Since I saw the pictures of Bobby Greens red roadster the other day Ive been wondering ( and using the search feature ) what other tall wheels are out there. Id like to learn more about lakes style wheels, lets see whatcha' got.
I think the main three are milk truck wheels, often called "Divcos" but were not original equipment on Divco trucks, '32 Ford (Budd) wire wheels, and wheels made by mating a center from a Ford solid to a couple of spliced hoops from '32 wire wheels. (making them wider) There were likely 18" wheels by other manufacturers that made their way into LSR, but I mostly notice those three in old photos.
I don't think 20" wheels were that common. It's been discussed before that the reason 18" wheels were used so often is because that is what size the majority of the Firestone Indy tires were.
Was there many aftermarket companies making big wheels, or are they mostly factory truck wheels? I would imagine even back then the left over Indy wheels would be a little hard to get.
I *think* the early lakes guys were running 18" rims with whatever center would work for their application....like Kevin said, using 18" wires with centers cut out. Kelsey-Hayes made the "milk" truck wheels....much cheaper (back then) than the Indy car wheels and could be bought from the Ford dealer...... Most dry lakes cars "in the day" just used the 18" wheels on the back....although I've seen a pic or two with 'em just on the front with 16's on the rear.....weird. I personally think they look great on all 4 corners on these roadsters.....
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