History when did chrome reverse wheels start?

I was always under the impression that chrome reverse wheels started in the late, late 50s. They were huge in the 60s as a cheap, cool wheel. My chopped 53 has JC Whitney white tuck & roll with a stock steering wheel, so it could have been built anytime from '53 to '62. Do chrome reverse wheels with spider caps and wide whites go together? I'm not into drunken era mixing, and since I wasn't there, I'm asking for advice from someone with more info.

 

Not sure exactly when they first came out but the first ones I remember were in the early 60's. Guys back then were running them with WWW's or blackwalls, and with "baby moon" centers mostly. Looked good then and still do IMHO.

 

Bought my first set in '61, had on my '57 Chevy 210, the cats loved'em!
Gilmore Oil Company had chrome wheels on all their tanker trucks back in the 30's 40's.

 

Ha, ha, ha! I got my first set in '65 ($15.00 ea.- NEW!), and you're right - the neighbourhood cat's were forever leaving their "mark"..
I'm not sure when they were first available, but they were getting more popular in my hometown by the time I got mine. I also remember some mid '60s Comets having a wheel cover which resembled a "chromie", so they had to have been around for a while for the big 3 to pick up on 'em...

-Dave

 

The first set i ever saw ,,in person ,was '59 or '60 ,,and they weren't cheap ,,,saw a lot of em in Hot Rod Mags in '61 ,,then ,when i was stationed in New Mexico in'62 & '63 ,,,my buddy Bob had a set of Chrome Reversed ,,w' baby moons ,on his '58 Chevy Impala Convertable ,,,i wanted to put some on my Black '52 Chevy ,,but they cost too much for me on a Air Force Pay ,,
don't remember any with Spider Caps tho ,,untill much later ,,maybe late '60's ,,but by then Mag Wheels had pretty much taken over the scene ,,

 

Barris started tha Ala Cart in '57 It had Chromies and spiders.

 

I remember seeing them in the "little books" back in the mid fifties but they were pricey.

 

When my folks went on vacation from Iowa to visit reletives in So Calif ,,x-mas of '57 and '58 ,,my cousin hauled me around to all the Kustom & Hot Rod shops ,,Barris ,,Dean Jeffries ,,Roth and others ,,,everyone was still runnin' hubcaps & wide whites ,,,,it was like a rolling car show out there then ,,hot rods & Kustoms everywhere ,,but i didn't see any Chrome Wheels on the street ,,Some of Barris' Show Cars had em tho,,Dean Jeffries had a set on his white '48 Merc Custom Convertable ,,but he sold it in '58 and it dissapeared ,,

 

I'd bet the trend started with Midget Race car rims. the very early cars used a 1926-27 Model T Ford brake drum welded to a 12 inch utility rim, the top running cars had everything but the body and upholstery chromed.

 

Not sure if there are Spiders on the Ala Kart or not ,,best pic i could find ,,

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I bought a used pair of 6 lug chrome wheels for the front of my 38 Chevy coupe in the early 60s. A friend had them on his 41 Chevy convertible. He converted to 5 lugs and sold them to me. Chrome wheels were the only custom wheels available for the 6 lug Chevys back then.

Later I asked about getting my wheels chromed. They told me that they couldn't do it. The center and hoop have to be polished separately and then welded together before dipping.

 

And everyone gives me a Hard Time having a Pearl White '27 T Coupe with chrome wheels , ,,saying it ain't period correct ,,,??? oh well ,,

 

Romeo Palamedes '49 '50

 

Steel Rebel ; Romeo sure had a neet roadster ,,like to see more pics of it ,,if possable ,,color one would really be bitchin' ,,
thanks ,

 

I know they were available in 1958, because Advance Distributors in Lewiston, ID had a set of them in the window. I scrimped and saved to buy my first set of chrome reverse wheels from them in 1959. I decided that nothing else need ever happen to me, I had reached the pinnacle of hot rod equipment....that was about 150 cars ago...

Still a very timeless look

dj

 

The frist ones I saw was aprox 1957. They had gotten more popular by the early 60s

 

Moriarity;; Totally Bitchin' '55 man ,,,i take it you still have it ??? KQQL ,,

 

Great !!! what motor & trans are you runnin' in it ???

 

Seen em back in 56.

 

man, wide whites and chrome reverse go together like cocaine and waffles!

 

A Nail Head ??? and three dueces too !! Awesum fer sure ,,,
here's my ole` buddy Bob's '58 in '62 ,,in Las Cruces New Mexico where he moved when we graduated from hi school in Iowa in '61,,Chrome Reversed Wheels weren't cheap in those pre mag wheels days ,,

 

Romeo's is one of the first ones I remember. As far as I know chrome wheels came out of Northern California in the early fifties. They were from Don Hentzell's Western Wheel & Rim in Oakland, California. He was the go to guy for any wheels at that time. Palamides shop was in Oakland too. Romeos roadster was probably one of the first but they were on a lot of cars shortly after that.
Here's Don's shop truck in the '55 Pan Pacific Autorama. (Andy Southard's "Hot Rod's of the fifties" page 55.)


Blackie Gejian had em on his 1955 Roadster Show winner too.

 

Seems like alot of the really Kool stuff started on the West Coast ,,thanks to those little Magizines ,,it didn't take long for a new trend to spread clear across the country ,,'specialy for us poor guys in the MidWest that couldn't go out West ,,I know I always looked forward to seeing the write ups about the Oakland Roadster Show each year back in the day ,,

 

have seen them on a 26-27 trackroadster
in a pic from 48-49 was an ad for something
i dont remember any more

 

They were the first things to go on my '57 Ford in '61, they had been around a few years by then. However, at least in SoCal, wide whites, or really whites at all, were passe' at that time.

My folks bought a '63 Olds Starfire in late '62, Pop liked my wheels so much he saved the money on hubcaps and put chrome reverses on the Olds, except with spider caps rather than the baldies I had. That Olds, with a 394, was in todays words, just sick.

 

Some show cars ran chrome wheels with whitewalls, but the guys that taught me about this stuff insisted on black tires with chrome wheels. It was (at least locally) a very strict standard. I was just a full-of-questions kid at the time, but I remember the answer clearly.