The Stance

It’s common knowledge that a car’s stance can either make or break the overall look. For the most part, there aren’t any written rules deeming a rod too high or a custom too low. But when you see one that sits just right, it’ll draw you in from across the parking lot. There’s no question about that.

In the postwar years, a change of hubcaps and an altitude adjustment transformed many a mundane sedan into boulevard cruisers. With wild paint and tasteful interior accents, the genre of mild custom was born.

But today’s subject falls on the other end of the spectrum.

Sometime in early 1963, American Racing Equipment of San Francisco, Ca. introduced their new 4�? x 15�? Torq-Thrust Five spokes. Rather than bolting them onto a hot drag roadster or nose-up A/Gasser, they installed a pair on the front of a brand new 1963 Ford Galaxie. And for good measure, they wrestled a wider set of their mags underneath the car’s quarters.

The results were striking.

Other than the radical rolling stock, this ’63 appears to be factory fresh. I can only imagine the hot rodders at American Racing driving over to the rental car agency in search of the biggest barge on the lot. Once the paperwork was filled out, they caravanned to a nearby shopping center to begin the transformation.

With jacks rolling and lug nuts spinning, the guys worked like a well-oiled Indy team.

After all four wheels returned to the pavement, the film was loaded and a few photos were snapped in the summer sunlight.

One of these shots was used by American Racing to promote their wheels in the October 1963 issue of Popular Hot Rodding. Judging by the success of the 4�? x 15�?s, I’d wager it worked.

Stance. Some cars have it, some don’t. And for this ’63, it didn’t take long to make the jump.

-Joey Ukrop