White walls tires & mag wheels-traditional?

I'm not as old as some of you guys as I grew up in So Cal the 60's and 70's. The only white walls I ever remember seeing with mags (mostly supremes) were on low riders.

I think I remember a thread by C9 (member emeritus) where he went into historical detail about what he remembered about blackwalls, whitewalls, wheelcovers, hubcaps and mags, etc. He grew up in So Cal and I regard him as an authority on regional hot rod trends during the 50s and 60s. He was there and in the thick of it.

 

Question is were they around back then? Rarely. Does that make todays use somehow wrong? No, they are more popular today do to the INTERNET'S. BUT...... like any car/truck its combination of parts, color, stance and over all look that makes or breaks the build. Did anyone drive their car this week-end?

 

Photographic proof,my '28 in 1962,I dont know if chrome Astro's count or not.

 

Heck yes! Cool photo. Still got the car or old trophies?

 

There ya go, ...proof positive!
Anything you wanted to run.


There weren't any "RULES" back then and nobody cared about tradition. Guys just borrowed from the past and also built their cars using parts/trends from the present.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Yes and Yes. The car will be the subject of a rebuild starting in a month or so,and it will be kept traditional.

 

...and ...keep yer wheels and tires the same!

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Didn't read all the posts but I can't stand wide whites on aluminum slot mags. Cheeeesy!

 

Line 'em up and throw down a few pix!

 

I grew up in Pittsburgh too and in 64 I had a 64 Impala convertible. I bought a set of American Torque Thrusts from Broughers Speed Shop and put them on the Impala. Since it was a convertible I figured it would look better with whitewalls so I ran it that way for a while, but my buddies kept ragging on me to turn them around and run the blackwalls.

Finally I did and it changed the entire character of the car. Instead of a nice little cruiser it suddenly looked agressive and much better. I had to admit they were right.

Don

 

I was out driving my rod this weekend and passed the local farm auction yard. There was a hay rake with Wide Whites on it. I laughed so hard I nearly ran into the ditch. Then I thought- Well, tires wore out on the farmers (or his wifes) car but the cheap bastard couldn't throw them away- mount em on the hay rake and get a few years out of em. Unfortunately he didn't put any 5 spoke mags on it..

Not a personal fan of (generally) of WWW and mags but that's my choice- not my perception of history, it obviously happened.

 

This week-end at CHEATERAMA. Wicked idle, killer sound when WOT. Criteria met.

 

Hey what's the problem? If they look good, just do it!

 

i to like to over-think things and take the fun out of them.

 

The best thing about this thread is looking at SLAMMED's avatar picture.......it would look good with Whitewalls on it too.......

 

very true in my area.

 

Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset"> Originally Posted by thunderplex
There ya go, ...proof positive!
Anything you wanted to run.


There weren't any "RULES" back then and nobody cared about tradition. Guys just borrowed from the past and also built their cars using parts/trends from the present.

</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
very true in my area.


That's the way I remember it! Just put 1" WW on the Cragers on my 55 Chevy wagon. It ain't right but it's MY CAR. Funny thing my 24 year old son loves it that way. In 50 more years he'll remember it as being traditional.

 

X2. Whitewalls and mags just seem like a contradiction to me.

Mags = speed/track. Whitewalls = street/custom

 

Around 1967/68, I bought a used set of Cragar SS with 1/2" WW SEARS radials mounted on them. I barely knew what a radial meant. The only comment I heard a lot was "your tires are low on air"

 

Eddy hill ran em

 

I had whitewalls on my channeled '30 roadster, on reversed '50 Merc wheels, before Ivo!
Same deal, black deep reversed with '50 Merc ash cans. (1955-56)

In 1960, I had just gotten my '46 Ford club coupe running, 331 Reath Chrys., 6-71 GMC pump, triple Vee belt drive...The reversed Merc wheels were on it, but Flyer in San Jose painted the car (AND the wheels) Washington Blue. With the Merc ash can caps and black tires.
Car looked almost 'sedate', except for that blower and Strombergs sticking thru the hood...

1962, I got 4 boxes from American Racing. Four torq thrusts, with chrome metal caps.
I changed the tires from my Merc steelies at the Shell station across the street, and polished the rims of the wheels 'til shiny. (Mag then, the early ones...took a few trips around the rims with the polishing rags!)

About 8:30 P.M. I headed on down to R&J drive in, to cruise thru and pick up a race...(or just show off my new "MAGS"...
Soon as I pulled around the end of the car service island, I'm greeted by some of my 'racer pals': "Ugh, Oh, Shit! WTF are you doin with those fuXXin truck wheels??? Where are your Mercs??? THAT LOOKS LIKE S8IT!"

Funny thing: $67 apiece, the only guy that had 'em before ME in San Jose was Sam the Barber! (red '62 409)
It would be a few days before they said, "Yeah, they're cooler than I thought at first...At least you left the tires black!"
TRUE STORY.

 

I grew up in SGV in the 60's (San Gabriel Valley, suburb of LA) While I loved hot rods and customs growing up, I was surrounded by the low-rider culture. Supremes and white-walls abounded, even back to early 60's. So did white walls and 13" wire wheels unfortunately. I also remember show cars had them with white walls. Never saw wide-white walls on Supremes....not until i put them on my 60' ElCo. I think it should be a state law all 59 and 60's run wide-whites and Supremes, too bitchin!
I appreciate tradition and if i claim to be period perfect, then I damn well better be traditional. But I drive my stuff everyday, so disc brakes and radials are called for, the wide-whites just makes me happy!

 

I remember people (mostly women) over inflating radials because they looked flat. My dad bought my mom a tire gauge just for that reason and it still holds true. It's hard to eyeball a radial that's low.

 

That's "getting it".

 

Whatever blows your hair back. Build your car the way you want it, not to please somebody else. I don't agree with all of the trends out there, but if it's not my car and my money, I don't care. Variety makes life interesting.

 

Here's a pic of my pop's daily driver with triple whites and raders in Milwaukee about 62 or 63.

 

^ and you even spelled Rader correcty

Single ribs, too...I had a pair on the front of a 61 chev conv with redlines, with Prowler red/white striped fake cheaters on chrome reverse out back

 

Everything is traditional. Nothing is traditional. Say it was not done then, wait 10-minutes, and someone will post a picture of it, done, then. Everything, including z'd frames, airbags, radical chops, etc. was done, with pictures to prove it. Nobody says you have to like it.

Everything that I do, that you guys hate, was taught to me, buy my elders, who built rods and kustoms in the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's.

Anybody who speaks of absolutes in history, is ignorant, or lying.

Traditional here is what Ryan says it is, right, wrong, neither, or both.

 

Here in Tennessee wide white walls with true five spoke mag wheels would have gotten you the dork award. Some guys combined thin white walls with mags in the early 60's and that was considered ok. By 63-64 or so, it was only cool to have black walls or thin red line tires with mags.

--- Steve ---