im going to have to disagree with this....(i believe when you say kickstand pipes you mean short lake pipes)...well here's some examples....If i can find a pair of 1 3/4" short lake pipes, i may run them on my shoebox underneath full length pipes
Ya got me. I actually meant the full-length lakes pipes, and by "traditional customs" I was referring to the cars built in the early '50s: chopped Mercs and stuff. I don't recall ever seeing Barris, Ayala, Valley, or Cerny cars with lakes pipes. But you've clearly disproven my generalization. Sorry about that.
Screw all of that shit about Street Rodders Vs. Hot Rodders, Trad Hot Rodders Vs. Restorers, Creative Vs. Traditional, and all of that other nonsense... In my opinion, as soon as you get into all of that shit you are doing this for the wrong reasons. This is all supposed to be fun... Passionate... A release... As soon as you start comparing yourself against other perceived groups and what not, you kind of destroy the point. This comment did my heart good. So many times I start to read a thread and someone with a negative or sarcastic remark will chime in thinking they are the traditional police, and I just wish they would just get a life.
About the rubber rake thing- Now you can get 7.50's and 4.75's- most just had 7.00's and 6.00's if they had bigger in the back. I see fendered hot rods in old books with a lot of daylight over the rear tires that were only 6.70's in some cases. Dropped axle, torched mainleaf, etc. in front, stock in back... and 6.70's in front too- nice that we have more to choose from these days with tire sizes, but I like to not go for the extreme obvious choices with sizes every time.
^^ I recommend reviewing the load ratings between 4.75s and 5.50s. I found that the 4.75 wore rapidly and unevenly on my pickup, and the 5.50 had nearly twice the load rating. I kept 4.75s on my T, but I think 5.50 is a better choice for a fendered car.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, Amen. Excellent thread on wheel history...I'm trying to decide on what to put on my Riviera at the moment and I'm leaning toward chrome steel with acorn lug nuts and a center bullet, am I wrong about that being an early 60s thing? I'm considering Cragar S/S's as well, still got that love for them that I had as a kid in the 70s...but they give it a more muscle car feel.
I think chrome steelies would be the hot setup on a '63-64 Riv, Cragar S/S would look horrible. But then I didn't think I would like the TorqThrusts on my '65, but turns out I do, and many agree...
Back to the original thought on this thread - "Lately I've noticed that just about every car sold these days comes with spoked alloy wheels, five or eleven or twenty spokes, and I really wouldn't want any of them. What the Hell was wrong with the kinds of wheels that we grew up with, and that appeared on traditional rods and customs?" It may be because alloy wheels are more round and straight. The advent of low-cost spoked wheels probably results in less hassle for car dealers and companies. No to mention that marketing picked up on the fact that wheels were the first thing someone did when they fixed up a car. Even if it was just to paint the wheels red. I have run steel rims since the '60's and have found that are more prone to damage, at least where I live. Trying to fix old wheels can be a spendy exercise, if possible. At least now vendors are producing new ones.
I think both the steel wheels and the Cragars look good and both would have been an option in the mid 60s...the S/S just became so identified with muscle cars that it turns off lots of traditional customs guys. But c'mon, everybody has astro supremes.
2. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=629929 3. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=630669
I bet the Rubber Rake had as mutch to do with tire cost as anything ,Why pay for the more expensive big tires for the front when all you really need was more bite out back?I don't even know how much Width selection you could get in any tire size without an increase in height the most common rear tire size I remember anyone running was 900x15 on the rears and out front was 550-650x15 seems like the 15 was the most run rim size here in potholed New England.
Out here it was also commom to saw off the front lower part of the fenders level with the top of bumper guys also ran this set up with and without grills.Ct. required bumpers so a piece of pipe or channel got bolted between the exposed frame horns.
I totally agree with all of Tony's rant. I did not get into the 50s deal to much but I did do the 60s and here was the way it was in my small Oregon town that I grew up in. If you were just starting out you ran painted steelies regardless of tire type. If you had a few more bucks you would put on white walls if it was a cruiser type, Performance type you still ran steelies. If you had a bit more beans you ran chromies, Chromies with whitewalls for cruisers. If you had more bucks you ran some type of mag wheel for the performance type and still chromies for the cruiser type. If you were real bucks up you ran Crager SS mags for both Performance and cruiser types. Now for the early era of "Streetrods" everybody wanted to run "Mag" wheels no matter what type. They were on Ts, coupes, Tubs and Sedans. I ran chromies with 50 Merc caps. Just my .03 (Inflation)
You could just about mirror image that on the other side of the pond - except a lot of guys ran chrome rims reversed on painted centres in the late 50's early 60's RodL
OK, I have a question for those who were there... and I realize styles varied by region. Why did chrome OEM style wheels, reversed or not, not become common (at least in the magazines) until what appears to be the very late '50s-early-'60s. Occasionally you see a photo from the early '50s or even late '40s with them, but very rarely. Was chrome very expensive for the time? Or did a set of high end OEM wheel covers hold more prestige?
Purrty! Small front tires were the lightest in weight; tall rear tires gave you a taller gear for free. The rubber rake was a lakes thing first, drags came later. Chrome wheels were a hassle in the '50s. You had to take the wheels apart, take them to a chrome shop, reassemble them after they were plated. In the '60s you could go to a speed shop and buy a set of factory-plated chromies for less money.
It's like a tortoise and the hair kind of thing. Of all the "fancy" mags, slots, wires, alloys, etc. that have been made over the years, the lowly old Steelies still reign supreme. Steelies always have been and always will be the coolest wheel every made.
QUESTION: Some of you may have seen the new Street Rodder mag (Oct.), where that Voodoo Larry fella has a nicely crafted A coupe on the cover. (I'd scan some pics, but I'm a little paranoid about whether that's an accepted practice.) Anyway, he uses those oft mentioned "high clearance" wheels, 20X3's on the front & 18X4.5's on the rear. The front tires are 4.75-5.00-20's & the rears are 7.50-18's. Traditionally, was using smaller wheels on the rear ever done? Or, is that just Larry using some creative license?
Great Article! Too bad about the naysayers. Seems they are everywhere. Planning to run steelies on my "A" coupe. Not so much because of tradition as I like the look and because I want to run "modern" rubber. Planning to make 'er a driver. Again great article - look forward to more
And they are all 18 inch diameter or larger with 45 series tires...gross. I'm going back to steel wheels on my 48.
We all like what we like,I like mags & wires but personally I prefer steelies on my cars. If nothing else they are easy to clean! HRP
Kudos, Tony. Great premise for discussion...especially your foresight to throw in a glaring exception (of your own making) to stir the pot. Enjoyed it!
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