Opinions on Hubcaps for my 60 Impala

Hey HAMBers, help me choose a hubcap / tire combo for my ride.

I need to get new tires for my ride, the tires on the car are a little sketchy. I figure while I'm at it a set of hubcaps would be nice as well. I am leaning toward wide whitewalls for the tires.

Here is a picture of the car...



Thanks,

Kelvin

 

i had one i ran desotos. loved em

 

I don't think wide whites on that particular body style, it would look too "Gangsta". Yes, it needs white walls but medium width with chrome reverse wheels would be what I would run. Astro Supremes would also look good IMO. If you want hubcaps something like Lancers would be fitting.

Don

 

i agree...lower it with some 14" astros and skinny whites....done


the copper color on the wheels is taking away from the car SOO much in my opinion...

 

B.F. Goodrich 660 Silvertowns with a redline and whitewall that came factory on the '64-'65 Tunderbird with a Lancer cap in the center...

 

Run the factory wheel covers with the spinner
click on the link
http://www.impalas.com/wheel-spinne...l-spinner-set-4-oem-silver-inserts/t2052.html
and here's a photo

 

Have your steel wheels painted the same color as your side stripe and run a chrome bullet with chrome lug nuts and a nice trim ring. The stock steel wheels you have are full of character and should not be covered. My $.02
Here's a pic to get the idea.

 

My favorite caps of that era, handsdown, are 1960 Buick Electra Wheel-Covers...

 

NO on WWW's... Pinner white on whatever wheels / caps yu go with.

If it were mine it'd either get Supremes or chrome steelies with spider caps.

Here's a Hambers car;

 

Cross Bars or Crab Claws would look good on the 60 Impala.

 

This picture shows why I don't think wide whites work on that car......too Pimpish IMO.

Don

 

Gator, those oem chromies look so good,,but they look big for some reason,,are they 15"s or are my eyes playing trick on me and they are bigger?

 

Back in the day when your car was a "late model", the hot ticket was a set of early '63 - '64 Chevy station wagon wheels (wider and had a deep-dish/reverse appearance) painted body color or the color of the accent stripe with thin whitewalls and baby moon caps (the type that fits over the outer nubs ... not the rallye wheel style). Still a good look for a small investment. Drop the car a couple of inches and you're really stylin'.

 

Yeah , try somebody elses wide white just for a look see before you buy ......IMO it doesn't go . The Lancer caps are one of my favourite as far as hubcaps go .....kind of a timeless custom look .

T

 

I think the car could pull of wide whites, but not the ones on the gold fade painted example above. Those have too much whitewall, almost a late 40's looking tire on a 60's mag wheel. But a lesser wide whitewall on chrome steel wheels would look nice, although a '60 can pull off the pinstripe whitewall just as well, it's a transitional car. Wheel and tire on this car will determine the whole look of it. Lowrider with supremes, custom with flipper caps, maybe a bit more hot rod with the chrome steels.

 

All of the above suggestions are good, but if it were me and I wanted wheel covers and not custom wheels I think I would go with period wide whites with a set of '60 Vette covers. That'll stick with a Chevy/custom theme...

Dave

 

I think this wheel combo would look cool. Im not too hip on the late 50s and early 60s hubcaps, but these tires would look perfect.

 

Dave

 

Agree with the thin whitewalls and baby moons, but paint the steel wheels black. It doesn't match the body color or the stripe, but it complements them both.

 

That is a nice look.

Don

 

Skinny whites and Astros


Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad

 

keep the tires . rims need to be supremes.

 

Thanks for the photoshop! That sure looks a hell of alot better than what I have.

 

Skinny whites, yes, and a set of '57 Plymouth wheelcovers - not as flashy as Lancers but look good on just about anything.

 

Thanks for all the posts.

I currently have 14" wheels, and yes the color is well...not as cool as I thought when I did it.

I would like to have a set of skinny whites and Astros, and I probably will some day, but for right now I am looking to just put some caps on what I got.

I have the stock caps, which are in reasonable condition, but they just don't quite get it done for me.

I like the Lancers, what about 3 bar Fiesta's with the WW?

 

I am leaning toward radials because I want a good handling tire. I have 2" dropped spindle Power brake kit up front, and I will probably get some stiffer and shorter springs all around to get her down a little more and help with the body roll. Here is the tire I was thinking of. It is a 205/75 r14:



With this tire, would Lancers or Fiestas look good.

FYI, I think the Baby Moons and beauty rings are a good look as well, but it does involve a bit more work, with the painting and all.

Keep the suggestions coming, I really appreciate it!

Kelvin

 

FWIW, I have a 60 Belair and I'm going thru the same "decision dilema" as you. Here's my thoughts. I am a no on the wide whites on a 60. They look ok but not as good as pinniers. If you want to spend the $$ on something really cool get ahold of Diamondback and have them make you a set of double or tripple pinner whites. Supremes alway look great. You gould put a set on a turd and it would look good. Kind of like 32 rails on a hot rod. Everything looks better on duece rails.
As far as wheelcovers go, if you repainted your rims black or the interior trim color of your car and and went with spider caps, spyder rings and trim rings it would look nice. I attached a pic of Hellfishes car. Also I kind of like 62 Nove wire wheel covers. They have a nice spinner on them. I also attached a pic of those. Good luck. I will be following this post as I am undecided myself. Todd

 

I think you should go with the tri bar spinner. They were very popular in your cars era.

 

Where can you get these in 14" They are cool!!

 

That I can't tell you. I just remember I loved the set I had on my first car, a 56 Ford. Mine were 14". I think they came originally on a Dodge Polara, not to be confused with the 4 bar "Black Knights" that came on a different year and were also popular at the time. I think at one time Moon made some reproductions of them.

Edit: I just looked, Mooneyes does still have them, but I was wrong, they are called Dodge Polara hub caps.
http://www.mooneyesusa.com/shop/product.php?cPath=188_212&products_id=2744
or:
http://www.hubcaps.org/dodge.html