I´m thinking about to switch from my Lancer Hubcaps to smoothie wheels. Had the Lancer caps for 17 years now, they are still in very good shape, but now it´s finally time for something new and different ! There are sure differences in the qualitiy of the wheels, chrome and so on. So where should I buy ? Pete Paulsen ? Stockton Wheel ? Wheelsmith ? Wheel Vintiques ? Any recommendings ?
http://www.rallyamerica.com Jimmy aka wheelkid here on the HAMB does a great job in my experience. Very good reputation and fantastic service. Do a search on rallyamerica and see what others say. Terry Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Theses guys will most likely tell you to get gennie style Vintiques not the smoothie .looks to me the above link are Vintiques.i just bought a set of smoothie Vintiques and I am very apply with them nice Finnish on the chrome outer rim and Finnish on the caps.if you buy from summit they ship for free. Mine are chrome out side bare inside with 48 caps.Vintique smoothie Jake
I think what's happened here is that you have mentioned the word "smoothie" and a lot of people on here consider them to be untraditional and dislike them intensely. Consequently you are getting the Internet equivalent of the cold shoulder. Personally, traditional or not I think if used correctly they can be used to great effect and give off a traditional "vibe". I myself have a set that I use sometimes with cones from wheel vintiques (series 10). They are over six years old and the chrome has stood up really well, and remember I'm in England where it rains all the freaking time, although I do make sure they are always clean and well protected. Good luck with whatever you decide. Now I'm just going to sit here and wait to get my ass handed to me on a platter for posting this, along with my radials. Paul
EDIT *** Kripfink beat me to the punch - I type slow. The problem with the term "smoothies" is that people use it to describe several types of wheels... Chrome stockers, chrome reverse, baby moons on stock wheels, and then there are the actual chrome smoothies. I guess they all look the same to some people. To me the actual chrome smoothies look kinda cheap, I guess because they are. They do look better with the cone center caps shown on Kripfink's above. Here's my chopped Caddy with chrome stock wheels and chrome bullets...
As an appendix to gators wise words, I feel that I should add that most chrome smoothies come with multi-lug pattern centres that make some kind of centre cap mandatory. Running them with the unused holes exposed should be punishable by death. Paul
What Kripfink shows in his picture is excactly what I wanna go for. Those cones on chrome smoothies. As far as I know they are available in different sizes. A pretty common style is a painted wheel with chrome trim ring and chrome center cap. How about to turn it around ?? Car color painted ring and center cap on a chrome wheel ? Never seen it before, may be cuz it looks bad....... @ Gator : I fell in love with your Caddy ! What a dream !!!!!!
Any one of these (or their 14 inch equivalent); http://www.summitracing.com/search/...turers-wheel-series/wheel-vintiques-10-series plus a set of the these (will fit both 14 and 15 inch); http://www.summitracing.com/parts/wvi-1027-1/overview/ will duplicate the look I have in the photo above. As per your idea of the painted trim rings, I don't have an opinion on whether the look would work or not but it would be hard to achieve and you would end up damaging your nice chrome wheels. Painted trim rings will scratch the hell out of your rims, as would roughing the rims up enough to take paint. Just seems like a fairly pricey experiment to me! Best of luck I also forgot to mention that the summit check out allows you to calculate the total price including shipping and duty in advance and their international shipping is second to none.
Thanks Kripfink ! Or these cones. A little longer : http://www.rallyamerica.com/Hubcaps___Accessories.html And you´re right about the trim rings ! Haven´t thought of scratches.
Anyone using the larger cones , I think their 5'' instead of 3''. Just wondered if it would look too ... well you know.
They look good but you had better check about compatibility as from what I can tell different manufacturers centre caps and wheels aren't very often interchangeable. The thing I like about the small bullets is that they don't protrude from the wheel and give this really strange optical illusion that the wheels are so deep you can dive into them. If you really wanted to go with the taller cap you would probably be better off getting your chrome smoothies from them too. Good for you! But overhere in England and Germany American car parts swap meets very very very rarely happen, just like chrome wheels don't grow on trees, so our choices are very much more limited. We all know how difficult it is to stay truly traditional in the states, let alone thousands of miles away. Paul
Check out Night Prowlers. They say on their facebook page they are getting cone hubcaps soon. Another option. Sorry for your lack of swap meets over there. I did not notice your location and not trying to be a smart ass.
I havd chrome reverse wheels on my '57 with the centers painted and baby moons. They got lot's of positive comments. Everyone wnted to know where I got the trim rings. .
That proves my point... Those are NOT "chrome reverse" wheels... Those are chrome smoothies with baby moons... Not hating on you Neverdun.... just saying. Your car looks good BTW. Maybe it's just me but it bugs me for some reason, like people calling flat pleats "tuck n roll" or people saying "32 ford Model A deuce coupe roadster"
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