Hot Rods LET'S CRITIQUE WHEELS - New Repro Wheels that do or don't

Thanks jimmy six, I tried to find something like those to use with my TQ's and couldn't. replaced studs with longer ones to get full thread.

 

Make sure these have the same angle as the ones you're replacing; not all of them are the same angle....

 

So, now you're insulting my car....
I just can't win in your world. I'll probably lose sleep thinking about how you have one-upped me again. And your math skills are superb too!! I'm glad I never had to go toe-to-toe against you in a math bee.

Again, ..thank you for setting me straight. I sure had it coming, and thank you for continuing to prove my point. I'm still enjoying the popcorn..

Please get over the fact that I don't care what you think, ..that's your business.

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Let's keep the thread open and get back to wheels.
Yeah, it's damn near impossible to find something newly made that fits here. The Cragars, Radirs, and others look similar, but just are not the same as ''then''. The very reason vintage stuff is on mine. The Radirs appeal to me for my O/T El, but that doesn't fit here. They really don't look that bad to me. Not seen at every car show, either.
There's a company making the steel chrome slots now. Anyone tried 'em?

 

I would be interested to know the place that has the new chrome slots,just because. I looked and couldnt find em, New old stock ones on ebay are crazy money. Im not completely crazy about em but they are ok, I always got the impression that those were the generic version of the cooler aluminum slots, Ive seen several over the years and had a couple once but you couldnt give em away when I had em.I thought I was the only one who still half way liked em at the time.

 

Why doesn't American Racing Wheels still offer these Rodmasters? Does anyone know what sizes they were offered in?

 

Got no clue why they only made them for about 8 months, I bought 4 sets when they were available. 15 x 10 were biggest and 15 x 4 1/2, 15 x 6 , 15 x 7 and 15 x 8 were available. 15 x 10's on the rear of this 1, fronts are real Halibrands 15x 4

 

They were pretty popular around here. Especially with the 'budget' minded crowd. Cragars, TTDs, etc, were high end, compared. I liked 'em, still do. Ran a skinny pair up front, & chrome reverse on back, when mix & match was a little more accepted back then.

 

......come to think of it these were the wheels that I had my first SOS pad experience on,I was only about 11 or 12 maybe and Dad bought a red 74 nova that had these on it and they were kind of rusty, someone I think told us to try SOS pads on em or we just decided to try, cant remember for sure, but I wanted to do it, we cleaned em up and they cleaned up and looked amazing for what they were, That was also about the time I discovered bleach white for the tires, Dad later got some ralleys that actually looked better on that car but Ive always been a believer and pusher of SOS pads ever since

 

Ahh...SOS. Brought quite a few things, including wheels, back from the dead to be once again serviceable for a low-buck, motorhead kid. I shoulda bought stock back then...

 

So are there any new wheels that are acceptable?

 

I like the look of my American Racing Torque Thrust D's.

But of course, I'm not an old fart who was alive during the 60-70's who can remember what was cool. The steelies on the back were on my grandfather's galaxie as well as on my dad's 40 Ford at one point.

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Your car has a typical look from the early to mid sixties, ...especially in Atlanta, GA.

It looks great...!

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I agree, that little Fairlane is spot-on for the period, street/strip scene. Slightly nose high and not over done. Good job.

 

circus wheels are traditional. here is a set from 1937.

 

Only you can decide where your threshold is. The US mags are cheap like dirt, and pretty damned close once you swap the caps out. My threshold depends on what they are going on. I would put them on my '67 falcon or my S10, but I have a mid sixties era T bucket project, I wouldn't use them on that. I would put the current flat spoke cragars on my Falcon or chevy II, but I probably wouldn't use them on say a restoration of a sixties drag car or something like that.
Everyone has to decide where their threshold is on any given project. But if you don't know whats what, then you don't even have enough background to make an informed decision.

 

And it also depends on what era you're going for. People still drove cars from the 50's into the 60's, and 60's into the 70's, so you could have a 50's car in the form of a 70's build.

 

Speaking of thresholds, I'm going to make a comment on these lugnuts, if my obsessive compulsive disorder upsets anyone too much, don't bitch to me, get a therapist.
I have reservations about these lug nuts now that I have seen them. For a real sixties look, I would want something with the top of the acorn rounded off. Not crazy about the flat top on these. I could probably live with them on something I was going to run something like the US five spokes on, but if I was running a period wheel, these would drive me apeshit, I would want something more "right".
If that's way too much for you, or traumatizes you, or you think I am a perfectionist asshole who needs a psychiatrist, that's fine, that's "your opinion" and you are entitled to it, but don't clutter up a thread on what looks period correct with it, take it up with your therapist or start your own thread.

 

Man you know, I would be ALL OVER a set of these minus the goofy knock-off center cap, for my '67 Falcon.

 

wheels are meant to be covered

 

And vice versa..... seeing a pristine set of vintage Halibrands or magnesium Americans on a rat rod of other hipstermobile makes me sick. Thousands of dollars worth of history wasted on a P.O.S.
Wheels and tires certainly can define (or redefine) the character of a car, some people just don't get that.

 

I guess I know what I like I'm just not sure whats acceptable on the hamb. I like Halibrand sprint wheels but some say they are to street roddy. I like tork thrust and tork thrust D spoke. I like radir 3 ribs but I think from what I read they should be in the same ball park as the D spokes (late 60's). The cragars are good the new spoke doesn't bother me that bad I think the cost to rechrome old ones would be to high. The old rims found around my neck of the woods are mostly 14 inch. I do have some ansens and a pair of fentons but I'm not sure if I like them on my fender less model a. I'm looking for more knowedge about the subject to make a better choice.

 

Yeah! And cars are meant to be driven! Where are you driving yours??!

 

Interesting discussion about wheel covers. I always figured covers (hubcaps, fenderskirts, etc.) were for customs. For hotrods you cleaned up the part (smoothed, polished, painted, plated) and made it look good instead of covering it up.

 

I think the largest issue with vintage mags is it seems most are 14", and finding workable offsets. It was common to have tires sticking out the wheelwells back then.

 

Uh, he drives his all over. In fact, its a field car, here he is rounding up the herd...


All gussied up. Cleaned the cowshit off the whitewalls and took 'er into town...


So, wheres the pic of you using your ford to round up livestock???

 

I will just about guarantee you that Richard LuJurne, who bought up the remnants of Halibrand in the late eighties or early nineties, then ran it into the floor after moving it to Kansas, owns just enough of the patents on the Sprint style mag to cause legal issues for American racing.

If you want to get really technical, that version of the Sprint is really the eighties/nineties version of the Sprint aimed at the Street rod market, and made of aluminum. 'Bout then they suddenly popped up in sizes and offsets that were never part of the original batch of magnesium wheels in the sixties and seventies. Had American chosen to copy the sixties Halibrand efforts, that I believe the patents have run out on, they would still be making them. Just a little too close a copy of too new a product to get away with.

 

I go by old photos. From '55 until mags started to take over around '63/'64, 8 out of 10 of the hot rods I see in old photos had full wheelcovers, so thats what I go with.