Register now to get rid of these ads!

Do We See Wheelie Bars On Hot Rods These Days?

Discussion in 'Off Topic Hot Rods & Customs' started by LOU WELLS, May 18, 2025.

  1. LOU WELLS
    Joined: Jan 24, 2010
    Posts: 3,617

    LOU WELLS
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from IDAHO

  2. Rickybop
    Joined: May 23, 2008
    Posts: 10,768

    Rickybop
    Member

    Hardly ever almost never.
     
    Gasser 57 likes this.
  3. GTS225
    Joined: Jul 2, 2006
    Posts: 1,303

    GTS225
    Member

    Just my opine, but I'm not so sure they aren't more "street rods" than hot rods.

    Roger
     
    Troublemaker427 likes this.
  4. Jmountainjr
    Joined: Dec 29, 2006
    Posts: 1,908

    Jmountainjr
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I don't recall many wheelie bars on traditional themed cars. I have seen them on a lot of 80s street rods and race car themed rods.
     
    Troublemaker427 likes this.
  5. RodStRace
    Joined: Dec 7, 2007
    Posts: 9,092

    RodStRace
    Member

    1. trip hazard
    2. the number of cars that can wheelie on the street, not a prepped track is pretty low
    3. serious enough car will have serious suspension, you have to be putting out Very Serious HP to require them
    4. most stuff on the street (hot rod, not drag car) that had them were rocking fake injector scoops and other gimmicks. Those have fallen out of fashion.

    Note on 'hot rod'. It may be called the National Hot Rod ***ociation, but a hot rod in my mind is street driven. It may go to the track, but track only cars are drag cars, not hot rods.
     
  6. slowmotion
    Joined: Nov 21, 2011
    Posts: 3,708

    slowmotion
    Member

    Potato in the pants syndrome, for the most part.
     
    Deuces, Gasser 57, scotty t and 8 others like this.
  7. swade41
    Joined: Apr 6, 2004
    Posts: 14,530

    swade41
    Member
    from Buffalo,NY

    If the car is serious enough to need them then why not, to think a car that needs them isn't a hot rod but rather a street rod is pretty ludicrous.
     
  8. LOU WELLS
    Joined: Jan 24, 2010
    Posts: 3,617

    LOU WELLS
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from IDAHO

    Honest Answers From Those With Experience....Not All Posts Are Well Received...... Thanks...
     
    bschwoeble likes this.
  9. RmK57
    Joined: Dec 31, 2008
    Posts: 3,166

    RmK57
    Member

    To complete the look a parachute is also a must have for a street car.
     
    SR100, slowmotion, RodStRace and 3 others like this.
  10. pirate
    Joined: Jun 29, 2006
    Posts: 1,272

    pirate
    Member
    from Alabama

    See quite a few on big engine T Buckets, I would say more for show than actually needed.
     
    bschwoeble likes this.
  11. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 16,150

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    When I bought my dune buggy it had a wing on the back, fat tires and yes, wheelie bars. @Pist-n-Broke told me if those wheelie bars were still on it next time he saw it, he’d remove em. They brought $150 at the swap meet that year.

    On the right car? I have no complaint. But if you can’t drag em, **** em.
     
    LOU WELLS likes this.
  12. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 22,592

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

  13. 19Eddy30
    Joined: Mar 27, 2011
    Posts: 4,046

    19Eddy30
    Member
    from VA

    Wheelie bars came around Mid 60s ,
    As racers under stood how suspension works physics of, Not as common But still a Tool , depends on how you set your car up. Not all set up are for 2-4 foot wheels is the Air !
    In my area many cars with hight Torque
    The launch of 5k plus Converters, side step of clutch on street / Strip ,
    So many only know what was seen in mags , Not what was happing in UnderGround of Racing All across USA,
    After 11pm in to wee Hours of Am ,
    One time in early 90s , 2 Pro stocks
    Sitting on Street 1 IHRA mountain Motor NC ,Other NHRA VA legal 500 cid , both Lencos.
    This Still Happen to this Day
     
    mad mikey, Budget36 and LOU WELLS like this.
  14. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 60,043

    squirrel
    Member

    some street cars go racing, but there are a lot more newer cars that can pull the wheels, than there are old hot rods that can. And most of them don't need bars, you have to be in the mid 8s or quicker to really need them.

    Wheelie bars on slow street cars is a fad that's thankfully over.

    bigkleib34 video.jpg
     
  15. pirate
    Joined: Jun 29, 2006
    Posts: 1,272

    pirate
    Member
    from Alabama

    Another use! Saw a T Bucket driving down street at a multi day car show with two folding chairs bungee corded to the wheelie bars.
     
  16. snoc653
    Joined: Dec 25, 2023
    Posts: 1,027

    snoc653
    Member
    from Iowa

    Wheelie bars, parachutes, and even roll cages all fall into the same category to me. If you NEED them, run them. If you just want them, it's a pretend racer, not a real race car. The desire to appear fast led the import world to being called ricers. The acronym RICE (race inspired cosmetic equipment) still causes bad thoughts for many. Fake wings, ground effects, wheelie bars, parachutes, and all the pretend to be a race car stuff is annoying. Way back when, we used to intentionally try to not have things showing that made the car look like it raced. I set out to not have any of that stuff on my hot rod project. Didn't mean I didn't want to take it to the track, it meant I didn't want people to in any way think that I was pretending to drive a race car. I have had to replan the car to accommodate some of the racing safety devices I was originally trying to avoid. If your car isn't at risk of lifting and carrying the front tires, why would you put wheelie bars on it? And the same holds true of all of the RICE bolt-Ons people stick on their cars. If it's cosmetic only (read that as no way you need it), what is the point of having it on there?
     
    19Eddy30 and RodStRace like this.
  17. RmK57
    Joined: Dec 31, 2008
    Posts: 3,166

    RmK57
    Member

    There are plenty of S/SS cars running in the 10’s without them and some are getting 3 feet or more air. I don’t think there even legal in stock eliminator.
     
    RodStRace likes this.
  18. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 22,592

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    Don't need a wing either, but damn, you can't argue with the way it looks!
    upload_2025-5-18_13-35-17.jpeg
     
    porkshop, Deuces, LOU WELLS and 4 others like this.
  19. swade41
    Joined: Apr 6, 2004
    Posts: 14,530

    swade41
    Member
    from Buffalo,NY

  20. swade41
    Joined: Apr 6, 2004
    Posts: 14,530

    swade41
    Member
    from Buffalo,NY

  21. 19Eddy30
    Joined: Mar 27, 2011
    Posts: 4,046

    19Eddy30
    Member
    from VA

    What's Slow ?
    & what Era ?
    My self young punk teen kid in 91
    3,400 ish pound car , L60s BFG
    Mid 10s ,DD under 408 cid ,
    On pump gas 6,300 1&2 gear with 3:55 gear , never experiment with a 3:20 ish or 3:00
    No traction ,I could make it Smoke ,
    Or just Haze /black trac tires out past 400 foot ,
    6:40s @ 107 No cage nor shoot 35 years ago
    Looking back that was Fast then ,& still now, with those parts & combo ,
    In conversations we have had your
    Pase II combo with 427 parts hard to beat SB or BB , they are good working combos for a Chevy ,
    My 91 combo was like your 427 combo
    20 cid smaller in Sb No slick ,taller gear & little heaver , mods on rear leaf spring Dee arched , drag shock on front stock 12 bolt ,
    Then 10 years later over 200 in a ride I had No business strapping in ,
    I say this because going from
    6 sec 1/8 to 6 in 1/4 is Big Jump ,
    Young then Did & Do just for Thrill ,
    Just seen Fastest Speed set in Street Legal @ NHRA in 5:70s 1/4 , faster then
    Pro Mod Record .
    Technology !
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2025
    swade41, squirrel and mad mikey like this.
  22. hotrodjack33
    Joined: Aug 19, 2019
    Posts: 4,946

    hotrodjack33
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    LOL I built wheelie bars for my old '40/37 Ford pickup, 302/C6...never needed them.
    Only took it to the track twice...too short of a wheelbase, too squirrely, wouldn't hook up...managed to scare the **** outta me though.
    0.22.jpg

    0.23.jpg

    0.21.jpg
     
    Rickybop, Bandit Billy and 19Eddy30 like this.
  23. 19Eddy30
    Joined: Mar 27, 2011
    Posts: 4,046

    19Eddy30
    Member
    from VA

    Like you mentioned,
    Most all the Hard Core S Rer try to make look like a Sleeper G G
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2025
  24. 19Eddy30
    Joined: Mar 27, 2011
    Posts: 4,046

    19Eddy30
    Member
    from VA

    Yes ,
    Short W B can put White in the face
    Until you learn the characteristics of.
    When ever I drive or experiment with a new combo , I go to a big wide paved area & test to see how it will react .
     
    swade41 and hotrodjack33 like this.
  25. hotrodjack33
    Joined: Aug 19, 2019
    Posts: 4,946

    hotrodjack33
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Yes siree, When I first built it (before I chopped it) I planned on a dual purpose street/track build...ended up that "single purpose" was much better for my underwear. LOL.
    0.24.jpg
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2025
    ekimneirbo and Just Gary like this.
  26. THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Joined: Jun 6, 2007
    Posts: 6,116

    THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Member
    from FRENCHTOWN

    My wheelie bar story -
    The first roadster I built (Car Craft Magazine project car) had wheelie bars on a '55 Chevy 10-bolt rear axle. I twisted the axle housing on the drag strip, so I replaced the rear end with a stronger 12-bolt. But I did not have enough time to make new wheelie bars for the 12-bolt before my next race so I raced without them.
    As luck would have it I made it to the finals that weekend. Ahead of me in staging was the Funny Car finals and they rolled 'em out and the crew sprinkles powdered rosin on the starting line.
    It was a perfect storm of What-Could-Go-Wrong?
    Tree came down.
    I dumped the clutch.
    And stood the car straight up in the air! So high it started to tip over sideways! I did a rookie mistake and lifted, which slammed the car back down off the track and bent the front axle.

    Full disclosure: I do use a parachute pack on my hot rod Willys even tho it would not run fast enough to use a 'chute even if you pushed it down a mineshaft. But a Willys just needs a 'chute.
    And a weight bar.
    RICEy? Yup.

    ccr01_1.jpg willys04.jpg
     
  27. 6sally6
    Joined: Feb 16, 2014
    Posts: 2,936

    6sally6
    Member

    Built 454 BBC in an Anglia ! Wheelie bars came on the car when he bought it.
    He took those "tacky things" off as soon as he got home.
    As soon as he 'got-into-it at a stop sign'..........he went home and put them back on !
    6sally6
     
  28. I have never seen wheelie bars on a Hot Rod, I have seen them on Pro-Street cars, or Street rods/Tech-No Rods.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2025
  29. THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Joined: Jun 6, 2007
    Posts: 6,116

    THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Member
    from FRENCHTOWN

    Oh goody. My Attic Anglia build will be the first.
     
    hotrodjack33 and swade41 like this.
  30. swade41
    Joined: Apr 6, 2004
    Posts: 14,530

    swade41
    Member
    from Buffalo,NY

    With my Henry J revamp to a higher sitting straight axle and more power I added wheelie bars just to be safe.
    It did a decent job of pulling the wheels every p*** with the stock front suspension and old small block, better safe than sorry.

    Screenshot_20230101_190241_Gallery.jpg 20210316_125004.jpg
     

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.