Hot Rods Who is your "Go to" manufacturer of steel wheels?

No 16” wheels…seems like their backspacing is more for cars, and not so much for Hot Rods!

 

Add me to the Wheelsmith roster.

Their service is top notch, the staff are all people I'd like to hang out with, and their turn-around (eve during all the shortages and COVID) is incredibly fast.

They will build you literally any kind of wheel you want. I can't sing their praises enough. Good people!!!

They're literally right up the road from me, so I get the "feel good" that comes with supporting a local business, which is always nice.

 

I got the Spider caps from Speedway, They had the 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern ones, Moon only had small ford and chevy patterns at the time. I'm pleased with them and look great on the wheels.

 

Solid, with hubcap nubs.

Yeah... I think "nubs" is the right nomenclature... well... I said it, so... it is now.

Here's a better shot.

 

That’s pretty dang close to what I was thinking Jeff.

 

I am in the "never again" camp for Wheel Vintiques. I would not trust them to tie my shoes correctly! I bought 5 custom back-spaced wheels for my '40 coupe. Two were so far out of true they could not be used. All 5 came in raw steel with copious amounts of weld spatter........took quite a bit of time to clean up the usable wheels. The hoop edges were as-cut.......several hours with a file fixed them. They did balance out well.......small win!

 

That car makes me feel funny... kinda like eatin' a York peppermint patty... I get a "sensation".

**quietly bites hand like Lenny from Laverne and Shirley**

 

That's them. As I'm going for a '62-65 era custom theme, it was either these or chrome OEM style wheels, when Vintiques dropped the ball I ordered these. Got 'em in the original time stated too. To my knowledge, he's the only one making these.

I can't remember the last time I saw any of the originals, and the few I had seen were rusty junk. These aren't quite exact copies of the originals however as the centers have been redesigned to reduce weight while retaining strength. The originals used a simple dished center made of 1/4" or 5/16" thick steel. The cheaper versions used the thinner gauge but were prone to cracking around the lug holes. Their main problem was they were heavy mothers, especially with the 5/16" centers. These weigh about the same as any other same-size steel wheel, maybe even a bit less. Once the cheap aluminum slot mags hit the market, the originals disappeared.

There is a downside. The chrome towers with knockoffs used originally are NLA. This is according to Lugnutking who was supplying the repos. He told me that his supplier declined to make any more. You can get push-in centers however and a bit of fabbing with some knockoffs will give you roughly the same item. I've got a set of vintage hub covers (see below) I'm using but I need to fabricate the mounting hardware.



Between the wheels, hub covers and triple-line whitewalls I'm sure those will generate conversations.... LOL. There's no doubt a lot of guys out there who have never seen a set of these.

 

Hey @Roothawg , Wheelsmith has the service and the skills but unfortunately he only has smoothie centers (no vents). WV has the style 64 wheels we want (vented, hub cap nubs) but they Suck )capital S) as far as service or delivery is concerned. If Wheelsmith had the correct centers he would have to hire a big crew to keep up with the HAMB

 

These are mine on my truck, the centers are WV 64's, the reverse hoops and the welding are courtesy of Wheelsmith. It wasn't cheap as I had to buy new wheels and chop the centers out, but I don't like compromising. Wheelsmith is deserving of his name.

 

Heres the difference between OE and Summit 15x7 steel wheels. Most people wouldn't care or even notice. Guess which one is the original.

 

Can you not buy vented centers somewhere?

 

Not that I could tell....

What bolt pattern and hubcap type do you want? If it's a single-pattern 4.5 or 4.75 on 5 with 'outie' 10.125" hubcap nubs, you're stuck with WV or maybe Coker. You can look at the US wheels version, but those aren't quite right IMO. For the early Ford style with the 5.5 on 5 pattern with 'innie' hubcap nubs, Wheelsmith has those. This style wheel also comes in the 4.5 and 4.75 patterns but I suspect those may be a dual pattern wheel so wouldn't lend itself to spider caps.

 

I would like to have 16"x5" , 5 on 4.5" and 16"x7". I will be running spider caps, so the hubcap nubs don't matter really.

 

Steve is right, I looked everywhere (even @Moriarity's stash), he is the one that recommended I slice up the pair I had purchased from Summitt and re-hoop them.

 

I like oe wheels, find a good used center and then find a used hoop to fit (the hoop can be from a newer car too). Cut apart and weld together (you can or have it done).......but yeah chroming is pricey. IF you have to go with aftermarket then I recommend Wheelsmith also.

I do stupid things........a lot. I finally found some late 30's 16" Packard wheels to fit the 9.3 Olds/Pontiac rear for the A, they're 4" wide that I'll turn into 5" or 6" once I find the right donor hoop.

 

Night and day.....

 

I spoke with Wheel Smith at the GNRS they had some slotted Steelies on display..

 

https://www.heywheel.com/page11.html They have 16 by 4.5 listed

 

I can probably blow apart some OEM wheels. I'll have to do a count and see what I have. I probably have 10 laying around. Now if they are the same wheel, who knows...

 

The rear on the 36. I have 10 projects running at all times Hoss, you hafta multitask. I may run a 16x6, not sure yet. I have to look up the cross sections on a 650-16.

 

Root
If you go 5 on 4.5 I have a pair of original Cal Customs that I will probably never use. I no doubt will find them when when I am looking for something else. Yours if you need 'em.

I usually end up with whatever brand someone like you has laying behind the shop. I have heard good things about Wheel Vintiques. I think the pair of 15x10 smoothies I got from Ryan were that brand. They had very little lead on the rims.

 

Have used The Wheelsmith for two sets of wheels with NO problems of balancing or run out.
Remember, you must use their caps but if your caps need clips they will also weld them on as needed.

 

Wheel Vintiques made me 18 x 6” wheels in 2003 for my LSR when no one else would.
WheelSmith has done all my others including a set of 16 x 5” I’m currently using. They also did a special set of 18 x 9” for my OT pickup. I could not be happier.