I'm Questioning My Taste In Automotive Wheels

[guy gadbois]

ANYTHING but black steel wheels...

 

[Cojohnso1]

My '69 RR had 18" chrome. The poor guy I bought car 2 days before I picked up had rally wheels and tires stolen. It was the best he could do to complete sale. And for some reason the RR supported the stance pretty decent.

I tried those wheels and tires on my '69 GTX. (Sorry, no pic of that effort.) It looked almost ridiculous.

Body color makes a big difference.

 

[mmissile]

To me, a large diameter wheel/short sidewall setup looks better with the tops of the tires tucked up in the body, not visible from a profile like this:

View attachment 1594078

Not bragging but I prefer this look:

View attachment 1594080

When I put the engine back in after a rebuild, I had it like this just for the picture:

View attachment 1594089

In the 80s, I had a Camaro that sat this low. I could barely clear a McDonalds Cheeseburger.

BOOM.
I agree, but not all wheel-wells are created equal.

 

[Kern Dog]

That Barracuda has a similar theme to my car. I wanted a sort of classic design in a larger diameter wheel along with a short sidewall tire to keep the overall diameter similar to stock. The classic 5 spoke design seems to lend itself well to a moderately larger diameter without looking goofy. I didn’t want a 20 or 22 inch wheel on the car. To me, 18s seemed to still leave a sidewalk I can live with and buy tires for easily. The razor thin sidewalls don’t appeal to me even on custom cars that don’t get driven.

 

[ykf7b0]

Anything thing but taxi cab wheels.

These cars are built with style, the wheels should complement the car, not make it look like a taxi cab. And no, there’s no such thing as “sleeper look” with a 2 door b body, so you’re not gaining anything kind of stealth with them

I disagree. I think these cars look like they own the road with those taxi cab wheels.

I cannot get into this look. Maybe I'm too old?

 

[Kern Dog]

For some reason, I also like the steelies painted a low gloss black, preferably with a slightly wider size. A 15x8 can look cool.
No hubcaps.
No wheel covers.
No trim rings.
Chrome lug nuts are cool though.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Greg's favorite wheels on Greg's favorite color.....

 

[Kern Dog]

I love being in the pink… not cars or trucks that Color but, you know….






(A woman’s tender place)

 

[Cojohnso1]

Just trying to broaden your Mopar vision... Think Pink Baby!!! FWIW I don't care for the wheels but It's not my car soooooo...... Mike painted it Pink back around 1990, He loves it, his girls love it..... So it's Pink....

Cuda's could come in that or a simular color in the day. Never seen a Challenger. But it's a good example of contrast. The hot pink blings enough. To add high shine chromies would be too much.

JMO

 

[Runcharger]

Nobody but nobody said "what a great set of wheels I'm going to keep them" when they bought their A12. They were glad they didn't pay for wire wheelcovers on their new car (ordered by a 50 year old Sales Manager who was used to ordering New Yorkers for 50 year old customers) when they were going to head to the tire shop for a set of mags when leaving the dealership.

 

[DeltaV]

To me, a large diameter wheel/short sidewall setup looks better with the tops of the tires tucked up in the body, not visible from a profile like this:

View attachment 1594078

Not bragging but I prefer this look:

View attachment 1594080

When I put the engine back in after a rebuild, I had it like this just for the picture:

View attachment 1594089

In the 80s, I had a Camaro that sat this low. I could barely clear a McDonalds Cheeseburger.

As I've said before, your wheel/tire combo look absolutely great on your car. I would like to get a set for my '70 Charger, but I have drum brakes and I haven't seen any wheel designs with lots of open space between the spokes that look good on drum brakes cars. That is to say I don't mind seeing nice disc rotors and calipers between the wheel spokes, but I don't care to see the brake drums.

Lots of great wheels mentioned above by other members, but no one mentioned aluminum slots?

Steelies? It's unlikely I would ever use them even though I've seen a few that were ok. I might be tempted to go with steelies (only) on a '67-69 Barracuda fastback if I had one.

Someone mentioned steelies on early B-bodies are a good look? I agree.

Oh, and steel wheels with hub caps? Yes, for certain C-body cars. "Back in the day" I never saw steel wheels with hub caps on A-, B-, or E-body cars.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Cuda's could come in that or a simular color in the day. Never seen a Challenger. But it's a good example of contrast. The hot pink blings enough. To add high shine chromies would be too much.

JMO

And yet the guy who posted right after you owned one for years....

 

[67 WS23]

My 67 R/T was delivered with full wheel covers. The car still has the 14x6.5 black steel wheels. Being a 25yo when I bought the car in 1984, I thought those wheel covers were lame, so I bought a set of the Charger style "mag" wheel covers at Carlisle. They were on the car for the few times I drove it until 1997 when it was "stored". But now I find that keeping the car "all original" has more appeal than "the look". Being 98% original, besides the usual wear and tear items, tank and pump, those original covers will be back on the car when it's 'resurrected' this summer. Bought from the original owner who was about 65 at the time, the car is an unmodified survivor, surviving a 25yo who was short on cash and wisdom at the time. In retrospect the storage period over this past 27 years likely did more good than harm.

 

[Cojohnso1]

And yet the guy who posted right after you owned one for years....

Could be. Just because I haven't seen one certainly don't mean they don't exist. I can't think of a reason only Cuda's had this option.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Could be. Just because I haven't seen one certainly don't mean they don't exist. I can't think of a reason only Cuda's had this option.

There was Panther Pink B & C bodies...

 

[chargervert]

they look pretty good on an AMC!

View attachment 1594356

Like those drug ads back in the eighties,Just say no!

 

[33 IMP]

A12 owner.
I never cared for the naked wheel look. Before I put centerlines on mine, I added Dodge redline hubcaps to the stock fronts and 15x8 ramcharger steelies. (NOT wheelcovers! Pet peeve, people who call wheel covers hubcaps. Hubcaps cover hubs, wheel covers cover wheels!)
That setup is now the street tire setup for my 62 savoy. One of four wheel tire combos I use on it.

 

[eldubb440]

Like those drug ads back in the eighties,Just say no!

this is your brain.......

 

[DeltaV]

I really like the black steel wheels on this car better than the oversize rallye wheels pictured below. If this car was mine and these two sets of wheels were my only option, I would bomb can those steelies with a fresh coat of black and roll. Which looks better to you?

View attachment 1594050
View attachment 1594052

Between the two, I like the black steel wheels.

The color of the oversized wheels does not go with the silver body.

The vertical, flat face at the tire edge is too large and shiny.

The front end of the car needs to come down a smidge.

I prefer a bit more tire sidewall.

The car and lift should be moved to my garage.

 

[Detective D]

I think Magnum 500's have always made me think "FORD" so I don't tend to like them on B bodies. I like them in general though, and they look good on most cars, I just prefer something else on a MOPAR
Rally wheels look good in factory size, but I prefer some type of change, personally.
Keystones look like junk on older B bodies. I like them a lot on really late ones, like the Magnums.
Crager SS is a Chebby wheel. Same with the "daisy" (coke bottle) wheels, but I have seen some done ok on a Mopar

American Racing Vector, to me, is the Magnum 500 for Mopar. They just look better.
Aluminum slots look good on most cars if sized right. And Vans. And trucks.
Black Crager D windows to me look good on about every Mopar there is.

Honorable mention to Western Hurricanes for trucks.

ALL of the above require FAT RUBBER, as is right and proper to do, and required for righteous burnouts.
17" wheels look like ricer crap usually.
Anything bigger than 17" I classify as "donk wheels" and I will automatically associate you with that crowd if you go that route with a classic car.