# O/T wire wheel covers...



## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Back in high school, I used to get laughed at by the other kids who had grease under their fingernails because I liked the look of factory wheels and certain wheelcovers. All the other motorheads told me to get my head out of my wazoo and get some proper Cragars or Centerlines. (The closest I ever got was factory Rally-type wheels with center caps and trim rings.) Well, this is for all those guys who laughed at me then and are driving Camrys or minivans now:



















I was lucky enough to find two of the wheelcovers CHEAP at a yard sale, and then a guy on a Chevy forum helped me out with the other two. I had to put some elbow grease and four-aught steel wool into them, and I had to find a spinner for one of them on Fleabay, but I am digging the finished product. This is what I always thought this car should look like. It's not a big block, not a 4-speed, not an SS... just a big, cushy cruiser. Think I'm gonna hit the local Sonic sometime soon... :thumbsup:

--rick


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Great car Rick, I am totally with you on this, my little monster is an 87 Chevy R10, Silverado, TBI Fuel injected, 383 small block, big lopey cam, Let the rest of the world have a camry. 

Boosted


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

Nice car, a good looker! :thumbsup: 
Does anyone remember the Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels?


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

I get a car, any car, and within 2 weeks I have dinks or rub marks on the side, THAT CAR LOOKS PERFECT, and a great color too, not too loud but not plain.

And if it makes you feel better Rick, we'll still make fun of you.


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

Very cool. White walls always work well with wire wheels too :thumbsup: My sister had one of those big barge bowties back in the late '70s in a shade of red and my Dad almost stroked out when she stopped by with it - lol (MOPAR guy to the marrow in his bones).

I'd buy almost anything before I'd ever consider buying one of those stupid Camrys. I know a lot of people have them and that's fine for them, but why do I always get stuck behind the slow pokes? Are they all that bloody slow?:freak:


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

Yup,Kelsey Hayes was also one of the biggest early disc brake manufacturers too.

Jeff's making a total understatement when he says his "Little Monster",lol.

That things the fastest gas powered smallblock truck west of the Peco's:thumbsup:

The Diesal guys probably hate him,lol:wave:


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## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

Very cool car!!! We had a cherry red 66, wish I had it... Next time those caps need a good cleaning, pop em off, stick em in the dishwasher...RM


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

my first car was that color and was an SS with a straight six and "slipNslide" power glide two speed automatic transmission. had a huge vacuum gauge in the center of the dash and you could tell when you were dumping excess fuel out of the exhaust. Mom got head on with a Mercedes and crushed the grill and radiator. but it was drivable from the scene, the Mercedes was not!


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## 41-willys (Jan 7, 2000)

I would have been one of those guys telling you cragers or center lines but now I am a Chevy mini van driving old family man and That car looks awesome with the W/W tires and wire wheels covers. great color too. :thumbsup: PS I will never own an import.


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

A little trivia about Kelsey Hayes.

Kelsey Hayes was formed in 1927 as a result of a merger between Kelsey Wheel Company and the Hayes Wheel Company,both Michigan based wood wheel manufactures,then later automotive wire wheel manufacture'rs.
By the late 30's,in addition to wheel manufacturing,K-H had diversified into braking systems
In 1965 K-H began supplying disc brake components to Chrysler.
The real engineering coup-d'etat,however occurred in 71,when ,consorting with Chrysler engineers,the world's first true computorized ABS was released on Mopars,as "Sure Brake".
By 89,K-H had developed a really slick ,simple rear wheel only ABS,undoubtedly preventing thousands of crashes.
Of course Mopar guys will probably remember the infamous "recall" of the 1969 cast aluminium wheel option.Merged into Canadian-American Varity Corp.in 1989,then absorbed by London based Lucas in 1996,which itself was absorbed by TRW (US) in 1999.
K-H survives today as TRW's Light Vechicle Braking Systems,under ownership of the The Blackstone Group,a diversified group of investment bankers and private equity funds.
Just a little Kelsey Hayes trivia for you guys.


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

sethndaddy said:


> I get a car, any car, and within 2 weeks I have dinks or rub marks on the side, THAT CAR LOOKS PERFECT, and a great color too, not too loud but not plain.
> 
> And if it makes you feel better Rick, we'll still make fun of you.



Hahahahaha arrgh. This car is a weekender, so it doesn't see much parking lot action... and it sits in the garage when it's not out. Even with that said, there's rub marks on the trunk lid where boxes and stuff gets left on it as people get stuff in and out of the garage refrigerator. And the pictures are hiding some blemishes... sometime I'll post one that shows the big wrinkle in the front edge of the drivers door where I backed the $^%$&# lawn tractor into it. (Rainy day, wet pedals, don't ask, I don't wanna talk about it.  )

Also, it's a cheap paint job. The term "20-footer" definitely fits. A couple years ago I took it to a '65-'66 Chevrolet club show where guys had some serious correctly restored or completely original show cars. They were polite and all, but they kinda looked at me out the side of their faces...  Doesn't really bother me, it works great and gets lots of attention as a weekend cruiser. :thumbsup:

and thanks, the color is what sealed the deal when I bought it 20 years ago... 



alpink said:


> my first car was that color and was an SS with a straight six and "slipNslide" power glide two speed automatic transmission. had a huge vacuum gauge in the center of the dash and you could tell when you were dumping excess fuel out of the exhaust. Mom got head on with a Mercedes and crushed the grill and radiator. but it was drivable from the scene, the Mercedes was not!


SS with a straight six! I've read that they were available that way, but I never saw one in person. This one had a clock in that spot in the dash, but I bought a vacuum gauge a few years at a swap meet. A couple, actually... I cut one up and used the shell to mount oil pressure and water temperature gauges.





















--rick


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Hornet said:


> A little trivia about Kelsey Hayes.


interesting stuff... when I hear Kelsey-Hayes, the first thing I always think is those AWESOME wire wheels on '61-'63 Thunderbirds...

http://www.mustangandfords.com/techarticles/body/mufp_0605_best_fords_to_modify/photo_10.html

--rick


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## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

I love wire wheels AND wire wheel hub caps! The OE hub caps on my PT are in a word, disgusting. One of the first things I did was go hnuting for WW hubcaps. I found these:










Problem I had was they were always being stolen or attempted to be stolen! They look like Chrysler OE hub caps from the 70's. On those the center cap came off and the hub cap was bolted to a adapter bracket bolted to the wheel. I would go my car and find the center cap pried off, it was glued on. After replacing 2 1/2 sets the company quit making them. As much as I spent replacing the hub caps I could have bought alloy wheels!

Marty
Marysville, OH


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## plymouth71 (Dec 14, 2009)

Love the teal color. It's beyooteefull.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

The Impala has an 8 track, Now I really love it, used to have a 68 Camaro with an 8 track, If you shifted it hard from 1-2 you could eject the tape into an unsuspecting passenger in the rear seat.

Boosted


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Boosted-Z71 said:


> The Impala has an 8 track, Now I really love it, used to have a 68 Camaro with an 8 track, If you shifted it hard from 1-2 you could eject the tape into an unsuspecting passenger in the rear seat.
> 
> Boosted


Ah ha, someone took the bait. I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, but I hope it doesn't spoil the car for you...



















:wave:

--rick


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## Gerome (Sep 25, 2011)

Interesting.

First car I ever owned was a 65 Impala in that exact color. I bought it for $100 in 1973. Black interior with bucket seats. I wish I still had that car.

Must be a car for Rick's?


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

Marty said:


> I love wire wheels AND wire wheel hub caps! The OE hub caps on my PT are in a word, disgusting. One of the first things I did was go hnuting for WW hubcaps. I found these:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh No, hubcap stealers in Ohio? whats this world coming too (my mind always tells me Ohio is the friendliest state to live in.)


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Gerome said:


> Interesting.
> 
> First car I ever owned was a 65 Impala in that exact color. I bought it for $100 in 1973. *Black interior with bucket seats. I wish I still had that car.*
> 
> Must be a car for Rick's?


I wish I had the interior... :tongue:

--rick


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## travis1960 (Apr 25, 2004)

Ah man.....you ruined it when you pulled the cover off the cool 8-Track player.


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## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

sethndaddy said:


> Oh No, hubcap stealers in Ohio? whats this world coming too (my mind always tells me Ohio is the friendliest state to live in.)


It wasn't always in Ohio. Once was on a trip to MI.

Marty
Marysville, OH


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## SlickRick (Mar 3, 2011)

I really dig the color and the subtle custom touches :thumbsup:

It's gotta be a Rick thing lol. Here's me and my fathers 65 Impala... (his name is also Rick lol)


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## TGM2054 (May 14, 2011)

GOTTA LOVE THOSE BIG OLE BOATS! Both of those are way cooler than mine. But here it is. '74 with 68k on the clicker.


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## Gear Head (Mar 22, 2005)

Awesome ride Rick!
Black steels and dog dish hub caps for me.


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

SlickRick said:


> It's gotta be a Rick thing lol. Here's me and my fathers 65 Impala... (his name is also Rick lol)


Ahhh, a ragtop! Someday.... Are those buckets out of a Camaro/Firebird?




TGM2054 said:


> GOTTA LOVE THOSE BIG OLE BOATS! Both of those are way cooler than mine. But here it is. '74 with 68k on the clicker.


Cooler? No way. Back in high school in the '80s I knew a guy--he was my friend's cousin, actually--who had a '73. But he and his friends were all into them... there was a group of like 4 of them who all had '71-'76 huge Impalas or Caprices, they all spray-bombed them flat black, put loud exhaust on them, and huge truck tires. It was pretty awesome when they all showed up somewhere together... :thumbsup:

--rick


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## SlickRick (Mar 3, 2011)

They're actually out of an Oldsmobile Alero. We're looking for Chevelle or Impala buckets. These sit a little bit to high, seats aint cheap tho lol. Heres what it looked like when we got it...


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Hmmmmm... So it's a base Impala, not an SS? The front fender trim and grille emblem lead me to believe so. But the black trim piece below the trunk lid (the one that wraps around the corners of the car) looks like it's off an SS. Ya know, that set of 3 trim pieces for the rear can go for over 500 bucks... 

Yeah, I know seats are $$$$... Mine are pretty cruddy, I have cheap covers on them hiding the fact that they're shredded...

--rick


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## SlickRick (Mar 3, 2011)

Nope not an SS, just a clone lol. We picked up those trunk trim pieces for 80 bucks off the bay. Only one problem, one of the corner pieces was a little dinged up. I can't belive how much they want foe new ones.


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## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

*How about a 1/24 slot car?*

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-DuB...370645700835?pt=Slot_Cars&hash=item564c3490e3

Marty
Marysville, OH


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## SplitPoster (May 16, 2006)

You know, if you are going to run hard wheels without hubcaps make more sense, because steel wheels flex and hubcaps come off.... like when I was in high school and EVERY car was one step away from racing LOL.

But those wires look perfect on that car. Keeping it real counts too!

BTW, I don't know if I have a real live 1970 vintage genuine FM converter for your AM radio, but I do have a Realistic FM signal booster...... for those new no-static FM stations!


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## tjetcar (Jul 7, 2009)

One of my favorite cars. My cousin bought one brand new, came over to the house to show it off, I sat in that car all afternoon. been in love with it ever since.


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Petty crime is never out of style I guess...*

Back in the 80's I had a Chevy Sprint. Got the wheel covers stolen *once*. Lots of kids driving imports in the area... lots of miscellaneous thefts of car stuff like that. They were nice covers, but the scumbag who took them probably felt like a real tool when he got home.... The Chevy Sprint ran on 12 inch wheels... the only car at the time that did... everybody just took it for granted they were normal size. LOL... betcha that dummy tried for hours to get them to fit his 13 inch wheels. .... I bought another set of covers and was never bothered again. :lol:


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Rick,
Just tell me that she doesn't bounce.  Dave


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

roadrner said:


> Rick,
> Just tell me that she doesn't bounce.  Dave


Noooooo. Those are factory wire covers, not 13" Daytons...  No hydraulics here.

--rick


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