The " think hard" picture request...

Hey gang!

It has been argued back and forth as to the validity of aluminum slot mags here on the board. Some have found eveidence of them being available in the mid sixties (64 or so) and others maantain late sixties. This actually isn't about that. It is about slots though...

I have been raised in a strict hot rodder mode all of my life, and until reacently refused to let white walls of any sort into my life. Especially on aluminum wheels. But looking about at some early and mid sixties magazines has warmed my heart a bit to the mild custom thing that was slowly waning at that time period. I have also reacently aquired a set of 14" aluminum slots (NOS as far as I can tell) in four lug that will fit on my Falcon Ranchero. My first thought is to polish the living hell out of them, make some polished pressure plates, mount some 60 or 65 series blackwalls and go hot roddy with this deal. But wait... They also came with a set of 3 bar spinners that fit too. Far to custom for a hot roddy kinda deal.

If you have read this far and haven't died of bordom or laughing, here is the question: Have you ever seen aluminum slot mags in a more "custom" type setting, and have you seen them with narrow white walls? Got any pictures? I kinda know the answer, but what have you guys got?

 

Yes, yes, and no. I'm right where you are: warming up to narrow whites. Do it.

 

slot mags = 60's and later style HOT ROD. no white walls.

white walls are the most abused "vintage accessory" there is. especially wide whites. people are unable to think for themselves and go with the flow putting wide whites on everythng whether it looks right or fits a theme or not.

 

Saw a 1960 Unibody short bed with slots and wide whites at a early Pile up show. Looked perfect. It was baby blue too. Sorry, no pix. Slots fit here in HAMBville, esp if the car/theme is done with taste. Far better than the 20"+ mag wheels that are showing up in threads that cover 'national events'. HAMB cops kin git bent ov'r.

 

Blackwalls...

If its the spinners that are throwing you off,

Then just sell the spinners...

 

Yes I have seen them but I did not like them then and I have not changed my mind no matter how many pictures show up. I've see 300 lb women in thongs too... both are just as attractive to me.

 

This is what I did for my truck....I cant afford or justify a set of real Halibrand's or that's what my wife tells me.

 

My T has wide whites on aluminum slot....the slots aren't your "typical" slots though....ET's with a "as cast" center and the holes have a raised lip around them....kinda like a poor man's Halibrand....

I really like the look.....I don't give a **** if anyone else does......

 

Polished or chrome wheels demand black tires. Period. I know this opinion is not widely held currently, but it was taught to me by my hot rod mentors before I even had a driver's license. Not negotiating on this one.

 

I kind of like the idea of spinners with Slots, or with real M/T raders. Just because we could not afford the spinners in the 60s, does not invalidate the use of them

 

No wide whites ever around this house! But, ever since I hung some narrow whites on the Tru-spokes for the girlfriends falcon wagon, they have grown on me. I do know the difference as to how to properly use slot mags. You yourself have commented on my O/T maverick in the background of a couple of pictures featuring high polish slots and 60 series tires with pressure plates. I've got the seventies vibe down with these, but was there a different look before? HHHMMMMNNNNNN...

Thought about that! How rediculous am I that a set of faux spinners are making me rethink stuff this hard? ElPolacko has rightfully accused me of building an entire car around one wheel from a swap meet and then replacing the wheel before the car is done.

I have paraphrased the same thing on occasion! But damnit, maybe because the girlfriend is so skinny, lately I've noticed gal or two with a bit more meat on her bones... Not 300lbs though! Guess that's a whole different story!!!

The quickly diminishing "sane" side of my existance has thought this for my entire life. Don't know why I'm on this quest... Probably just too chicken **** to buy some tires and see how awfull this could look. Can't imagine that some of the mid sixties to late sixties custom guys didn't do this with as common as slots were at one time.

And there it is again! the Radirs deal is what made me think of this. By the mid sixties, wide whites were gone. Hell, narrow whites were on borrowed time on all but grandma's Caddilac because of the muscle car and super stock boom. But the 7 or 8 custom and show rod guys on the planet were running combos like the Radirs, or Cragar S/Ss and stuff like that with a small narrow white. If slots were around in that time frame, (and as I said, some guys say they were) did any body run them in this way? I guess I'm just looking for some sort of historic precedent for this deal before I make a complete fool of meself...

 

Things were all mixed up on teenagers cars in the 60s. That what kills me about some traditional s... storms on here. You name it, it was done.

My 61 Impala conv: (in 1968) I worked at a tire store after school and found already outdated new Seiberling 775/15 1/2" redlines in the cellar...just 2. So I put those on 15x6 M/T Raders on the front. I bought that pair of wheels used. Then a biker at work told me that his gang had a pair of 15x6 chrome reverse with Prowler Eliminators for $50. Those had a thin white and a thin red stripe. I was scared ****less to follow him there to buy them, buy hey, it was worth a gamble

I later put those 4 on my 56 chev belair 2dr ht, 348 tripower 3 speed with gl*** 55 nose


I also ran in late 68 early 69, a 64Chevelle SS with cragars and Sears branded, Michelin radial narrow whites. I bought that set of 4 used. First set of matching anything I ever had.

I just can't seem to recall alum slots too much...I don't know why. I start to get a flash of what I saw them on back then, but it fades out

 

Reading your post made me chuckle because these are the kinds of details i drive myself nuts over too. Personally I've always liked slots if used on the right car, i think slots/narrow whites fit fine and will look good. Anything you take away from my comments tho must be taken with a grain of salt cuz i may be losing it when it comes to wheel/ tire choices, my current car came with keystone kl***ics and they are starting to grow on me.......

 

These will go for stupid money in the future, if in nice shape.

 

That looks so damn *****en, love the look and tri-bars would just add to it .... I think we called those rims "Iron Crosses" as a kid (60s) .... dont know why with five spokes and all.

 

...and THIS is the best advice you've received so far...at least in my opinion....not that you should pay any more attention to MY opinion either.

Do what you want. Do what pleases you. Life's too damn short to do it any other way as long as you don't hurt anyone.

 

Highly polished aluminum slots plus the US Royal twin stripe redlines...

But what would look even better is a set of chrome slot mags, plus the early wide-oval style white walls, where the stripe was much closer to the outer edge of the tire. (Mustang pic from the "pink cars" thread - and the tires are actually "pink walls".

I heard tell of a set of 4 bolt chrome slots for sale, don't know if they are available or if they are correct falcon bolt pattern or not, PM me if you want me to look into it.

 

I don't doubt that someone put pinners on slots or maybe even wide whites but not in a hot rod setting I wouldn't think. At least nothing that the rest of the fellas didn't think was lame.

I have thought about running my narrow Ansen's on the front of my Gas cl*** Stude with pinners. The reason why is because I remember a gas cl*** car @ Half Moon Bay with pinners on the front. I only remember seeing it once or twice, I wasn't real old maybe 5 or 6(?). Perhaps the reason it sticks in my mind is that it looked odd compaired to the rest.

The thing I remember about the local tracks or even the streets was that not everything was done on purpose, some things got done out of necessity and lots of things were constantly changing as the car morphed.

 

Hot Rod- black walls only
Custom- black or whitewalls.

 

I'm surprised none of the Los boulevardos guys jumped in here. Pinners on polished slots with spinners sounds like something that if it was done eryck would have pics of it.

 

I was going to say parhaps in EasLA, but I couldn't figure out a way to say it without sounding biased.

When I was still living in San Francisco when I was a little kid we used to go down to the mission district a lot, I had friends down there. You used to see lots of things in the Mission district that you wouldn't see in Hot Rod Magazine. The original low rider guys had there own sense of style. face it a low rider is just a custom with a twist.

 

Blackwalls please! Thirty years ago, I thought wide whites were really cool. They do seem to be a bit overdone lately. About five years ago, I saw a very nice 1956 Nomad in a local parking lot with what looked like 17" billet wheels with wide whites. Threw up a little in my mouth over that one. Ghastly...

 

Man, if you could findout about the chrome slots (Astros maybe?) I would apreciate it. I'm looking for 13X6 or !4X6 4 on 4 1/2 pattern.

See, again that's why I posed this a s the "think hard" picture request! In my minds eye I know i have seen this somewhere on custom leaning car. And boy, i've got ya on the out of nessesity thing... I've done some weird things to get to work.

I am too. They are the guys that I thought would be all over this. I'm kinda new to the "custom" side of things, been practicing the hot rod side for over thirty years now...

As I said before NO WIDE WHITES!!! Thye just flat don't belong on aluminum wheels, period! Hell, they don't belong on ANYTHING after about '59 or so. I'm talkin' pinners only...

 

I have to agree. Whitewalls are certainly not a one-style-fits-all thang.

I have always felt that the only guys who could get away with mags and pinner whites were the lowriders. If you want the car to look period and still have a sporty look, go with redlines. They can be spendy, so buy a set of cheapy pinner whites, flip the tires to the blackwall side, and have somebody cut a 1/4" groove in the sidewall, and then buy the redline paint. You'll always have the option of going with whites or reds, just flip the tires when you feel the need for a change.

 

Leave it to another Hot Rod guy to come up with that! Good idea.

 

I will let you know.

 

This is funny, because Sneaky Pete Robinson had wide whitewall drag slicks on his polished lip torque thrust wheels on his FED...when he won Top Eliminator in 1961...polished aluminum wheels and whitewaills happened, chrome wheels and whitewalls happened...you can deny it all you want, but look through a few early 60's HRM mags and you'll see them right there in print...do whatever you want, and let the traditional police flap their gums...

 

I get it. It's not in an effort to "comply" with anything except your own sensibilties. You want a look to suit you or a change in your outlook, yet stay in the era you like. So all of that said, I've got some early 60s HOT ROD mags in shop that I'll look through. The ads in the back tell the tale, what were they selling and when. I may have seen some aluminum slots in the 64 book. Maybe the 63? I'll have to tell you tomorrow.

Will shiney aluminums and pin whites look good on what's essentially a "whole car" vs a 30s-50s type car? Hell yeah. You got a 64 Falcon there which woulda been even MORE popular for guys like us a few years after it was born, which then makes "What was available when it was new" a moot point. Do you want glam it all up like some rich kid or established grown up woulda done when it was new, or make it like what most of em ended up years later?

 

You DO get it! This for me is the reaerch to see if this was a thing or not. Hell, I could care less what anybody else thinks, but a tire and wheel combo sets the tone for the car. I could go out and get a set of 60 series blackwalls and be done with it and be safe. This is a bit more about expanding my horizons a bit. I too have all the early sixties magazines, and I have never really seen this combo in them. I was kinda hoping to see pictures of "uncle Fred's '63_______ with slots and narrows. I have a feeling it was more of a mid to late sixties thing if at all.

 

Ruiner, You're screwing up PERCEIVED history. This is the HAMB where the history of 60 years ago is written today. Sneaky Pete had wide whites along with others. But in today's reality it didn't happen. It was uncool, nobody did it. Maybe I shouldn't post this.


By weslake at 2012-04-27