Customs Astro Supreme wheels history

I thought this was pretty cool. I really like the 36 Sedan. I hope this will play. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1297131965273829

 

I bought a set for my 61 Dodge, and put them on my 49 chevy 4 door sedan for a while. some bomb guys made me an honorary Mexican when they saw my 49

 

I like 'em...

 

I love Supremes ... I had a custom pair made for 'Lime Squeezer' when I built it.

 

Nice short video in the history. My old beater 60 El Camino with Supremes, it sold and went to New Zealand about 15(?) years ago

 

Count me a**** the fans.

 

They make everything look good, not my car, not my picture, not my car, I think it fits here, did I mention it’s not my car.

 

That 64 is cool! I like the doors.

 

@Moriarity, I'm also not a member of Facebook but it let me watch the video, which seems to be a theme there. I cant see some vids that others can with no rhyme or reason....he does a pretty good job summarizing the history starting with the straight spoke versions.

 

I was able to watch the video and am also not on FB. Sounds like there was a one year only version in 63 and then they changed to be more like the ones now in 64.

 

***iest 5 spoke ever

 

Coupe mentioned in the video

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/andy-k***a-coupe.151556/



one year only version from 63

 

The Munster Coach was originally built with Radir wheels with walnut wood inserts glued on the spokes. After the show when Barris got into a ******* match with Radir and pulled off all their wheels on everything and switched over to slots. Only recently have the incorrect Supremes shown up on it. There’s even an old Radir ad with the Coach, a wheel and Marilyn (Pat Priest) in a bikini!
Man I know way too much useless information!

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNtH3zWYj6y/

 

@SS327 - What was the fallout between George & Rader?

 

Now that I think about this, I have owned a set of Supremes and have always liked them. Mine were brand new and came on a 50 Chevy pickup that I had for a while. However, the truck sat stock height and it had white letter tires on it. The look definitely didn't work on it but only because of the common "mixed up theme" that so many vehicles suffer from. My pickup ended up with chrome OE wheels, Firestone wide whites and sitting correctly...

 

I like those wheels. I’m curious which wheel came out first, the Supreme or the Cragar SS. I’m thinking the round spoke Supreme and the original SS were both right around the same time in 1964. Seems to me like the Supreme is acceptable in our circles and the SS is not. Probably because the SS was so prevalent on muscle cars in the 70s?

 

Really miss the old days; when you could just go down to the auto parts store and order any kind of wheels you wanted.

 

I think both versions of the wheels we ***ociate with for Astro and Crager hit the market around 64

 

I think they were not going to give him free wheels anymore because they just weren’t selling enough.

 

George probably claimed they were all his idea. Or he wanted more free wheels. It's been said that Rader had been giving him wheels for his high profile builds. Or Rader may have presented a bill and it wasn't paid. Who knows it was the 60s.
Here is history on Astro Enterprises - started by a high school shop teacher.
https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/defining-hot-rod-and-custom-car-legacy-wheels-part-3

 

I can see old George demanding free ****. I met him one time and he went on and on, telling me how I need to understand that he is the king of the customizers and that everything was related to and dependent upon him and his innovations. I felt like responding “Yes, and you shall address me as the Emperor of Morocco, because I am an equally important individual”.

 

Cragar S/S and Astro Supremes are similar but different in an obvious way most don't notice. The Astro Supremes have spokes that start out further toward the outside of the rim and go in toward the center. The Cragars are the exact opposite.

 

The other obvious difference to me was that the cast center section of the Cragar used a periphery that encircled the spoke, tying them together within the center as opposed to individual spokes on the Supremes. The design of the Cragar always seemed to me to make it a stronger design although I'm not aware of any inherent weaknesses in the Supremes.

 

There was an issue with the spoke section on Supremes or clone thereof not being properly welded to the rim and actually slipping. Pretty sure it was on the HAMB somewhere. This is a while back.
Normally I try hard to follow the golden rule. But dang those flat spoke Cragars look like ****.

 

Agreed on the flat spokes looking like ****, but best pic I could find to demonstrate my point....Some of the cheaper brands of Supremes about 10 or 15 years ago had problems with cracking, but the good ones like Tru Spokes and Allieds never had issues....Just think about how many hydraulic suspended lowriders are out there hopping up and down with Supremes and stretched 175/60R14 skinnies with no issues? I also think they're most likely the only ones who had any problems with any of the modern ones in the first place.