2011 Johnny Lightning Jim Reed’s 1959 Chevy Impala

Jim Reed was a five-time NASCAR champion who dominated the short track division in the 1950s, winning the championship consecutively from 1953 until 1957. Reed began racing at the age of 21, driving everything from midgets and sprints to modifieds before moving to NASCAR in 1949. His career stats include 59 wins in 206 Grand National starts, with a 1956 win in the prestigious Southern 500. After suffering a broken vertebrae in a 1963 wreck, Reed retired from racing and opened a GMC dealership in Peekskill, NY.

This 2011 Johnny Lightning 1959 Chevy Impala pays tribute to Jim Reed’s racing career. Reed drove his share of Ford’s during his career, but in 1959 Reed was provided a brand new 348-cubic-inch Impala Coupe by then Chevy president Ed Cole. He did race the #7 car, but it’s likely his own dealership (which he did not open until 1965, after his retirement from racing) was added to the livery at a later date.

Johnny Lightning | 2011 | 53727WP | Forever 64 R14 | Jim Reed’s 1959 Chevy Impala | metallic blue with white top, white and red graphics

Johnny Lightning 1969 Chevy Impala SS

Over the years, the Johnny Lightning brand has been through many changes. The Forever 64 years, just prior to when the brand ceased production in 2013, were a time of cost-cutting measures that brought us simplified packaging and less-detailed models with plastic bases. Despite this, however, new castings continued to be introduced during this time. The JL 1969 Chevy Impala SS first appeared as a new casting in silver with a black top in the 2010 Forever 64 Release 10.

Johnny Lightning | 2010 | 53717JP | Forever 64 R10 | 1969 Chevy Impala SS | silver with black top

It appeared again that same year in the Black with Flames segment, Release 11.

Johnny Lightning | 2010 | 53717KP | Black with Flames Forever 64 R11 | 1969 Chevy Impala SS | black with flames

Another variation came out in the 2011 Forever 64 Release 17.

Johnny Lightning | 2011 | 53717JOP | Forever 64 R17 | 1969 Chevy Impala SS | gold with black top

Other examples of the JL 1969 Chevy Impala SS in my collection include the red chrome Holiday Classic Ornament from 2011, the gold version from the 2011 Classic Gold Release 19, and the only White Lightning in my collection from 2011 Editions Release 13.

Johnny Lightning Holiday Classic Ornaments

The Johnny Lightning Holiday Classic Ornaments series is a long-running line which began in 2000 as Holiday Muscle. The name change was made in 2002 and the series ran continuously up until 2007, reappearing in 2011 and 2016. Each car comes packaged with an ornament clip so the model can be made a part of your holiday decorating.

This 1969 Chevy Impala Convertible is from the 2006 series.

As you can see, the models have all of the detail and features you would expect from any Johnny Lightning diecast.

Johnny Lightning | 2006 | Holiday Classic Ornaments #3 | 1969 Chevy Impala Convertible | chrome green with white top, ornament clip

This 1969 Chevy Impala SS is from the 2011 Holiday Classic release.

Johnny Lightning | 2011 | 53717N | Holiday Classic Ornaments | 1969 Chevy Impala SS | red chrome with black top, ornament clip

Johnny Lightning Classic Gold

Since about 1998, the Classic Gold series has been a Johnny Lightning staple. Originally billed as “Replicas of History’s Greatest Classics,” the series leans heavily on American cars but spans a variety of decades. This 1971 Chevy Nova is from the 2002 Classic Gold II R12. It has been out of the package for many years, but I still have the original collector card.

Johnny Lightning | 2002 | Classic Gold II R12 | 1971 Chevy Nova | calypso coral, opening hood

The next two Classic Gold models are Impala convertibles, fully-encased in the RC2-era plastic packages which allowed a view of both sides of the vehicle and the included collector card. This ’59 Impala convertible is from R41.

Johnny Lightning | 2008 | 53727O | Classic Gold R41 | 1959 Chevy Impala Convertible | dark blue

And a ’68 Impala convertible from R40.

Johnny Lightning | 2008 | 53904J | Classic Gold Limited Edition R40 | 1968 Chevy Impala Convertible | black with white top

Next up, I have two Classic Gold models from the Tomy era, when the packaging reverted back to a much simpler blister card. This ’65 Chevy Impala SS is from 2011 R19.

Johnny Lightning | 2011 | 53905TP | Classic Gold R19 | 1965 Chevy Impala SS | gold with white top

And finally, a 1969 Impala SS convertible from 2002 R27.

Johnny Lightning 2012 | 53717RP | Classic Gold R27 | 1969 Chevy Impala SS | orange with white top

I also have a Johnny Lightning Classic Gold 1965 Chevy Impala SS from 2012 R23.

2011 Johnny Lightning 1969 Chevy Impala SS White Lightning

While on a family vacation to the Phoenix area over the holidays, I checked out a little place called Cubbiehole Collectibles. Tucked inside the Postal Plus More in a strip mall off 19th Ave. and Northern, the store is a classic example of collecting as a sideline business. The proprietor answers questions about his inventory of diecast vehicles while simultaneously helping customers with their shipping needs. The store is fairly well organized (I spent most of my time in the Chevrolet section) and offers an array of brands from Hot Wheels and Matchbox to Johnny Lightning, M2 Machines, Greenlight and more. There are either “more than 15,000” or “more than 25,000” items, depending which page of the website you refer to.

I could have spent a lot more time combing through the pegs full of packaged cars and cases of loose items if my patient family wasn’t waiting on me. Also, I would suggest going in with a specific want list to help from becoming distracted or even overwhelmed by the far-ranging collection.

For my part, I zeroed in on this white Johnny Lightning 1969 Impala SS. Information that I’m finding online tells me that the rare (2% of the production run) White Lightning version of Release 13 has a white engine and chassis. This is the only White Lightning I have in my collection of quite a few JLs.

53717MP | 2011 Editions R13 | 1969 Chevy Impala SS | white with white top, base and interior (White Lightning)

I also picked up a loose orange Hot Wheels Corvette Stingray from 1980. I already had one of these, but you can never have too many Stingrays.