So I'm lookin' through a 1965 issue of Car Craft and I happen upon this ad for Rader wheels... For some reason the bottom wheel looks a bit contemporary to me, and WAY out of place! Kinda like seein' a VW bug in 1950's & '60's photos... The look is so familiar to current day, it's sorta wrong...or "new".
I've never seen them in person, i'm betting they are really rare. I know what you mean though, I always thought they were from the 70's, I saw a Rader ad in a 60's Hotrod, and was pretty surprised to see it there.
First production VW bugs came to US in early 50's. So they would not be out of place at all in a 50's-60's photo. As for the wheels, there is nothing new left to do! It's all been done before.
I think of those as more like show car wheels of the time. Ever seen the Tijuana Taxi model kit. My memory tells me it had wheels like that. Wasn't that mid to late 60's? Dan
First production Bugs OFFICIALLY imported into the US was 1949. There are earlier cars here, but they were brought in by US servicemen returning after WW2. Rader made wheels for VW's. I have an original EMPI-style set on my '57 VW sunroof right now. They actually made two different types, one, with a peak down the spoke and snap-in center cap that, was sold by EMPI, and the other, with a flat spoke and a cast-in center cap, was actually sold in the Sears & Roebuck catalog. They were an aluminum center, riveted to a steel outer barrell. Both styles are being reproduced now, you can see the repo EMPI style at <www.javaglobalenterprises.com>.
I guess I didn't mean "out of place" like there weren't many of 'em... But more like familiar and "modern"... does that make sense? I expect to see a '60 Chevy in a 1962 photo, but a Bug is a bug... Maybe it's more like this. I grew up reading about the restoration of the Pierson Bros. Coupe. Love the car and have seen it in person at COBO hall... Now when I look back at my Don Montgomery books, it looks oddly out of place in the photo's because I've seen it modern day in full TECHNICOLOR... Anyway, the wheel just looked a bit Modern for the early '60's. Then again maybe it proved to be too modern a look, as I can't recall ever seeing them on any cars in magazines from that era.
I'm no expert, but it seems like I heard that they changed the spelling at some point, but same company. I'm sure someone else here knows the reason.
Just dragging this up from the depths because I'm curious about the Rader/Radir connection as well. Was the company sold and then the name slightly changed as it was the surname of the original founder? Anyone out there want to hand out a free history lesson?
"Modern" Rader wheel- built lots of model cars waaaay back when, and yep, Monogram seemed to put that rim on alot of their 'show cars'- Baja Beast/Firebomb VW bus (327 Chev in cargo area!), Rat Vega, Badman 1955 Chev (Tom Daniel design)...I think a few others. Had a 1965 issue Hot Rod mag, back when I had my 66 Marlin, and yep, that old Rader ad was in there. I agree, except for some of those wild 60's show jobs, probably didn't sell too many of them. Read something online, if true, that new company slightly changed spelling so as to not run afoul of old Rader fella...Richard/Dick Rader, I think, was his name, he might still be alive, not sure. Maybe some Hamber here is a wheel history expert, and will correct me if I am wrong about this- always been a mag wheel junkie since a little kid. Always thought a well researched mag wheel history book would be a very cool thing.
Those wheels are the most rare of the original Rader wheels. Somewhere here in Houston is an old style 26-27 roadster with a pair of those up front. I saw it 20 some years ago in front of Specialized Auto Parts on Capitol on the east side of Houston. In a sale sheet advertising their "NEW!" lakes pipes in my original Rader wheel catalog is a line drawing of a 55 Chevy with Rader slots out back and those spokers up front. Always wanted a set like that an old car. Never saw any but the 2 on that roadster.
I found guy who had 2 of the flat spoke rader wheels he had on a sandrail back in the day. A good vw friend of mine was obsessed with those wheels an envied me once i bought 1 of the 2 wheels cause i wanted to see how it would clean up before buying the 2nd one. I ended up giving him the wheel for his birthday 8 years ago and he still has it as one of his most prized vw posessions.
I just saw a pair of smoothy spoke Rader...........says Sear & Roebuck as well inside of spoke, they are all metal....? Like Pot Metal.....makes ya wonder if these were unsafe.
Nobody has mentioned it yet, but Tom Mcmullin's famous deuce high boy ran a set of those wheels at the tail end of the sixties right before he sold it. Pretty sure you can see them in the ad for the car in Hot Rod magazines classified section. Also, there is a supercharged deuce 5 window running around Phoenix with a pair of those as front wheels. Not common, but not even close to unheard of.
it's been said, what's new is old and what's old is new. Some things in the past were just too far ahead for it's time so it goes away for awhile and comes back at a later time.
Imo I think the new style Flat tri-rib "no offset" front wheels Radir has put out today looks really out of place on old style rods, almost look like ricer wheels ,, , is it just me ?? / the old thin spoke wheels in the OP ad I have seen in person on a T bucket and looks old and just right in person as it does have a bit of positive offset compared to modern ssimilar styled wheels and that makes the difference imo but i do dig the early style rader and Radir wheels, preferably the onerib wheels but older tri rib are great too
Rader wheel = Dick Rader...old. Radir wheel= Rich Conklin...new. NJ the Dead Mans Curve guys,he has the Dorman/Coopman `32 drag roadster and a tuff old street freak green `55 2dr. sedan;real nice guy. Mcmullen `32 ran that wheel on front,with 3 spoke slot style on rear,was pretty cutting edge in that day.
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