New York City garbage collection team discovers Deluxe Reading Corp vintage toy car dashboard

Cars are a fundamental part of our economy. There are 300 million of them on the road in America, and around 14.5 million cars were sold last year, up 13 percent from 2011, according to CompexRides.com.

For many of us, cars are there for getting to work in the morning and back home in the evening. For others, cars are rented, merely used for vacation travel and impromptu road trips. No matter what you use them for, passenger vehicles are the largest mode of transportation nationwide.

But America’s love of cars doesn’t stop with real ones. Since the 1960s, the market for toy and model cars has exploded, starting with wood and tin models and evolving into cast iron, sheet steel and plastic versions. Children and adults alike are very into their toy cars, so I was pretty excited to find this vintage dashboard that, at one point in time, had been attached to a 1960s toy car.

Ridgewood, Queens basement

Ridgewood, Queens basement

It wasn’t long ago in a basement in Ridgewood, Queens that I found this vintage dashboard for a toy car, complete with the plastic keys next to the ignition. It had been sitting on the shelf for more than 40 years, and it wasn’t until I was hired to come remove all the garbage that it found a new home with me. The basement was an old time capsule with dated cabinetry and countertops, TVs from three different decades, tray tables and TV stands from 30 years ago, and furniture that I know would do well at any New York antique store.

Original keys

Ridgewood, Queens basement

You can see in the pictures here that the dashboard came with the original keys. I even tested out all of the functions and features, and when you turn the key, the wipers, lights and horn all still work. The dashboard was manufactured by Deluxe Reading Corp in 1962 right here in the United States in Newark, N.J., not too far from my Ridgewood stomping grounds. I love this toy because I have a passion for vintage cars, so much so that I even own a few.

My Ridgewood, Queens garage

For me, this was the perfect job because it was filled with history that I could bring back to my Queens garage.

My Ridgewood, Queens garage

More Trash Treasures:

• Garbage removal NYC company finds Vatican coin on waste removal job
• Garbage disposal New York team finds vintage rotary phone in Chelsea apartment clean out
• Plumber leaves trash crew 1950s Rheingold Beer bathroom and kitchen interior demolition job

DiMola Bros. Rubbish Removal
1640 Summerfield St.
Ridgewood, NY 11385
Phone: 718-326-6969
Fax: 718-326-7979
http://dimolabros.com/

~ by DiMolaBros1956 on August 13, 2013.