Projects 53 Chevy Bel Air "Cleetus" mild custom daily driver

Really liking your Kustom. Would like to visit with you about your plans for the chrome reverse wheels. Have a similar dream but can’t find anyone here in Minnesota that will do it.
Thanks, Gary

 

Honestly I haven't thought that far ahead myself. May just build a jig so my brother in law who possibly the best welder I know can weld them for me. Then I'll have to find a chrome shop that can get me in lol

 

On top of the fact I'll still need to source some 53 Bel Air wheels(is actually a minor difference lol). I only have the one wheel that's the sole remainder of the original wheels to my car

 

Thank you. I have a ‘55 Chevy and 12 wheels so I am good there. I really want to use them because they have the vents in them and the other guys doing chrome reverse wheels in the aftermarket don’t. I just think the vented look more period correct. Back in the day you could walk in to the parts store and they had them on the shelf. Made by Superior. Pitted easily in the Minnesota salted road’s season. I used to just paint the pitted set and get a new set every two years. Wish I had saved more of them. I am told the drop centers and rims have to be separated then chromed and welded back together.

 

I would assume once welded they could be chromed together. Possible shops where you are just prefer to do any metalwork and polishing separately

 

Here's one with vents to fit Chevy by wheel vintiques

 

They tell me the new “green” environmentally friendly chrome chemicals won’t pull down into the rim, especially on the deep dish side. It’s a tough time to be in love with old style stuff

 

Be rough on the finish to weld after chrome

 

Thanks for the wheel picture. I have checked into that one. Chevy bolt circle is 4.75 so I don’t know where they get the 4.25. Ford is 4.5. When I called Coker Tire answered and told me they have bought Wheel Vintiques. Sales are In Tennessee, wheels are built in California. Problem with them is the stock dog dish hubcaps fly off going down the road. Coker said they are going to make improvements over the next year that may solve that.
Thanks for your efforts on this. I remember the chrome shops of my youth (I am pretty old now). You could get anything done.

 

When they say "4.25 b.s." they mean back spacing. Cars they say they'd fit have 4.75"

 

Drat, I should have known that was back spacing. My old Superiors only have 3” b.s.
They show no sign of welding stress. So I think they were welded then chromed.
If you find a solution for your wheel plans please keep me in the loop. I can send them anywhere to get the job done. Thanks

 

So after waiting a couple weeks to hear back on replacement backing plates for my 58 Impala rear end I decided to take a closer look at the original 58 backing plates. Thinking I'll send blast this one tomorrow and see what I have left. I had automatically thought I had bent them hammering the axles out but they appear fairly straight

 

Also apparently a wheel cylinder from a 55 Pontiac rear end fits a 58 Impala

 

Chromed wheels are plated first and then welded. Always have been . Plating is lazy and would not cover at all where the wheel meets the center if they were plated together[/QUOTE]
Handy to know if I do ever get around to rounding up a set of 53 Bel Air wheels and chroming. I'll just remove centers and refit them without welding

 

It is perfectly ok to weld them, you weld them at the back side of the flange on the center. it is far away from the front so there is no bluing on the chrome View attachment 5879257 View attachment 5879258 [/QUOTE]
Even if the wheel in question has hole to rivet/weld through to the hoop? My centers aren't solid like that

 

Or do I just fill weld the holes and then weld like your pic after chrome?

 

I'll keep them in mind if I ever get around to owning more than one of the wheels

 

That IS a super clean look. I'll probably move mine simply because this 53 is being built to drive to work everyday. Male regular upkeep a hair easier lol

 

What's going on with the front bumper on that 56? Doesn't look like a 56 bumper

 

In other news what I intend to order once I'm able to cash my paycheck this week lol. Was going to order the lakes pipes this week but currently don't have a way to connect them. In comes the random mandrel bends. I'll chop and weld them how I need then connect with band clamps to both down pipes and lakes pipes. Then I'll finish up my tail light project. Even before I got the car home I wanted to do 54 tail lights and lee style lenses. Ordered one 54 tail light off eBay and a second one off a guy I got a bunch of other parts from. Same guy convinced me to convert to led using trailer lights. First pic is how they currently are. I'll trim back the red covering of the led lights to clear the lee lenses. And I'll use new repop bezels from speedway......they actually have good reviews. Lenses I'm a lil itchy on because as many good reviews for mooneyes as there are there are just as many bad ones over their shipping. So I hope they actually arrive lol. I'll order the lakes pipes next week or the week after

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZRrMYcwXtc4?si=zqekHznfo4k90nuR


So debating swapping to lakes pipes just yet. Started the car after work to charge the battery and got to listening to my exhaust. While it doesn't look quite like I'm wanting once you get that exhaust note you want dead on its hard to change exhaust. Tried to post video direct but it wouldn't let me. Exhaust has a deeper tone in person....I just have a crappy phone lol

 

Still gotta put it in. But scored a better radio for free that's better than what's in the car. I mount them under the driver seat where my Mexican blanket hides it(Mexican blanket is authentic. 65 year old woman that sold it to me for $5 bought it in Tijuana on vacation for her 30th birthday. Only charged me $5 because her husband would have gotten mad if free. She liked the idea of it in a hot rod lol). One thing ALL of my rods get is a modern stereo even if well hidden.

 

Small progress day. Didn't have a metal blade for my jigsaw so I decided to try drilling holes and cutting with tinsnips. Needless to say when I do the other speaker I'm going to get a metal blade lol. Luckily the reproduction speaker grills I'll be running will hide all of this. Tail lenses haven't showed up yet but the new bezels came in yesterday so I went ahead and threw them on. Far nicer than I expected for the price. And got the new stereo in. Spent rest of the day cleaning out everything that had accumulated over the summer while I was doing paint and bodywork on the car....still a ways to go but I still got an overfilled trash bag out of it lol