Good point about the caps. I think I'll save my time and money and stick with the salt flats I have for now.
Saw a clapped-out 70 Bonneville cruising the neighborhood in sumer '83. I chased the dude down and bought the car just to get the western bullits for my 57 Pontiac. [sold the Bonneville with stock wheels for more than I paid for it] I always had a soft place in my heart for these wheels but you guys are right...not great on a skinny fendered hotrod.
a little more info Western Chrome was originally founded in 1969 by John Siroonian, as John's Custom Wheels. John's Custom Wheels provided alloy wheel plating and steel wheel plating services to the San Joaquin Valley. They were based in Fresno. As they grew the name was changed to Western Wheel. They then moved to Santa Fe Springs CA. Jimmy Smith became the CEO and when Western Folded he started Ultra Wheel. In 1978, Rockwell International purchased Western Wheel. Aside from the well known hot Rods, John was also very big in Ferrari's and he also sponsored the Western Wheel Special Sprint Car
I do think the idea of carving on these 'till they look like general jumbo's.The idea does bare some merit, and then I think about how hard it was to find a full set of US Indy slot mags for my O/T Maverick earlier this year. might be best to leave them alone for some one doing seventies stuff in the future...
I LOVED Western Bullets in the late 70's - they were the wheel of choice for your Chevy shortbed pickup (or van as mentioned), and for some reason I even remember them being on Monogram's '56 Chevy model kit back then. I've always thought (for better or worse) that they were the inspiration for billet wheels - the one piece rim lip and center, full brushed finish, covered lug nuts (was this the first instance of this on an aftermarket rim?) and the "milled" looking design are all elements you see in early billet wheels; they were like nothing else around at that point. If I had a late '70s/early '80s Chevy pickup, they would be a cool period touch.
I'm getting so old that I remember when those were some of the "hot" wheels to have. I saw them on everything from vans to 33 Fords to 4x4s. If you can get them cheap buy them and store them. Another 10-15 years people will be searching for them just like slot mags.
Western Wheels as depicted in your photo were very popular - on larger vehicles, especially pickups and vans...some full-size Big Three sedans, but they really came and went fairly quick. Honestly, I never cared for them on anything. But I'm famous for curmudgeonly opinions.... dj
I bought a set in 1980 to put on my wife's '79 Cutlass. I liked the smooth centers because they were easy to keep clean. Prolly not a good choice for a rod though......
I pity the fool! Western advertised those same rims on a 'vette circa 1979/80 complete with a girl in a bikini IIRC.
Same wheel on my 1941 Plymouth pickup, with the Western Wheel center cap rather than the ones you have. I'm probably going with chrome smoothies myself on the '41 this Winter, and save these for a Sixties Dodge pickup future project. Not too crazy about these on my truck, but it's the way I got it.
Why put a bunch of labor into 70s wheels trying o make them something they are not, when proper traditional wheels are readily available and affordable?
I remember when they were the latest and greatest new wheels on the market. I do think the van craze ruined them for us hot rodders. It seemed that they became passe in a month or two. They were everywhere and became boring in no time.
Right now I don't have anything to put them on or a place to keep them. Plus I wouldn't like paying shipping from OK. But thanks for the offer. I was thinking more along the lines of stumbling across a set dirt cheap and local.
I put some bullet centers thru them and put them on my 55 till I get what I really want. I think they look kinda cool this way.
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