I tried searching around, and I could have just totally missed it but I get to the point: I've got a 60 Pontiac parisenne on bags as my daily driver, I'm trying to figure out something cooler than the steelies/sears pinner whites I'm currently riding on. A buddy of mine offered a set of skylark wires for a really good price (they do need some cleaning up/rechroming), are there any issues riding on those daily? I have 0 experience with wires on cars (but a decent amount with them on bikes) will I be dealing with re-truing them often? Are these wheels just too valuable to use daily? Am I over thinking this? P.s. out of respect for my buddy don't ask what the price is
I'm well aware that the Parisienne is a Canadian Pontiac. However I did not read the opening post slowly enough! As a Canadian I'm a wee bit embarrassed. Well that passed quickly! LOL
Rechroming will cost a ton and a half !! wires will really class up your car. Once you true them up, if needed you should be fine going forward. I know some guys who run wires have a thin rubber sleeve , I guess you would call it that wraped over the spoke ends inside the wheel almost like a belt to help seal them better. you will be checking pressures a bit more then on a regular wheel but drive in and have fun. Again , look into what chrome will cost, ya might get scarred
Chroming a rusty Skylark wire wheel will cost more than a new reproduction Skylark wheel. I would go with the Pontiac 8 lug drums and wheels.
Hello, Back in 1963, I was able to save enough money to buy a set of 5 Buick Skylark wire wheels that were in pristine condition. I knew the 58 Impala had to have machining done to adapt the wire wheels to the hubs and axles. So, we selected the famous Bixby Knolls shop, Henry’s Machine Works to do the conversion. This whole row (on Cherry Avenue) of hot rod shops, chrome accessories, tire/wheel alignment, muffler shop, transmission work, welding shops and manufacturing places was well known to all teenagers and drag racers in the area) The cost was in line with what I had saved, too. They had the Impala for a couple of days. When I took the Buick Skylark wire wheels to them, they referred me to the neighboring shop. It was the local tire shop that had a guy who did mounting/balancing of all kinds of wire wheels. He wanted to tighten up all of the spokes before mounting. Once done, he mounted the wheels on the new tires. Then he took the tire/wheel combo to the tire shaver machine and ran them all through the process. (the new tires were not totally round and left a lot of stuff on the ground) Once that was done, he proceeded to balance each wheel, using his professional techniques. He also used some kind of thread lock, just to be sure. He knew I drove all over So Cal and raced the Impala, so he did not want anything coming loose at any time. No original photos, but thanks to @themoose I was able to see what the Impala looked like cruising around. Jnaki One other thing the tire guy did was to place a flat inner tube and some adhesive on each metal nib underneath. The flat rubber tube surface wrapped tightly around the inner surface of the rim where the nibs were showing. Now, that created a pretty good seal, so the Skylark wire wheels never had a slow leak or unexpected flat. The tire guy also said that I could run a set of inner tubes, just to be safe, but I thought his thoroughness was plenty for an air tight, well balanced Skylark wire wheel set, on my 58 Impala. A high speed acceleration run just down the street on the “real” dragstrip portion of Cherry Avenue was done to check out the handling and braking. It felt smooth, went straight and it was a "no hands on the wheel" for excellent work on the alignment. It was all good for future drags and cruising in So Cal. Note: Modifications like Buick Skylark Wire Spokes, modified to fit a 58 Impala running gear is a custom installation and took lots of machining work. It may not seem as radical as chopping a top or modifying a lowered hood line. But, it is a modification of something not normally on a stock looking sedan. It is an example of a custom installation if you will… Picture this purple top, being all black for the best photo of Buick Skylark Wire Wheels on a 1958 Impala… you get the picture and uniqueness. Did my 58 Impala with the Skylark Wire Wheels drive/handle well? Through 1000s of miles of cruising from Santa Barbara to San Diego proved that small custom items can be added for the best in hot sedan cruising and accelerating... NOTE TWO: On our 58 Impala, it went from stock black paint on whitewalls to different colors and patterns. The silver on black being the last one prior to adding small Impala center hubcaps and beauty trim. Then in 1963, I was able to purchase a set of 5 Buick Skylark wire wheels. The whole Impala took a new look and it was very cool. The only Impala with Buick Skylark wire wheels in all of So Cal. 1962 High School to Buick Skylark Wire Wheels in 1963 Thanks, @themoose But, that Skylark Wire Wheel look did not last long with the midnight theft and recovery. From that point on until sold in 1964 fall, it was painted black on black, on black (with Buick bolt pattern rims ) for the final goodbye look, as it drove away with its new owner, ready for his own Bixby Knolls adventures. NOTE 3: If anyone ever finds a 1958 black Impala with a C&O Stick Hydro, Buick bolt pattern axles, a super strong solid tow hitch on the back... Please send me a HAMB conversation and photos, ASAP... Thanks...
Re-chroming will cost more than a new set of wires, sandblast them and powder coat for a finish that will gold up to daily driving. Adapters can be used if they are the wrong bolt pattern. I had a set of Buick wires on a Model A and they looked and rode great. HRP
I'm with the rest of the guys; re-chroming is just not practical. I had a '79 Ranchero Squire with a set of Tru-Spokes a few years back. After a few years they got progressively more difficult to clean up. I checked into the alternatives and finally gave them to a (less fussy) friend.
It’s all pretty much been said. I’m a fan of wire wheels. They can look great on many different cars, but can be a bastard to clean.
Dude. You have a reasonable cost Chrome Shop 25 minuets South of you in TJ. Everybody from Rick Dore to Winfield has used this shop. There used to be two wheel shops in San Diego that would re lace and true up spoke wheels for foreign cars back in the day. A friend had his rear wheels widened 2 1/2 " by them. I had them on my Roadster back in the 80' and you will spend some time on maintenance. LOL They gotta look good and look Bad Ass on your car. Go For it.
Get ahold of @wheelkid on here...Jim McLean. His biz is named 'Rally Sport', they are in Fresno county, CA. and Buick wires are only ONE of their specialties. They also offer McLean wires, very reasonable. Quality is 100%.
I wouldn't run wires on a daily. They're a nightmare to keep clean, they cost a fortune, and you just wind up ruining $3000 worth of wheels. You'll also have to run a tube in that tire, which adds further complication to it. I had Skylark wires on my Olds. I took those things off and sold them.
I drove a 53 Skylark for 12 years, after a while I had to spray paint the spokes and centers silver to cover the rust, they drove ok stayed true.
Remember, it's not just a matter of dunking them in the tank. Each spoke needs to be polished individually before chroming and I doubt it could be done well without complete disassembly.
To be done right they have to be totally disassembled. That was spendy 40 years ago when a friend of mine had it done.
Everyones already said it, re plating them would be so expensive! Though, resealing them isnt a big deal, if you have a local lowrider shop they should know how to do them.
Wheel Vintiques sells 53 Skylark wires with stainless spokes so you won't have to worry about the spoke rusting. Current price is $924 a wheel.
You need to tell that to the guys who cruised Bellflower and Van Nuys Blvds back in the day...... If they absolutely need re-chroming and look terrible, I would pass on them, but if they are "driver quality" old chrome give them a good cleaning. I would take a chance and run them. Nothing like real-life experience to answer those nagging questions. I just cleaned up an old set of chrome wires to sell, with a little TLC they came out great. They sold immediately.
I had wire wheels on my 1957 T-Bird when it was driven from Texas to Alaska and back, around 11,000 miles. Never added air and drove extremely well. The wire wheels were still on the car six years later, when I damaged them.
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