From what I understand, the Mopar lip-laced chrome accessory wheels came out in '53. Were these used on customs, something cool that guys sought out? Or were they more of a 'old man' wannabe luxury geegaw to add onto cheap cars? Anyone got any pictures of these wheels in action, back in the day? I ask because my car came with two sets of wheels, stock with Lancer caps and original chrome wire wheels, both in 15". When I swap on my DeSoto drums in the front, the Plymouth wheels won't fit, but the wires will. I am trying to keep the car period correct to '53-54 mild custom. As a note, planning on swapping to bias ply tires in near future, most likely wide whites. Which way should I go?
you should go with what you like. i personally like them both but i don't care for those fake spinner nut, cap things on those spoke wheels. kinda like when grandma puts lipstick and mascarra on
GM had them too, and I suppose FOMOCO as well. Upside, they look GREAT!!!... downside, LOTS of time cleaning to make them look great. I have a good friend who specializes in '54 Buicks down here in the Athens, GA area. He spent either one or two full days cleaning his original set of wires a few weeks back and they look awesome- up to you if you have/want to spend the time.
It's really up to what you like. Do it your way! I like the WWW on steel wheels with a baby moon hub cap and chrome beauty rings. And that's my choice!
Quite a few early hotrods used those wheels, a lot of early builders were emulating British sports cars with their roadster builds and those wire wheels fit that style well, and they're period correct/historically accurate. But you NEED to peel those stick-on Pentastar logo stickers off of there. They were blank originally and I feel like they should stay that way.
When I first bought the car I ***umed the wheels were '90s aftermarket, and was eager to get rid of them. When I pulled off one of the hubcaps I found a DPCD logo, and noticed that the chrome wasn't as bright and perfect as I thought. When I looked at the aftermarket wheels next to the genuine Mopar accessory wheels I learned that mine are lip-laced, and unlikely to be modern. I am generally not a fan of fake stying accents either. As far as 'what I want'- I have found that often the things that take an acquired taste are more enjoyable in the long run. Highschoolers will take Boones Farm and Ol' Harpers over fine wine and ancient scotch. When my wife and I bought our house built in 1922, she couldn't stand 1900s-1930s furniture, now 70% of our stuff is made pre-war. I want my car to look like a genuine early to mid '50s mild custom. That may mean I have to learn to love a few parts. I am ok with that, as long as they build the bigger picture. Great point! Consider it done! Ok, I am going to go dig in my stash of little magazines, and see if I can come up with some pictures.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/rescued-roadster-a-true-survivor.486939/ ... They found their way onto both...Custom/Hotrod and all in between...
Bert Melody's custom 40 Ford convertible ran wire wheels in the 50s and my friend John McNally (restored Bill Cushenbery's El Matador) ran wire wheels on his chopped 1950 Mercury in the early 60s.
I like the wheels with the exposed lug nuts better than the kind with the hub cap covering the lugs. Can someone remind me where the wheels like in Stogy’s post come from?
Those wire wheels absolutely ruin the look of the car. Dogs will howl to see them. Women won't talk to you. Cop magnets as well. I'm willling to take them off of your hands to releive of said burdens.
I had some Chrysler chrome wire wheels on my first car, around 1965. Got them dirt cheap out of a junk yard. I always liked chrome wires.....until I had to clean them. They don't look right on every car though, it all depends on the styling.
Yes used often - the big Chrysler's Imperial wheels were the same bolt pattern as the early Ford car at 5 1/2 so you will see them on a lot of early hot rod's and the smaller Chrysler's and Dodge's were the 4 1/2 bolt pattern as on your car.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/rescued-roadster-a-true-survivor.486939/ I believe the Chrysler shared in the previous post is where these wheels come from...The C-200 seemed to have a number of different Wires used and these were one of those... I wonder if Hamber @tet****shot still has this wild thing... https://www.carstyling.ru/en/car/1952_chrysler_c_200/ Chrysler C-200 Ghia
the 36 Ford 3w I own had Chrysler wires on it when pulled from the garage it sat in.. the only picture I have sorry... the other four were taken off so the car could be moved...
Wires wern't used very often by 50's kids just too expensive, Adults with good jobs or custom shops occasionally but it was rare. That 4 dr plymouth above was a good looking car that had them.
in the '50s there were two recessions. One was pretty stiff. That is whay you see so many primer rods from the '50s. They built them as far as money allowed. OK I said all that to say this. They used whtever they could lay their hands on. If it was in the wrecking yard and looked smooth or improved the performance, or well you name it in whatever hot rod terms you like it got used. I have always thought that these lights needed to have the rod built around 'em. LOL that said if someone wanted to use modern tech on gtheir rod these would be the perfect candidate for projector beams. OK OT for the thread and the forum but I had to say it.
They may be too expensive for me too! May just sell them and get some DeSoto steels and sombreros. Here's where I am at currently
Hello, When we were teenagers, we did see wire wheels at car shows. There were different kinds. The ultimate wire wheels at the time were called Boranni wire wheels that came from Europe. They were on sporty cars of different kinds. Boranni Wire Wheels But, the most popular ones, by far, were the Buick Skylark Wire Wheels. If not a Buick bolt pattern, then some machining is necessary. But the wire wheels had some compe***ion from other factory manufacturers. But none had the long spokes ending with a small cap or flipper. Those long spokes made the chrome wires stand out as the small cap added a finishing touch. A U.S. version of the full spoke Borranni wheels with their one of a kind spokes and small center caps. Buick Skylark Wire Wheels Some folks will like the Chrysler wheels as they look like the old Kelsey Hayes wires. As others copied the style of a big center hubcap, Buick had longer spokes to end on the small center cap, accentuating the complete wire look. Without the small flipper cap, they seemed larger and longer for the stylish design. Jim Boyd Jnaki Eventually, our drag racing era for the 1958 Impala turned into the tow car for our 1940 Willys Coupe with the 671 supercharger on a 292 C.I. SBC motor. So, for some added styling, modifications were made and I had a nice set of 5 Buick Skylark Wire Wheels aligned, tightened, modified and installed on my 58 Impala for a custom touch. No, they did not come apart or loosen with those high speed runs at the local Cherry Avenue Drags or the long road trips to the beach coastal cruises during our time. The look was popular in the custom car show circuit, but, at the time, was the only 1958 Impala running around So Cal with Buick Skylark Wire Wheels. Thanks @themoose
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