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Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

25638 messages,  Last post on May 20, 2013 at 7:41 AM

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#25058 of 25638 Re: somebody wanted a real Lincoln? [tjc78] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 07, 2013 (10:33 am)

Replying to: tjc78 (Feb 07, 2013 4:41 am)
Yep those pimpy wires need to go.
 
Rule of Thumb: If it's not British or Italian, don't put wire wheels or hubcaps on it, ever.
 
Rule of Thumb II: If you ignore my advice and do it anyway, remember that the smaller the wheel, and the fatter the tire, the worse the wires will look.

#25059 of 25638 Re: somebody wanted a real Lincoln? [Mr_Shiftright] by andre1969

Feb 07, 2013 (11:40 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Feb 07, 2013 10:33 am)
Rule of Thumb: If it's not British or Italian, don't put wire wheels or hubcaps on it, ever.
 
I think some domestic cars, on up to the early/mid 50's at least, could get away with true wire wheels. For instance, I think they look pretty good on this 1953 DeSoto Firedome.
 
However, in this case, it also helps that the center hub is very large, as well as the outer part of the wheel, so the part that's actually spokes is quite small in comparison. Those wide whitewalls help balance it out, too.
 
Rule of Thumb II: If you ignore my advice and do it anyway, remember that the smaller the wheel, and the fatter the tire, the worse the wires will look.
 
Also, not all wire hubcaps are created equal. My grandmother's '85 LeSabre had them, and on that car they didn't look too bad. They had a detailed, intricate pattern, and didn't stick out very far, so they didn't seem tacked on. However, the ones on my '79 5th Ave seemed cheaper, and stuck out more, like a cheap aftermarket hubcap you might get at AutoZone or something.

#25060 of 25638 Re: somebody wanted a real Lincoln? [andre1969] by fintail

Feb 07, 2013 (12:07 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Feb 07, 2013 11:40 am)
My family's Ciera had wire caps - I didn't like them. Not so much for the style, but because they always seemed to create a rattle that drove me nuts.
 

 
I guess they didn't stick out too far though (I wish ours was this nice blue instead of bronze/gold)

#25061 of 25638 Re: somebody wanted a real Lincoln? [andre1969] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 07, 2013 (12:28 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Feb 07, 2013 11:40 am)
I think they mess the Desoto up bigtime. The wheels are too small, the tires too fat, and the car is hardly a "sports car", for which wire wheels were pretty much invented (lighter wheel weight). Makes the car look like a chubby bicycle rider wearing spandex.

#25062 of 25638 Re: somebody wanted a real Lincoln? [fintail] by andre1969

Feb 07, 2013 (12:31 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Feb 07, 2013 12:07 pm)
Here's an old pic of Grandma's LeSabre:
 
(Oops, didn't realize it was such a big pic...here's a link instead)
 
Not sure what year it was taken, but my uncle got that truck in May of 1997 and we got her driveway paved in the summer of 2001, so it was at some point between then. I don't think they look too bad here...I think the fact that it's a larger, more formal car, and the whitewall tires help out some.
 
If I had kept that car for any length of time, I was planning on trying to snag some of the sport rims that seemed common on the wagons back then. They looked like this.
 
It seemed like they were really common on the wagons, and somewhat seen on the RWD Electras, but were rare on the LeSabre coupe/sedan...or perhaps not even offered? I have a feeling they're a larger 15x7 wheel, so that might be why. Something like that would come in handy on a wagon, or the heavier Electra, but not be as beneficial to the lighter LeSabre.

#25063 of 25638 Re: somebody wanted a real Lincoln? [andre1969] by fintail

Feb 07, 2013 (12:32 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Feb 07, 2013 12:31 pm)
I remember those wheels. They'd look great on that sedan, with it's subtle color.
 
I remember a rally style wheel offered on the Ciera, too.

#25064 of 25638 Re: somebody wanted a real Lincoln? [tjc78] by lemko

Feb 07, 2013 (1:25 pm)

Replying to: tjc78 (Feb 07, 2013 8:01 am)
I had those cool "turbine wheels" on my 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis LS.

#25065 of 25638 Re: somebody wanted a real Lincoln? [stickguy] by stkntraffic

Feb 07, 2013 (3:44 pm)

Replying to: stickguy (Feb 06, 2013 9:26 pm)
When I was in high school (mid-80's), I worked for a pharmacist who owned one of these, except in maroon. He left it out in the Florida sun for years and generally neglected it. At some point while I was working for him he had it fixed up- new paint, new vinyl roof, lots of little things fixed.
 
When all was said and done it looked brand new. I only got to drive it once on an errand for the pharmacist. To a 16/17 year-old kid I felt like Knight Rider in that thing. As soon as I got a ways away from the pharmacy I decided to find out if the Lincoln could spin its tires. It could.

#25066 of 25638 Re: somebody wanted a real Lincoln? [andre1969] by ab348

Feb 08, 2013 (6:36 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Feb 07, 2013 12:31 pm)
The wagons and C-body Electras used a 5x5" bolt pattern for their wheels, while the Lesabre used a 5x4.75" bolt pattern. That's why you didn't see those wheels on LeSabres.

#25067 of 25638 Re: somebody wanted a real Lincoln? [ab348] by andre1969

Feb 08, 2013 (7:05 am)

Replying to: ab348 (Feb 08, 2013 6:36 am)
The wagons and C-body Electras used a 5x5" bolt pattern for their wheels, while the Lesabre used a 5x4.75" bolt pattern. That's why you didn't see those wheels on LeSabres.
 
Good thing I didn't pick up a set, then! I would've been a bit miffed! Were the downsized B-body Impala/Caprice, Catalina/Bonneville, Parisienne, and Delta 88 the same way...4.75x5 on the sedans and coupes, 5x5 on the wagons?
 
I remember back in 1993, one of my co-workers had an early 80's LeSabre, and she wanted me to drive it around because there was something wrong with it. I forget what, exactly, but she thought I could diagnose it. Well, I had to drive to another building on the center, so I took her car. And damn, if it didn't blow a tire when I got over there! She either didn't have a spare, or it was flat, can't remember now, so I let her borrow the spare out of my '82 Cutlass Supreme.
 
So, because of that, I knew the B-body and the G-body used the same bolt pattern. It didn't dawn on me that the wagons and the C-body would be different.
 
I always wondered why they made the bolt patterns so close? 4.75 and 5" is close enough for government work, IMO. I wonder, if there's even any advantage to different bolt patterns? Chrysler used to do 4x5 on their compacts and 4.5x5 on their midsized and big cars, although once Darts and Valiants started going to disc brakes, I think they were 4.5x5 as well. I think some bigger Mopars...some Imperials and wagons, perhaps, used a 5x5 pattern?

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