One of the easy ways to change the look of your hot rod is to change the wheel and tire combo. Some owners have several sets of different combinations that they switch from time to time. My good friend Dave has a new look for his convertible with a complete remodeling over the past year. He has run the Real Wheels for many years but today’s trend is the white wall/steel wheel look. He happened to have a full set of these wheels and tires on his phaeton and decided to swap them out to see how he liked them. Now he has to decide whether to step up and buy the expensive whitewall tires and new rims or stay with the Real Wheels. I told him I preferred the caps and rings but the full hub caps look great also.
Tom another viewer has changed his wheels from steelies to wires and they look fantastic. The choice is yours and the change can really make your car have a completely different look. This change can be costly but not near as much as building a new ride for the summer.
If you purchase new wheels from Wheelsmith they will powder coat them for you and they come out perfect. If you decide to paint these new wheels, you will need to purchase some primer, paint and reducer plus have the equipment to do the painting. I can tell you the powder coating is much less expensive than painting them yourself. If you are a rattle can painter and only do the front side you can do them cheaper but this is your baby and you don’t want to scrimp on the wheels. Do you?
I would like to have a set of Real Wheels (Eric’s) for Andre as I had them on my last delivery in the 80’s. I have found the fronts but need the 8 inch rears. I keep looking.
The Petersen Museum Swap meet is Saturday and the NHRA Twilight Cruise last meet of the year is December 5. Our group is planning on attending the NHRA next week.
Stay Tooned!
Lynn
Dave has the Real Wheels for many years and they still look good but he needed a change to go with his current totally redone 40 convertible. The convertible is a rust free CA car that he has owned for many years.
He likes the full hub caps and they add a custom look to the car which he likes.
His final combination include trim rings and hub caps which looks the best to me. What do you think?
The original steel wheels on Tom’s roadster were Tacoma Cream with caps and rings. They look good also but the wires add a whole new dimension to the car.
Tom added some Wheelsmith wires painted body color which add a new look to his primo roadster.
Here is a close up of the wheel and tire combination. Looks super to me.
You can add wires to a Deuce sedan and really give it the resto-rod look.
The repo Artillery Wheels form Wheel Vintques also look good on this 37 cabriolet.
Good old caps and rings on steel wheels are still my favorite for the woody. Orange wheels really make the subdued Folkstone paint look great.
The black wires and radial tires look right on the roadster. I wonder if Don has this one in his garage now. I would love to see more photos of this ride if you know who owns it. Mumford’s was always my favorite until I saw this one. You could switch to steelies like we did back in the 50’s but I really prefer the wires.
 Today’s New Look for Ruby!
Ruby had black walls with caps and rings and a very low stance with her new MII front suspension by Poor Boys Hot Rods.
The new owner, John, gave her a new look with big and little white wall tires. She likes her new rubber rake. See you in Malibu John.