Rebel Rods Past And Future
Rebel Rods – The Past and The Future
A documented timeline into the development and death of Johnny Lightning’s Rebel Rods 2.
In the Beginning
The first release of Rebel Rods 2 will be in stores by July 2003. There were supposed to be 4 releases; two to three months apart. Packaging was also to be updated. From what I’ve seen, the card art shows a Duster with velocity stacks (subject to change of course). These will not have the decals as an added pack-in, but instead will have the Christmas tree that they used in the Tom Daniel Dragsters series.
…. As Time Went On
Info is listed from the earliest to the latest news.
- Rumor has it that two T-Birds and a Mustang will show up in Rebel Rods 2. (2/25/2003)
- I just saw a prototype pic, cars included were: Chrome 56 Nomad, blue 71 Riviera, purple 70 Road Runner, black 67 Camaro convertible, white 69 Mustang and a copper 67 Belvedere. Pic shown below. (3/14/2003)
- Bad news for thsoe who would like the numbering to continue. The numbers will be reset based on a marketing decision. (3/17/2003)
- Good news for Vette fans, there will be a Corvette in release 3. (3/17/2003)
- At this point, we are unsure if this new series will be called Rebel Rods 2 or Street Freaks II. (4/30/2003)
- Release 1 has been pushed back to October and release 2 has been delayed until 2004. (5/21/2003)
- Are the Rebel Rods/Street Freaks dead? At this time, I am assuming so. Why? I’m seeing more evidence that they are being replaced by a series called ZINGERS per the latest information in the Johnny Lightning News Flash! (quarterly issue of the club newsletter)
- zing*er… 1) a pointed witty remark or retort; 2) Twinkie knock0ff (7/23/2003)
- Its official, Rebel Rods 2 is dead. R.I.P (7/31/2003)
- The Street Freaks name is back, but it’s in a new program, not a new series. The program includes 8 different series. (9/16/2003)
The Planned Lineup for Rebel Rods 2
- There is a black car in every release, these were to be limited to 5,000 pieces and the others were to be made at 10,000 pieces. 90% hard wheels/10% real wheels. White Lightnings are to have hard wheels only. All real wheels will have the Hoosier tire pad print. Because this list was not quite finalized, it is not 100% accurate.
Rebel Rods 2-1: Cragar S/S wheels
`70 Mustang, pearl white #8
`70 Road Runner, plum crazy #10
`67 Camaro Convertable, black #1
`72 Riviera, blue metallic #19
`55 Nomad, silver chrome #5
`67 Belvedere convertable, orange metallic #22
- Rebel Rods 2-2: Cragar SST hard wheels and 6 spoke real wheels
`71 Cyclone, brown metallic #2
`75 Camaro, green metallic #4
`57 Nomad, plum purple metallic #20
`56 T-Bird convertable, black #17
`71 Grand Prix, blue chrome #3
`71 Duster, Nassau blue #15
- Rebel Rodes 2-3: Star 5 spoke hard wheels and Cragar S/S real wheels
`66 Mustang GT, red metallic #12
`70 Camaro RS, off white #14
`68 Corvette, black #6
`70 Monte Carlo, light blue metallic #11
`71 GTO, purple metallic #21
`00 Ford Tow Truck, gold chrome #24
- Rebel Rods 2-4: Cragar S/S wheels
`67 Cutlass, unknown color #23
`67 GTO, medium green metallic #16
`58 T-Bird, reddish pink metallic #9
`69 Charger, black #13
`69 Camaro, red chrome #7
`69 Shelby, unknown color #18
Spoiler Prototypes
- Shown below are Spoiler prototypes. These may also be called pre-production samples or test shots. Meaning, the Johnny Lightning designers receive no more than five of a casting from the factory to check on fit, finish and wheel type for example. This is the time where the designers make corrections and/or adjustments. Sometimes these cars make it into production, and sometimes they don’t.
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