That is pretty funny! A few years ago, the owner of a toy store where I live had a similar setup with a windup key on the trunk lid, with some jalopy that was painted a cartoon color. And the key was very prominent, being about a yard wide. The store owner would take it to community events where it always got a laugh.
I'm sure there are folks out there crying heresy! But I love it. I like how he has not restored it, the 39 Ford blue dots and the checkered flag cheater slicks. It was probably built when these cars had little to no value in North America. When Austins and Anglias and Willy's were just cheap used cars well suited for drag racing. A Google search of Atomic Mouse shows it was a comic that ran from '53-'62. I had never heard of it but as it''s been said "it was a wasted day if you didn't learn something". Thanks for posting.
Dave Kelly
Campbell River B.C.
1973 Sport(sold)
1980 Spider 2000(project, aren't they all)