I've had Daytons and they always leaked. I got pretty good at scraping out the sillicone and re-sealing them. Since drooling over the '58 chevy in the last TRJ (Lee Pratt's - I think) and then seeing it at the Pomona show I have been dreaming about running these Crager 470's and skinny whites. I am broke at the moment but I can't stop obsesing on how good this would look. The problem is that I drive this car every day and the last daily driver I had with wires was almost always running at least one junkyard wheel to keep it on the road while I was re-sealing one of them - it was stupid. I guess I am hoping that there is something different about these. Is it possible that the spokes don't actually go through the rim? I always heard that running tubes in radials was dangerous due to heat buildup or something- any truth to that? I want this to be safe and reliable since I crossed the scrub line a few inches ago. I think it's too late for me anyway. . I've seen the vision of my car with these and lace paint on the roof and I can't resist. The next time I have any money in my pocket I will be drawn to the light . . .and then to imperial customs with grandmas tablecloth in hand.
I still want a 60ish plymouth with early 50's Chrysler spokes(which are real close to the buick spokers), and a crazy panel paint. -Jesse
There are radial tubes. British cars with wire wheels have had them on them for the last fifty years.
I believe those rims are of the Star Wire origin...the spokes are welded to that inner ring and then the ring is welded to the outer rim.....should be no spokes going thru the outer rim.......you shoud have no problems...
Gotta buddy whose old man was cheeper than free dirt....we had his truck one night...went in the bar, and when we came out had a flat. Took the tire off the next day to go have the leak fixed...come to find out that there was a damn tube inside of it...tread on the tire was good, but somewhere along the line it had gotten an unrepaiable punture wound, so his old man put a tube in it...lasted him 4 years off off road use and severe beatings...just a thought on the whole concept...
The original Radials ran lower pressures,and had alot of sidewall bulge. That flexing would build up heat with a tube. Newer radials run much higher pressures,and don't have this problem. If the tire size starts with a P,as in P195-75-R15,you should be OK.
No***** radshit? They are starwires! I checked the website and found no info about how they are made. I always heard there was something "fake" about them so I wondered if that was it. . . perfect. Now I can even see the two piece rim in the photo. I am all over them.
skylark wires, which is whats on lee's car, are much cooler but expensive. you can get repop but i think they are around $1200 a set or so. you can still find good one at swaps if you are in no hurry. another good alternative is the old good tru spokes from the 60s and early 70s. thats what i think i gonna be runnin on the buick eventually. they go for ok prices usually and can be found easier than skylark wires can. there's a guy near me that said a buddy of his had 2 sets a few years ago that had been sittin in his garage since the 70s in perfect shape. he was supposed to get back with me but i haven't heard anything yet. i'll try and post a pic or two of the buick. it's getting redone when i finish the plymouth with lots of hints coming from the green 64 buick in the middle of hot rods and customs of the 60s...ken....
nice ride luckystiff- I haven't seen that one on here before. Thanks for all the wheel info, are tru-spokes the same as the starwires with the solid rims? Maybe i'll look around for some of those. The starwires are around $160 each brands new which is not in my buget for a while now. . .
Tru-Spokes have the spokes going thru the rim.......they tend to leak.......they have that seal that looks green on the inside of the rim.....I have had many Tru-Spokes and Tru-Rays..............I cant remember having any of them leaking... I had friends that had problems though...I guess it's just how you take care of them....
if any of you guys know of any 15" tru spokes in a 50n5 pattern i'm lookin'. after i posted this earlier i called the guy i mentioned above and he had checked on 'em and forgot to call me but they were 14s and won't clear the buick drums. so if any one knows of a set of the good old tru spokes let me know as i plan to be full on back to this car mid summer. praised, yeah i haven't posted pics of it here for a long time. somethings went wrong with the paint so we didn't do the freeway scallops and stuff and i decided to go back to my original plan of a semi clone of the green car i mentioned above. the difference will be wheels and tube grilles front and rear oh probably white interior instead of black. and the paint will just take hints from the green car with a full scallop job mixed with lace panels on the roof maybe. not sure yet as i may do some lace on the plymouth. you got the right idea about takin your car to donnie. he's like my west side long lost brother that i never had. a hell of a good guy...ken....
The Jalopy Journal
