MUNCLE MIKES · CASTING GUIDE
Auburn 852The fender color is part of the identification
Auburn 852 has a long hood, an open cockpit and a pointed boat-tail rear. Red examples can look alike in a small photograph, but the fenders and interior separate important releases. Start there before comparing the wheels.
Auburn was already around before the green car
The red 1979 Oldies But Goodies Auburn has a brown interior, clear glazing, an unpainted Hong Kong base and blackwalls. Green cars with green fenders and whitewalls are recorded in both 1986 and 1988.
That repeated green combination is a reason to ask for packaging when an exact year matters. A molded copyright date is not a substitute for the release identification.
Red fenders and black fenders are different comparisons
The 1991 red #94 uses red fenders and a red interior, with whitewalls or blackwalls. The red #215 has black fenders and interior. Its whitewall form appears in the 1992 Classic Collection five-pack and the 1993 single-car record; later #215 entries use five-spoke wheels.
Write down body, fender and interior colors separately. On a loose example, ask whether any of those components were transferred from another car. Matching colors do not establish an untouched assembly.
The gold Treasure Hunt
The pictured 1996 Treasure Hunt is dark metallic gold, collector #437 and series number 2. It has a white Hot Wheels mark on top, a dark-gold interior and gold-hub, white-letter Real Riders.
The open cockpit and windshield deserve a close photograph. Check the running boards, fender edges and narrow rear tip for damage, then look at the wheel alignment from the front.
Keep a restoration or wheel swap in the description even if it improves the display. For a packaged example, inspect the seal and card condition as well as the toy. The loose-car checklist helps keep those condition notes consistent.
