Customs Hoo F***ing Ray !!!! (updated)

OK Tony, I like it now.

 

Whew!

 

Might I add, TITS?!!-MIKE

 

That is beautiful! I really love the color.

 

Sir,you have a beautiful kemp either way but,with no disrespect intended,the new wheels and tires take it to another level.
Paul

 

Super!!!

Now it's perfect!!

Awesome!!




BloodyKnuckles

 

Man, I am DIGGING this version!!!!

 

Caaaaaan you diiiiiig it?

I can!

 

I'm gonna agree. Even if Ron is mean to me.

 

Yeah Yeah Yeah,

I love the new look.

See ya in Austin

BB

 

I like "plan b" better . keep the caps on it they will grow on you.

 

I liked the first ones OK but, these are better.

 

My "traditional wheels" thread provoked a new bunch of comment about my Crown Victoria wheels (now retired) and the hood scoop on the '56, so I thought I'd explain a bit more of the rationale behind these choices.

'60s STYLE
In the first place, I was a little hesitant to build a second '50s Ford Victoria, because it might turn out to be a re-hash of the 1950.5 that I already had. One way to distinguish it, I thought, would be to do it in a more 1960s style rather than the late '50s look of the shoebox. That lead me to the wheel choice, skinny whitewalls, and white interior. Lee Pratt's Impala had a wheel & tire combination that looked great (and '60s-ish), so I used that as inspiration.

Back story on the wheels: In the early '60s, Jim Hall fielded his Chaparral Can-Am cars with an amazing alloy wheel that looked like a wire wheel projected on a flat surface:



I fell hard for these wheels, thinking that they were kind of a parody of wire wheels, but perfectly sound and efficiently engineered for a race car. Obviously I was not alone in my admiration, because BBS showed up pretty soon with these for use on BMWs (great):



And if that weren't enough flattering imitation, Chevrolet did this for Impala/Caprices (not so great):



Out of all these Chaparral pretenders, I was struck by the Crown Vic wheels, because their varied spoke depths and concave surface produced shadow patterns very similar to those of real wire wheels. Adding to their appeal was that NOBODY used them on any kind of customized car, so they were available dirt cheap.

I bought some, originally thinking that I might use them on my shoebox, but when the '56 came home the decision was easy. I hunted around for some centers that would disguise their origins, and considered different whitewall widths. I finally settled on this final execution for the car:



Fast forward: the skinny whites were a nightmare; they were cheap tires and impossible to keep white. The "plan B" steelies and Lincoln caps looked terrific on the car, although they pushed its style back into the '50s. I never quit liking the alloy idea, but the car just looked better with the WWWs and caps, and so it remains.

T-BIRD THEME
In 1956, Ford was trading on their Thunderbird image for the Fairlane line. Remember that the engine logo on the front fender, indicating that you had an optional engine, was a T-Bird emblem? I figured that the Fairlane designers, if they had been given the budget, would have added a hood scoop similar to the one on the Thunderbird. I could have used an actual T-Bird scoop, of course, but I once owned a '65 GTO and just thought that hood scoop was better looking. I love the way it turned out, and I think it looks like it was born there.

The T-Bird interior was kind of a happy afterthought that fit the theme well.

 

Hey, I agree wid Z38......Merc Taillites fer Sure !

I remember.......when those Car were "NEW".........Shit!

Smoked-up in tha' Great Smokey Mts of Tenn.

 

Looking really good ! Keep 'em coming as you get her put together .

 

Looks great Tony...I'll go with the Linc caps myself (I know whew!)

 

Tony--I agree with everyone else who has said this, but I think it looks better with the steelies and Lincoln caps . . . . but that's me.

Matt

 

I like the wires and the pinstripe whitewalls, especially since you've gone for that 60's look. There's enough cars with wide whites on to satisfy anyone with a rubber fetish......

Those alloy wheels Jim Hall was using were also available here in Australia under the name "Hotwire Mags". Very popular with the street machine set in the 70's and 80's.

 

Yeah, I like them too.

I have them on two of my O/T for the HAMB cars.

One set is made up of regular Enkei's ( still pretty easy to find at swapmeets ) in the front and 3 piece Compomotive's in the rear for a 15X7 and 15X8.5 staggered set.



And I just spent a shitload of money and effort to get the centers of my vintage Graku 3 piece wheels cleaned, beadblasted, cracktested, and Allodyne coated and I ordered new outside rims in the right offset for my Abarth 1000TC.

 

I always liked your detailed versions of the alloy wheels on your car Tony.
They where like a "modern" version of the popular 1950's wire wheel hubcaps that where so popular on many customs back then.

I have never really been a big fan of wire wheels on custom cars, but they sure did for the overall look on your Ford. And they sure helped set your car apart from all the other late 1950's mild customs... in a good way. The rest of the car was designed to have a lot of second looks, and the alloy wheels where a perfect addition to help here.
Plus I like your idea of trying something nobody else has done before and create an unique look with it. Something that others should try more often as well.
That said... I have to agree with many others that I do like the Lincoln hubcaps and white wides a bit better than the alloy's and thin line white walls.
However I do like your original idea of having the two sets available for the car so you could swap them around from time to time...

 

Thanks, Rik, I think you understand very well what I try to do with my cars.

That said, I can't argue with the fact that the car is more striking and more popular with the hubcaps and WWWs. I'm very happy with the way it looks now.

 

I didn't pay attention to the date on this thread- I thought you were building a twin to the other!

 

Fast forward almost four years -- the '56 is now up for sale for $50,000. The 351 engine and other drivetrain was fresh in 2010, and everything has less than 10K miles on it. Cosmetically the car looks just as it did earlier in this thread, although I raised the ride height by 1" a couple of years ago to prevent bottoming:

Tom Davison photo

Email, convo, or phone for any additional information. Thanks!

 

Here are the only other shots I have Tony. Low-res, but they show how good the car looks.

 

Thanks, Tom!