easily aside from my star wars stuff and Hugo was my best toys.
D. Norton
1970
donnor@comcast.net
This memory was added on: April 5,2007
At first, I got the blue Nomad SSP demo derby car at a Good Will store in the 1970's... then I got a set that included a silver (or white) smash up derby truck and a stationary car for it to smash into. When the truck hit the stationary car, parts would fly off. I remember someone who had the Nomad before me had glued the parts on so they never flew off. An older kid at the end of the street had like 2 or 3 sets! I was real little though, 4 or 5 at most when I had them.
Randy
1974
randolph_miller@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: March 23,2007
Ha,ha.... I remember the "T" cord always breaking and You'd only have about 1/2 of a cord left, but that never stopped us from racing every saturday morning
Robert
1962
RGH2108@aol.com
This memory was added on: March 22,2007
We boys were into these, when I was about 9 years old. The idea was, of course, how hard you could possibly pull the strip out, revving up the pinion and wheel. This would frequently cause the teeth on the plastic strip to break off. I thought the demolition derby ones were all right (I think I remember those being SSP), only the ones that looked like dragsters were the best.
Raymond
1962
This memory was added on: March 21,2007
My fondest memory of my childhood was when I won an official SSP contest in Vernon, CT. I received a trophy and a free trip to the Indianapolis 500 time trials in Indiana. What a great toy, and great memories !!!
Karl
1962
karlsarah@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: March 20,2007
I can remember as if it were yesterday! I had the lime green "Two Much" in grade school and all the boys would race at recess down the sidewalk - you were not cool unless you had a SSP. They were wonderful times......
Bob
1964
This memory was added on: March 18,2007
I remember these getting stuck in my sister's hair after my brother pulled the rip cord out and stuck it on her head! It winds hair up pretty good!
Jennifer
1967
mojojeep@msn.com
This memory was added on: March 15,2007
Every kid in the neighborhood had an ssp racer. mine was a purple indy racer. We would race them for hours. My car was so beat up from throwing it down the driveway, but it always kept working! What a great time to be a kid! I wish someone would make them again.
mike
1963
kressin@charter.net
This memory was added on: February 26,2007
Can remember lines of kids on the school ashphalt at each end in a mega SSP car war, they were demon. It was every man for himself when it was time to rescue your car in the middle, required some fancy footwork. Now with the new anti-smacking laws SSP's should be safe to re release on the market. Mama wont be able to put the rip-cord across yer butt when she's angry.
Gaz
1966 New Zealand
This memory was added on: February 20,2007
When I was a kid my mom watched all the neighbors kids during the summer. We all had two or more. I had the chariot.the purple coupe, and the old fords for the smash and crash set.Not long ago I was at a KAY BEE toy store and they had the crash and smash set of 56 chevy's. YES! I bought them my wife thought I was nuts. I brought them home and put them away. I'm afraid if I get them out, I might destroy every thing in my house. Not to mention not make it to work the next morning!
Dave
1970
dandr@superpa.net
This memory was added on: February 15,2007
Hey lets get a petition going to get this greatest toy of all times produced again at reasonable prices and not collectors prices where you would be afraid to give to your gets to crash and tear the hell out of it.!!! what about people letīs stop taling and get this thing going Iīm goin on 42 but would love to buy this for my kids (haha yeah right). let me know what you think!!
Phill 1965
Phillip
1965
phberry83@aol.com
This memory was added on: February 12,2007
Okay, I had the Crash Up Derby cars also, but my memory is how I was snowed by the commercials. They showed the cars going over the jump and actually hitting each other, crashing into many pieces (even showed it back in slow motion).Of course reality was that at least one if not both cars missed the jump, hit the wall, and fell apart. Still good times though :)
Dale
1962
This memory was added on: February 4,2007
I remember the year 1972, all I wanted for christmas that year was SSP Smash up Derby. I used to run to the TV every time an ad would appear on the TV. I played with that set for hours at a time. I even took the set to school for show and tell. What a great toy.
Gary
1964
cyndilei@numail.org
This memory was added on: February 1,2007
In this safety conscious world of ours they wouldn't dare make the SSP Racer again. Too bad, too - I had Black Widow and it was the best toy I ever had because it actually did what it claimed on TV. These toys were crazy fast and they were built better than most real cars! Indestructable. I used to point it at the cat and watch him freak out as this black dragster raced towards him at mach 5. Hilarious!
Tim
1963
This memory was added on: January 28,2007
I had the SSP Superbird or Roadrunner.
Tony
1964
mrberstein@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: January 8,2007
"Two Much" was the model I had! It was AwESOME!! Made of very durable orange plastic, duel rocket design in front!! I remember that screeching sound it made when you pulled the cord! It was much too powerful to play with in the house, besides it would leave black scuff marks on the kitchen floor!!
steve
1963
gofarr2@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: January 6,2007
Had the smash-up derby set. Enjoyed it, but soon found out that the jumps were perfect for my Evel Knievel stunt cycle.
Stevie B.
1966
crashbonasera@comcast.net
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