Greetings,

My knowledge of Speed Kings is good, but not great. I'm wondering if I can have some help filling in the blanks.

When did they first appear in their "timeless, classic" design? I know the earlier ones had the WFL shield on the foot board. When did the WFL shield disappear from the foot board. I want to say around '66 or '67? Does that sound right?

I know production on them continued, unchanged for many years. When the change was finally made, I know they were in black instead of the familiar silver. Those were a fairly limited run (especially compared to dozens of years with the silver). So my questions are:

1. When did the "classic" Speed King start production (With the WFL shield on the foot board)?

2. When did they remove the WFL shield from the foot board (Again, my guess is '67 -ish)?

3. When did production change to the black painted model (My guess is mid to late 90's)? Was there a production gap between the familiar silver painted ones and the black painted ones? Were the black painted ones considered "re-issues" if there was a production gap?

4. When were the last of the black painted Speed Kings issued (and thus ending the run of Speed Kings for good)? My guess is mid 2000's.

Thanks so much for your help on this!

V