This just in, Gregg Brady called and wants his wagon back Just kidding. That thing looks great! I really like it a lot.
Thanks for the feedback. I shot these the other night after the car got a long overdue bath. These are the first shots with the new Astros on the car. They are 15x7 standard offset Allied Wheel Supremes with 215/70R15 skinny whites. No, these aren't photoshopped at all, other than making them black and white. The car sits fairly close to the ground, but still looks like it needs lowered in these pix. I'm happy with the way it sits, a good balance between looks and functionality. I do like the '59 Caddy tail lenses mounted to the stock lenses. I personally think that the Caddy lenses are far overused, but do have their place on certain vehicles. On the Galaxies they make the round Jet Thruster tail lights look like they have a flame shooting out the back, which was my intention to give it a early 60's Jet/Space Race kinda look on the rear. If you look at a set of '62 tail lights with the backup lenses on them, you can almost tell that there was a designer at Ford that wanted that flame coming out the back, but most likely was told to tone it down a bit. I also wired up the caddy lamps so that at night when the turn signals fire they cancel out with the base lense, so the two alternate on and off. Its pretty neat looking.
it's cool that it's really like that. I thought since the ***le was "bellflower dreaming" they were some ideas you had. neat cruiser!
Mind me asking what the wheels and tires set you back? That's just the look I'm after. Send a PM if you want.
The wheels were around $125 a hit. You can get them from any Discount Tire, they are a dealer for Allied. I wanted the Allied astros, not the other imitations. The tires ran about $40 a hit, and are just cheezy cheapo Kelly Springfields.
Great looking ride!! No better looking lines than a longroof. I'm working on a '63 Country Sedan right now and am going with the Bellflowers as well. I have a tech question that you may be able to help with. What is the best way to mount the tips so that they are stable against the sheetmetal? I don't see any mountings on the tips themselves, so I'm concerned about any shimmy that may be present will cause either paint damage or annoying rattles. Can you (or anyone else out there) give some pointers on mounting the tips so that they are stable? Thanks.
Thanks. Looks to be about $700. for everything. That ain't bad. Are these a pretty decent wheel? We've got a Discout Tire here, I'll check in to it.
Donzie, yes the wheels are the best repops you can get in my opinion. Allied uses the original mold that the first astros came from, so its as close as you are gonna get. The way the wheel is built is also stronger than the imitations. rb, yeah I can help you with mounting. What the exhuast guy did on mine was put a mount just inside the rear of the wheel well that holds the front behind the tire. Then, on the back, he ran a piece of strap from the frame over and welded it to the back side so you can't see it. Its a clean look. I had to talk him out of using clamps on the tips, he didn't get why until I picked up the car and he said "yea, looks much cleaner with no clamps on them shiney pipes." I've heard of folks not using mounting on the rear, but I'd be afraid of them rattling off, they are pretty damn heavy. If you look at the last picture you can see the rear mount off the bottom corner of the bumper. Its hardly noticable unless you are looking for it really.
As long as I'm photowhoring my car, here's another one to add. This is from Memorial Day weekend in Southern Colorado:
Looks good. Watch out though, my 6 year old just put a 2nd degree burn on her leg last night on my bellflowers, what an ordeal!! It ****s.......but they aint comin off!!
Where does one even find Bellflower pipes? I've been looking for them without much luck. The ones that I have found weren't long enough; I need em about 36"... Suggestions? They look sick on a wagon btw...
The ones on my wagon measure 39" from the tip to the outside edge of the bend in the pipe. I wanted long ones that would grab your ankles everytime you walk by the bumper, but I have enough trouble running into the tail lights as is...
Good eye! Yea, we did the Durango car show last memorial day and stayed in Ouray. Absolutely beautiful country down there the whole way down with mountains, mesas, flatlands and valleys. The show was so-so -- had a Hummer across from me, brand new Vette with temp tags beside and a 70's Monte Carlo on the other side. The original Cruise-O-Matic transmission **** the 2nd gear coming up Coal Bank P*** after the show. Was a great adventure and the drive was great anyway.
You've got/had a nice Galaxie Shifty, one of my favs. I took the wagon to Denver today and was pretty amazed at the honks and thumbs up I got all over down there. I think it was more the car than my pompadour...
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