EDIT: If you've enjoyed this thread, check out part 2 (wires) @ http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=629929 part 3 (alloys) @ http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=630669 & part 4 (full wheel covers) @ http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8527992&posted=1#post8527992 It's been a while since I've posted an opinionated rant, pretending it's a design history review. Lately I've noticed that just about every car sold these days comes with spoked alloy wheels, five or eleven or twenty spokes, and I really wouldn't want any of them. What the Hell was wrong with the kinds of wheels that we grew up with, and that appeared on traditional rods and customs? Well, here are some thoughts about that. STEELIES For the first twenty years or so that I was paying attention to cars, steelies were the whole deal. Every car and truck produced had them, and guys who messed with their cars worked with the steel wheels they had. Sometimes they were painted body color, sometimes black or red or some other contrasting color. Factory wheels sometimes had a pinstripe or two, but rods & customs rarely used them. LITTLE HUB CAPS As I learned about hot rods, it seemed that nearly all of them had little hub caps that were sold on Fords, or aftermarket copies with the logos left off. This particular combination, baby moons with beauty rings and whitewalls, seemed to be on about 75% of the hot rods that appeared in magazines: A few guys left the beauty rings off of early cars; that looked good too, with a more no-nonsense look that suggested high performance: A few of the very high-end cars had chrome plated wheels. The few cars that ran them in the '50s had hub caps too; it wasn't until the '60s that guys ran the chromies naked. I personally like chrome '50 Merc wheels with caps and whitewalls best, especially if the rears are reversed: FULL WHEEL COVERS A few hot rods, and nearly all customs, used full wheel covers. Many of them were from deluxe factory models, with '47-'52 Cadillac sombreros being at the top of the list: There were other full hubcaps that gained some popularity in the '50s; Olds, Lincoln, Studebaker, Plymouth and others had good looking caps that got some attention, but none of them matched the sombreros on traditional customs. AFTERMARKET WHEEL COVERS There were a few full caps sold at accessory stores and speed shops that were not copied from any factory design, such as the "full moons" that saw a lot of use on rods and customs in the '50s: ...and the "flipper discs" which added a single bar to the moons. These were actually inspired by a stock Cadillac cap from the '30s, used on V16 cars. Lyons, Cal-Nevar, and other aftermarket companies produced a variety of custom caps besides the moons and flippers, but most of them have disappeared both from the market and the hobby. SPINNER WHEEL COVERS Perhaps inspired by the bling of flipper discs, Oldsmobile added little simulated knockoff bars to their full wheel covers on the limited production '53 Fiesta convertible. These turned out to be immensely popular, and were offered as a factory accessory on all '54-55 Olds models: The Fiesta caps were followed by dozens of other spinner cap designs. Dodge Lancer and Buick Roadmaster caps in '55-56 were immediately picked up by the R&C community, as were the succeeding '56 Olds and '57 Lancer designs. Many, many other spinners followed, but I don't think any of them improved on these original few designs. MOON WHEEL DISCS The Moon Equipment Company introduced its spun aluminum wheel discs in the early '50s, primarily intended as an aerodynamic improvement for use on lakes and bonneville cars. They were attached to the steel wheels with screws, but that didn't deter the hot rod guys that wanted a competition look on their street driven vehicles. Eventually they ended up being used with whitewalls and on later model cars, and snap-on versions were offered for those unwilling or unable to drill and tap their wheels. These later derivations were mostly a bad idea, but the original screw-on type still looks great on a racy looking hot rod: RALLY WHEELS Chevrolet introduced the Rally wheel on Corvettes in '65 or so -- stamping some holes in a steelie with a wide rim, and decorating it with a small hub cap and a deep beauty ring: These soon spread to Camaros and other Chevy SS variations, and similar designs were brought forth by other GM divisions, Ford, and Chrysler for their muscle and pony cars. I think that many of these were good looking wheels, but their use seems limited to guys with cars of the '60s and later, and they are frowned upon by traditional car guys. More to follow. Feel free to jump in.
I call your attention to "Part 1" in the title of the thread. I intend to talk about wires and alloy wheels before I'm done. With the possible exception of T speedsters, I have never seen any hot rods or customs with wooden wheels, so I don't think I'll go there. As for rally wheels, I just said that I think they're good looking. They are certainly not on topic for the HAMB's center of interest.
As for rally wheels, I just said that I think they're good looking. They are certainly not on topic for the HAMB's center of interest.[/QUOTE] So you know they are off topic and non traditional and title this thread Traditional wheels. Either your confused or I am but why not only post what the thread title says.
The rallies were mentioned as part of the evolution of the the steel wheel in general. And it was 'splained. No shit rallies are not 'part of this board'. Self herding sheep. Who has some cool wire wheels to add here.
he did say all it was was a thinly veiled rant. i have read enough of what fraud has written to know that there will always be something worth absorbing. so i look forward to further parts. So you know they are off topic and non traditional and title this thread Traditional wheels. Either your confused or I am but why not only post what the thread title says.[/QUOTE]
Guys, just wait and read. Let 50Fraud finish. He is not one to waste words. There will be a good point to this. I promise you.
In my little mind, all wheels look best in fives. Five lugs, five main "spokes" in the design. (Like Cragar SS, etc...) Wheels with other numbers of "spokes" look wrong to me. I'm not talking about steelies, caps, etc.... those look good to me as well.
So you know they are off topic and non traditional and title this thread Traditional wheels. Either your confused or I am but why not only post what the thread title says.[/QUOTE] Mr. Miller likes to tweak noses and stimulate conversation, there is always a method to his madness.....(or drunkedness). So stick around and refrain from passing judgement before he is finished baking the cake....
Yep ... he is one of the most constructive and knowledgeable guys you'll ever meet. Even when he's on a rant, it's positive.
I like the Lincoln caps much better than the alloy spokes. I wasn't sure what look Tony was trying to acheive with those. I remember him mentioning he wasn't "locked in" on them though. NOTE:I hate guys who put late model wheels on old cars....just because they have the same bolt pattern or they got them free,or some shit! Streetrod guys are known for this! S-10 wheels,Mustang wheels,Vette wheels. It's like they ran out of money when it came to getting wheels...Also,those chrome Pep Boys trailer wheels! YUK!!! There's a guy who lives somewhere near me who has a HEMI,Roadrunner,with those Factory Mustang,5-spoke,American looking wheels on it!!! I told him he ruined the look of that beautiful Musclecar. I got the "Tilted,RCA dog" response from him,haha!
Go easy Ryan....I think Tony was "pushing boundaries", but to no avail and came to his better senses! The car is running what nature intended now! Everything is good in the world. Thank you Mr. Miller.
I have a hard time looking at that with those wheels and the gto hood scoop, looks better with the lincoln caps...I'd like that car a lot more if it didnt have that hoodscoop! but it aint my car so it doesnt matter.
I happen to like the hood scoop on this car, it gives it a '64-'66 custom vibe, when customs were rarer due to the musclecar surge.
There's nothing wrong with the wheels we grew up with, the so called traditional wheels - but most of them would look as stupid on a new car as the new car wheels look on old cars. Somehow I just know I don't want to see Flippers on a Crown Vic, or Steelies and small caps on a New Challenger. The new style wheels fit the new style cars, even if some of both are ugly.
Post some more full covers on full fendered 32's....please My car has different bolt pattern on the rear, and with an early Olds rear, I am forced to use a shallow dish steelie. I've seen a few famous early cars on here with full covers, so that's what I guess I will use. ...and it is traditional.
The sought after wheel covers in my world in the early to mid 60's were 57 Plymouth cones. Seemed like most of the cars I lusted after had em. It was common for stock 57 Plymouths to sport black wheels without hubcaps at that same time. Never understood why they would take off such great looking covers. LOL. Wish I had a picture to show.
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