Hey all In the middle of building bit of a custom\restomod '59 Buick I want to see what wheels people are running on thier customs I'm sorry if there's already a thread for it, did have a quick search! Thanks!
I went traditional on my 60 Thunderbird when I built it, chrome wheels and narrow whitewalls for a 60's look.
Most of us run steel wheels and hubcaps on our traditional customs or 14 or 15 inch Chrome Reverse or period correct "mag" wheels. To me it isn't a HAMB friendly traditional custom with mag wheels or that nasty word "rims" .
Hey CP, Is that a real side exhaust pipe sticking out in front of the rear wheel, under the door? Wow, if is is a side pipe that is fake, great. There have been many discussions on all sorts of places. Some like the location and wanted to put pipes there. For a while, in the early times, people put a single pipe, then dual pipes and finally a 4 hole set of chrome tips sticking out from under the car. It gave the stock, but slightly custom approach to a drag racer look. Some did not connect to the real exhaust pipes, but looked the same. Even if the pipes were connected, problems existed. The exhaust did not always go away from the car. The local authorities made everyone put the real exhaust tips back under the car and over the axle past the rear bumper. They did not even allow the pipes to exit behind the rear wheel opening, either. Yes, there are some cars and trucks with these exit pipes. The culprit is the non smell CO that exists in all exhaust fumes. The best way is that since we smell fumes, you can bet there is also CO as a by product. Jnaki So, if it is a fake pipe, you are ok. If it connects to the real exhaust outlet, one might think about a different location than that front of the rear tire location. Sure, if it is real, it blasts the crud off of the rear tire, but also, if some stuff comes out of the pipe condition, it goes right at the rear tire. Idling at stops is not good as the fumes float up and into the car, even if the door seals work. YRMV Note: Before the authorities did their number on those exhaust tips coming out under the car, we did install short single pipes on both sides using our welding kit and random pipes we got from our muffler guy. He was designing a complete dual exhaust system connected to our down outlet from the stock headers and tucked them up, all the way to the back. The pipe was larger, but legal for stock racing in our class. While this design was going on, we welded two tips and short extensions to exit under and in front of the rear tire. It looked nice on the Impala and sounded nice with the 348 motor. But, even if it was a two door sedan and only roll down windows for circulation, we could smell the aroma when driving around. Then next, we found a longer scrap pipes to move the outlet behind the rear wheels. That took some of the smell away, sounded nice, but we could still smell the bad aroma inside of the rolled up windows in the Impala. So, after the muffler guy finished his new design, the exhaust went under the car, up and over the axle and out of the back. We were now, safe and still alive. Did the performance larger pipes help get better times? Negligible, but in our minds, it did feel like we had more power. and... no more deadly smells... YRMV
Hello, A “restomod” with traditional ideals goes back to just a finite custom car with different details. It is just a label and nothing else. (Most hot rods and cruiser sedans have restoration as part of their builds. So, the modifications may not be the standard flathead in a roadster without fenders...) Contrary to some stories here on the HAMB, not all old cars had chrome wheels with small hubcaps. It was a nice set up, but for normal teenagers with limited budgets, they were not the daily purchase items. Spray paint and center hubcaps were what most used as that fit the needs and pocketbooks. Chrome regular rims were less, but reversed units were a lot more and way out of range of most teenagers. Custom car fanatics and those that got into early magazines were not the daily drivers of thousands of teenagers in the 50s-60s. But, as old photos go, the magazines are still around somewhere and that is what a lot of people thought were the standard equipment on hot rod builds. These days, a posted old photo is from the internet and depict chrome rims as standard equipment... as if it was the standard edition of hot rodding. Today, with good size pocket books, or even back in the 60s when money was saved up to buy a nice set of mag wheels, it was possible. Dragstrips had mag wheels, but street use was a hit or miss. Something about shocks to the daily drive on mag wheels, such as curbs, dips and potholes that did not agree with “mag wheels. In time, the companies realized they needed to get working on stronger “street” wheels in the mag style of Halibrands or the new American Racing Equipment in mid 60s. Again, unless one came from family money, those, too, were out of the picture. So, the only thing was to scrimp and save for what was a one of a kind purchase, modification and the only Chevy Impala in So Cal that had a custom touch for a daily driver and sometimes racer. Thanks to @themoose for the “Skylark Wires” look. From 1958 to 1962 the transition was enjoyable, but always in transition… until late 1962. (modified 348 motor, C&O Stick Hydro, solid lifter cam and kit, ported/polished heads, etc, plus the custom application of Buick Skylark Wire Wheels ) Jnaki For your case, the 1959 Buick has the nice starting point. You do not have to go through mechanical changeovers and modifications to get the fabulous Buick Skylark Wire Wheels for the ultimate custom look. Your 59 is a ready and willing custom ready for the last topping on the cake. Although, our dad, with his 57 Buick Roadmaster two door sedan had the perfect vehicle for a big custom cruiser. But, when I put on the custom modifications to the 58 black Impala with the Skylark wire wheels, I asked him if he wanted to see what his big Buick sedan would look like with my custom wheels. “No, thanks…” was his answer. I even rolled the Skylark Wire Wheels and tires up to his big blue Buick and it looked fabulous... I would have liked to cruise around with the Skylark Wire Wheels on his Roadmaster as a contrast to the 58 Impala. similar look in a 2 door Buick Roadmaster. one last +++ from @themoose … !!!
If anybody has a five on 5 1/2, 45-spoke True Spoke wheel, please let me know. I might own the only one in existence today. Would be nice to have a set.
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