Anyone know what size tires are on the restored Bakan coupe? In my opinion...the wheel tire combo is perfect. I borrowed the pics from Roadrunner here on the HAMB... From this pic I can see the rears are Firestones...just can't tell what size. Thanks, Neal
Purely guessing (slightly educated guess) the fronts are 6.00 or 6.20x15 and the rears are 6.50 or 7.00x15 (Firestones on both ends). Wheels are '49-'51 Merc.
This is one of my all time favorite cars. I about threw up when it appeared on the lawn at Pebble Beach Painted the Wrong Color.....I crack up every time I view this car which is actually restored to way too much copper as it was originally Tahitian Red. How it ever won against the other cars just dumbfounds me when you have 6 other cars that are just ***s especially Paul FitzGeralds 32 from the East. The Judging happened long before the cars arrived at this event, but someone should have checked the pedigree before that award. This is just my opinon from the outside looking in....things were a little bit one sided and I will think twice about attending an event that is so far off in reality to the True Hot Rod World.
That's what I would guess also...just hoping someone could confirm. Probably the 3-1/2" whitewall in the rear and 2-11/16" in the front? I see 5.60/7.00 combos, and many times they look too small...for my tastes. For me this one is just right. Neal
I wonder how many cars were built from the 'Bakan Coupe' mold in the 50's and 60's? Orginally that 'lakes chop' was intended for streamling the car for lakes racing, but the look apparently caught on, and there were probably a number of look-alikes built. In my little Idaho town there's a Deuce lakes coupe 'survivor' that was exported from southern California many years ago. It has a virtually identical lakes chop to that of the Bakan 3-window --- it looks just the same. It also has what's left of a 40+ year-old red paint job (the 50's/60's red paint job is so cobwebbed with cracks that it's hard to decide what the exact shade of red it was, and besided, the original Henry blue color is showing through in several places). This coupe obviously was intended and used for lakes racing, however, (not just the look) as evidenced by the extraordinary efforts that were made to lighten the car. It sure would be cool to know the lineage of this local survivor, and if it was a copy or the pictured Bakan coupe --- or maybe visa versa.
southfork, that survivor coupe sounds quite intruiging, any possible chance of posting some photos. thanks. Al. Wanted. SW 140 mph speedo.
That has to be one of the all time great hot rods. I did read somewhere that the colour is fairly accurate and that the colour shots back in the day made it look more red than it actually was. I'd love to see it photo chopped with the back guards (fenders) removed.
I just saw the car at the GNR. It has Firestone tires 6.70-15 in the front and 8.20-15 in the rear. I hope this helps.
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