Fenton Hawks-thing of legend or garage art??

Hey everybody, I have a great question for everybody, does anybody actually run Fenton Hawks on their custom/rod or do they sit in the garage and collect dust??? Ive been to a load of car shows and cruise ins over the last 30 years or so and have never seen nor heard of Fenton Hawks until now. I spend too much time on the HAMB and see them featured for sale once in a blue moon and people generally hold these wheels like they were dipped in gold. But I have never seen them on a car, I figured at the Hunnert this year I would see at least I set-but nothing. I am currently trying to get a set for my 50 Deluxe, and I will run them, but will I be the last person in the US that actually runs these wheels or what. Maybe I am just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I just see them on mock-up but not on the road.....Also if you are willing to part with your Fenton garage art please let me know incase this deal falls through!
thanks
Dime


..and just in case you are ready to call me asshole, provide a pic or 2 to show the world that you are running these badassed wheels!!!!!

 

haha ... i got a full set of customized hawks on my flower car ( 1960 cadillac ) , drawer pulls on each spoke & the rims are painted silver with orange flake . the chrome was wasted and i couldn't find anybody local to take the wheels apart and put them back properlly ....when all else fails - flake it !.....i wanna repaint and flake but good for now ....... also found another wheel with really bad rim , saved allumiun ( spelling ?) center and made steering wheel for the cadi too..... check out strangerscarclub.com for pictures ........scotty

 

I gotta quit posting at like 2 in the morning, anybody out there actually running these things or are they just things of legend like bigfoot?

 

Here's pics of a set on my '57 Chevy. I put about 2K miles on the car with these wheels on it, now the car is down for an engine swap and then some major body reconstruction. These are all 14" but I just scored a pair of 15" so I'll run 14"s in front and 15" in the rear. I've also considered using pattern adapters and running these on my '60 Fury, I only need 2 more to have 2 complete sets.

I put trim rings on mine since the chrome is shot, don't know that I've ever seen a set on a car in person either, other than mine.





When I got them, they were on this Avenger GT. I sold the car but I just had to keep the rims.

 

Cragar is making some new wheels that look at lot like them, except in a safer 1 piece design....

 

Since when does saftey=cool. Besides i am working out a deal on a set of wheels, and by best friends cousin owns a powdercoating place so we shall see, but please keep sending pics, and hell if they are old school Radirs thats cool too!!!

 

Ah, but when a center rips out at speed Dead=Uncool.

 

i've been runnin them on my chevy for several years. your only real hope is to find a NOS set. the chrome on them is not so great, so they generally turned to crap after minimal exposure. my chrome has deteriorated quite a bit in a few years on a garage kept driver.

 

I have a pair of 15's that my brother got from JC Whitney in the mid 60's. The chrome is shot and when I last had them on anything it was the two wheeled trailer I used to tow the dragster on. Right now they in the shop "collecting dust".

 

heres some with some good year double eagle tires....

 

Old school Radir would be a Rader, no?

Bob

 

oh yea , mine are 15'' got lucky with them since thay went on a big ol cadillac ..... i think the steering wheel was a 14''........

 

I had a set back in 64 on a Falcon Sprint. Five spoke with center cap. Cracked the mag center on two of them due to Chicago potholes. I have a picture somewhere on them if I can find it I'll post it. I had'nt thought about those wheels in years.

 

i need one more just like this one on that green car.then i'll have a full set. post more pics of the green car

 

I didn't realize that so I checked them out on Cragar's website, pretty awesome. Would look sweet with some redlines. Unfortunately they don't list prices on there, I wonder what they get per wheel.

The wheel safety thing is more important than you might realize with these wheels, as they could come apart. You need to check in between the outer hoop and the centers to make sure they don't have rust jacking, some are riveted together and others have a tab in them that slides into the center and is welded to the rim (those are the later ones, more preferable).

There are also stories of drag racers breaking these wheels on the strip during a hard launch, at some drag strips two-piece wheels like these were banned. They do have a very cool look though, worth it if you can find a nice set.

I love that green sports car thing pictured above, and I love those tires with those wheels too.

 

Anybody know anything about these? I was thinking of running them on my '32. They seem kind of like Fenton Hawks but they have no markings... Maybe a Sears or Monkey Wards deal?

 

yep, Sears made those Radir clones w/the flat no-rib spoke. always did like 'em....also like the Cragar G/T's from the 60's [have a nice set of those collectin' dust in the shop at the moment].

Ed

 

Do you go to swap meets? I saw a perfect set for sale at one of the local (Chicagoland) or Dean run. I think it was 200 for the set.

 

i wouldn't use them for autocrossing.

their cast aluminum riveted to steel construction leaves a little to be desired. the poor strength of wheels like these were the inspiration for the hurst mags.

 

Just scored these off Gaybay

NOS Fenton Hawk's with tri bars.

 

NICE!! I wish I'd seen those.

I have 2 14X7 small Ford pattern and I can't seem to find 2 more to make a set, so I might have to go for something else.

 

I see them pop up there often enough, just save the section "vintage wheels" and check it every day or two

 

I have a pair of those spinners and towers but they don't seem to fit my Hawks. Would really like to find two more, wasn't even sure what they were from when I bought them.

Those NOS ones were a great score, don't know if I'm crossing the line to ask what you paid. 15's are much harder to find, and with good chrome too. I have to run trim rings on mine.

What are they going on?

 

Are those tri-bars the correct caps for the hawks? I got a set at Iola this year 15x5 chevy bolt pattern and was wondering what they had originally, as i'll be looking for them if that's the correct one's?
They are collecting barn dust now, but they might have to be put on here.....

Only took 8 years to find them...needless to say i was like a kid at x-mas draggin them back to the camp site

 

$650 shipped to my door

 

RARE! Fenton Hawk 15" Wheel 15x5
Location: Lodi, CA Price: 275
One pair of genuine vintage Fenton Hawks, 15s, 5 spokes, 5 lug. Beautiful original good condition. Rims only. Located in Lodi, California about 25 miles south of Sacramento.

Will fit most hotrod/muscle cars with 5-lug.

$275 o.b.o.

Call Big Josh

(209) 451-3743 home
(209) 200-5588 cell

 

We have a classified section.

 

Double wow!!!!

 

Wish I could find another set! They looked great on my T-Bird

 

I have a full set of Fenton Hawks...with spinners. They are rough. I mean really rough. The chrome is rusted badly on the wheel and the spinners. The centers seem to be in really good shape, just old. My father ran them on his 1963 Impala when I was just a boy, and removed them some time in the 70's when the tires went bald. They have been sitting in the garage ever since.

Today I decided I would pressure wash them. The aluminum centers are in pretty good shape. The chrome outer wheel pieces are rough. The chrome is gone on one rim and rusty on the rest. Turned them over and they all say "Fenton" clear as day. They are 14's. I am not sure of width. I think 6". Also there is a name etched in them and each rim is labelled "Front Right", "Front Left", "Right Rear", and "Left Rear". One rim has a dent on the outer edge that is small and completely fixable. They still hold air. This week I think I will cut the dry, hard, bald tires off and see what the rims look like inside.

Are they of any value?