I just found a 1973 Speedway Motors catalog today. They still sold all same wheels as in the old Ansen catalog.
Help me decide the wheel tomorrow ! As I showed I has 2 NOS wheels I can get and the 17.5” has not even holes drilled. But I’m not 100% shore its a 1940’s Bell but I guess so ( no lips ) but the 15.5” has lips. Size tells me the 15.5” 3 spoke but the most ’factor’ might be the 17.5” 4 spoke. One showed Bell 1949 catalog and as I can see 15.5” has no lips but the 17.5” has lips. As a expensive wheel and I like get a 40’s Bell ( not a copy or never ) but also the coolest wheel in my 5W coup ! ( Shore, I can go Ford 1940 aswell )
Love Bell wheels. In 1958, my bud 'Sneaky' and I travelled South to Fresno, then south to Bell, CA. Roy Richter himself sold Sneaky a 3 spoke 15" Bell with the 'lips'. That wheel went into his '29 Roadster Pickup, full fendered and red oxide primered, 265 Chevy with Chevy 3 speed, '49 Pontiac rear. Sneaky drove it daily, went thru San Jose State college (4 yrs.) Roadster pickup parked in same spot, So. 7th St. My younger brother bought it in 1978, tore it down at my shop. Altered wheelbase 8", short alum. bed, 472" BBC, M22 Muncie, narrow 9" butt. Turned low 11s @ Fremont 'Baylands', still with its 15" 3 spoke Bell wheel. It's still in there! He had the spokes rechromed, look like new.
If you are chopping the top of your five window, go with the smaller wheel. If you are anything close to tall or stocky, you will thank me later.
Yes, I showed my body before, a old Texas race car chopped + 3” so thanks on notes plus I read the 15” was used in gassers, but that was maybe in later 50’s. I shore know Bell sold this wheels late 40’s and I’m pretty shore its a original.
The one I have in my coupe is original. It is a four spoke and it has the lip. There is a #1 on one of the edges on the back side. It is raised. Mine has the original center cap as well Very rare to find that with a wheel. Mine also has the steering wheel hub shown there in the catalog ATTACH=full]5688257[/ATTACH]
Really cool ! Me, I got the 15.5” and 3-spoke but if I could chose I had a got a 4 spoke ! The 17.5 ” is/was to big for my taste. But not all days one could chose 2 NOS 40’s Bell’s... But actually the guy had them said ’that day’ the Indy style wheel was not for sale. I also got this supernice ignition swith with std key.
I hope I get a decent comfort in the 3.5” chopped coupe with the steering collum std, this wheel and std seat and the luggage tray. I notice if seat goes back the steering wheel get into strange position. I like this ignition swith/holder. I’m 72” tall.
“Sneaky drove it daily, went thru San Jose State college (4 yrs.) Roadster pickup parked in same spot, So. 7th St.” Hello, I did not have a Bell steering wheel on my first Flathead powered sedan delivery, but when my wife and I bought our 1940 Ford 327 powered sedan delivery project, years later, it was a 4 spoke. That made the sedan delivery look racy and finished, inside. Wow, 4 years at San Jose State College… and living on So. 7th street… what a small world. I lived downstairs in a rear apartment with some friends for the Spring Semester of 1965. It was next to the washing machine room. Then after a semester, we moved upstairs to a larger apartment right above the old unit. It was much nicer. Luckily, our unit had two spots for parking, but my So Cal roommates did not bring their cars up to San Jose. It was 5-10 minute walking distance to the campus, so I snagged a carport covered spot for my 65 El Camino. In the next stall, but at the deep end, was a 65 Triumph 650 motorcycle that I customized for my other roommate. (New seat, TT downpipes and better grips to start off. ) It was a good introduction to college life and my favorite market was just around the corner… it was called something like… M&J Grocery or something to that nature. They had the freshest steaks and produce. My final semester at San Jose was moving out to 11th Street to a multistory apartment building on the top floor. (a better view, newer apartment, nicer amenities… etc.) It was a large two bedroom unit and I paid more for a single room. (plus better roommates) There were several students from So Cal, but the girls next door were pretty outstanding. One girl and I were the only ones to use the roof deck for the "warmth of the sun..." But, now, it was a bicycle ride to school every morning. Jnaki It was the start of getting to learn about college life, studying and exploring the whole S.F. Bay Area scene from the ocean to the tall mountains behind Berkeley. That came in handy several years later, when my wife and I started our coastal road trips, photo explorations, car shows and rock concerts in the northern California area. The “Summer of Love” was the label given to the times and place in history.
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