History Rader - M/T (now Radir) Wheels - how did people run them in the 60's?

one site with some history on Rader. I stand corrected as his first name was not Charles...

http://www.1966batmobile.com/rader.htm

 

pretty much the way I remember it when I was a kid, considered cheap second-rate wheels, and for some reason usually paired with chromies or black steel rims in the back. I never really liked 'em when I was a kid, but if I had a '56/'57 chevy 2 door sedan now, real 2-rib raders with no center caps and redlines on the front and chromies on the back, no front bumper, dual afb's on an XC-8 and fenderwell headers would knock it out of the park in my books.

 

And no, I wouldn't call it a f*cking "gasser"...

 

We didn't run them because
A..they were considered ugly
2...I worked at a salvage yard and at any given day, they'rd be 3 or 4 wrecked cars in the yard with broken Rader wheels. I considered them unsafe.
C...They were ugly.

 

I did not imply that they were viewed as "cheap, second rate", rather, it was that they were not many peoples' "first choice" in the mid to later 60s, around here.

Just like comparing a typical fixed up tri-five Chevy to a brand new V8 car back then in the circa 1965 HS parking lot...we would have "preferred" the new car over an old chevy back then.

 

This is the shitty part of an open forum and negative Nancys. People read a thread about old features and the posters are liking the content, and a few people feel the need to say "that sucks, thats ugly, etc".

Yea, I know you are staff here, it still kills the hamb....a piece at a time.

 

No, Frank didnt, I did, and I'll own it. thats the way they were viewed around here when I was a kid. But time changes things...

 

the broken wheel problem, on the early wheels, is well documented.

 

My dad had these Fenton's on his brand new Falcon in 64 that had a Rader-ish look (at least to me) so I have always liked them.

On the Rader issue, I have noticed them on some Super Stock and Gasser class cars in the little pages over the years and I always found it interesting how they popped up in model kits and yet the popularity seemed low.

I have the new Tri Ribs on one of my cars, so I like them obviously,

The Falcon btw is in day two mode and was bought brand new in 1964...my dad did the wheels and changed the headliner to black the first week he had it. It was a Dallas, Texas car.

 

I'm virtually 100% positive the two rib wheels shown in the JC Whitney ad on the previous page are Fenton Hawks.

I was born in 1980, but I can tell you my Dad bought a brand new matched set of Mickey Thompson wheels and tires from Prange Way 2 weeks after taking delivery of his new orange '69 Roadrunner. But I believe his "Mickey Thompsons" were a Torq Thrust look-alike, so I think that moniker applied to a whole bunch of different wheels. I believe the tires were raised white letters at that time.

I also know my Dad really wanted a new GTO but they were quite a bit more expensive than the Roadrunner ($2995 vs $4500) and his car came with full wheelcovers (which he removed the same day and ran bare steel wheels until he could get his new "mags") so I think they were often a replacement for factory rally style wheels as much as they were for customs.

 

Ya know, I think you are correct - I was thinking there was a two rib Rader but the ribs extended a bit further to the hub area. I'll have to dig in the magazine pile, unless George beats me to it!

 

The original Batmobile had the Radars (Sears?), damn cool looking wheels..


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An early New Zealand speed company (Berry & Chung) from the 60's made a copy, I've just made a mold and had some cast to put in some 15x10 rims. They were a pretty popular wheel in NZ back in the day..


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God I love '64/'65 Falcon ht's. Theres just no getting away from it. I keep looking at them and drooling, I think I gotta face facts, give in to my automotive lust, and get me one.

 

Quick hijack for falcongeorge...more pics of the Falcon for you.

http://kingvoodoo.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-dads-first-new-car-in-1964.html
http://kingvoodoo.blogspot.com/2010/03/more-of-my-dads-first-new-car-and.html

 

Not many of them {Raders} used in my area that I remember. Either chrome reverse, or if you had some bucks, aluminum 5 hole slots or Cragar SS. If you had 5 hole chrome steel slots, you were looked at as being cheap......

 

Oh yea, like thats gonna help me curb my falcon lust... Four speed car to boot! I had a '65, and was "partners" (long story) in a '64, still have a '67 with a 428FE. But its the '64's and '65's that really do it for me, honestly, the '67's are no-where NEAR as good looking. As far as I'm concerned along with '64 Comet ht's, '64/'65 Falcons are about the best looking cars of the sixties, with the exception of the '61 bubble-top Ponchos.

 

Man, if you took a pair of these and put them in chromed 15x6 rims with about 2" of backspace and put them on the front of a black falcon with some chromies on the back...Ooooooeee!



Oh yea, and a Rotunda tach.

 

This one today.

 

Yip I recon George,I'm a big fan of this style of wheel and as luck has it I own a couple of falcons as well but these puppies are going on the rear of my bucket..


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How are you gonna mount the rims on them? How many centers did you cast?

 

Curious from some of the older guys how much was regional? I'm one generation too young for the 60's, but in the next decade it seemed like where I was in Florida the Slots and Cragar's were the thing . . . in the magazines it seemed like Torque Thrusts were the thing out west . . . and when I visited in the NE there were a lot of Keystones. Also seemed like the Keystones were always on Mopar's - maybe because Sox & Martin Mopars had them.

 

Glad you asked, BOATMARK...Let me float an answer here...
My area, San Jose, CA. (Northern, 45 miles south of San Francisco) had 'Sam the Barber' with his red '62 Chev 409, brand new American Torq-Thrusts running around in March, '62. (Magnesium)
I ordered a set from American for my '46 Coupe after seeing those...Mine arrived on the Greyhound bus, stopped in front of my house and delivered them direct: (postage paid)
I opened the boxes, found the disclaimer: "These wheels, if used on street must be removed every 60 days and X-rayed for cracks" Wow! But ON they went!
Everybody hated 'em..."Put your reversed Mercs and caps back on, those truck wheels look awful!"
In a week, they all loved 'em...

Some 'tennis shoe M.F.s' had gotten onto a new wheel that was advertised in the magazines..."Raders".
One guy had this 'too clean', '56 Bel Air, red & white...Drums painted body red, polished Raders, whitewalls.
I was happy, looked like the circus was finally coming to town! Up shot a whole slew of these 'wannabe mag runners', they were on everything 'cruising'.
All the 'racers' hated those 'Mickey Mouse' wheels. They looked 'dainty', and were invariably coupled with wide whites. (same 7.15 X 15 size all around)
There was a girl with a raised-up white '40 Coupe, real 'nose-high'...came into our Drive In in Santa Clara, the R-J. It was clean, she had Raders on it, wide ones in back...pair of Racemaster Dragster Slicks, narrowed Olds rear...(I loudmouthed that she was 'playing Willys', she was cool...Said the car had this big mill forever, she just got it and 'set it up'. She declined coming out to race with us.)
Her '40 was in the buildup area at Fremont Drags, I watched as she came up to the lights, then turned a high 12 second pass! 371 Olds/B&M Hydro.
(my '46 had a Joe Reath Chrysler, 671 blown, and every time I ran it I broke somethin'!)
Her car earned respect. I didn't care what kind of wheels she ran. (on HER car, they looked 'George'!)

 

Rader was the first guy to make custom wheels for the public in the early 60s. Prior to his wheel, all custom wheels were race-only. I just finished reversing a pair of 15"x6" Rader single ribs for the Mysterion clone I am building and trust me, those were well built wheels. The rivets were very strong and very well set. Took several carbide bits to drill them out. Then the web was so tightly pressed into the rim, I almost believe it could have run without the rivets!! (just kidding). Thompson had a marketing deal with Rader and they gave George Barris free wheels for his custons of the day (thus the Raders on the Batmobile and Munster Coach), but all three had a business falling out and the Raders were removed from the customs and Thompson left the partnership.

As far as them being used on 60s cars of the day, I agree, they looked cheap compared to Cragar SS or real aluminum racing wheels and in the central valley of California I never saw many on cars. The aluminum version of the popular magnesium racing wheels hit the market soon after Rader proved they would sell so he quickly got run out of the market.

 

I've made a jig to spin them up in the lathe, then they get pressed into the rims and they will get 2 bolts per spoke just like the old NZ made ones from the 60's. I've added more meat around the area where they bolt through than the originals just for piece of mind.. Got 5 of them cast. If your interested they still have my mould and I can have more done.


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I used them on my 32 sedan I built a few years ago with wide whites. I think they were/are a versatile wheel that looks good on a lot of different cars. However if I were using them today Id use the wide whites that are a about 1 1/2" wide. I think that makes them more 60's looking

 

what would a pair of centers wiegh? I might be, if shipping isnt TOO nuts.

 

I can see how this is shaping up...Buy a pair of wheel centers, then I'll end up buying another falcon or comet just to use them!!!

 

When I got a set for my '60 Plymouth, there weren't all that many choices. It was chrome reverse, Halibrand, or a few fake mags and even at that, they weren't available at every auto supply and tire store like now. I had to get a bank loan to buy my first set.

 

HRP I actually have a pair of "Rader" wheels with Sears Roebuck and Company cast on the inside of the spokes. I am guessing they were all made in the same place for different retailers.