Back to the drawing board

[derekf]

I'd ordered two of the Cragar 397 "Soft 8" wheels in black, 17"x9.5, figuring that if they fit in the front then I'd just order two more, and if they didn't then I could get the smaller size (17x8) for the front.

The wheels arrived Friday. Saturday I rushed one of the wheels up to the local tire place to have the tire mounted, came back, and put it on the car.

Of course, once I had the wheel bolted to the car, She Who Is Almost Always Annoyed had to be consulted to get her opinion.

She hates it.

I've pointed out that chrome aluminum billet wheels are very, very pricey compared to these. I've pointed out that a wheel change is mandatory if I'm going to fit disc brakes. She still hates the wheels.

The only concession I've gotten out of her is that at roughly 50 bucks each, getting the other two wheels so I can do the brakes is acceptable - but I have to save for, and find alternate wheels.

Not because I think y'all can convince her otherwise, but more so I can get your opinions, I've gone ahead and photoshopped a couple of pics of the car. (and yes, my photoshop skills are weak)

The first is as it sits now - but I went ahead and put the same wheel on the back as well (I only had one tire mounted so far)


The second is after dropping the car an inch and a half or so and removing the sidepipes:


I'm not entirely sure what I think of these wheels either - they sure are heavy, and I think I expected them to be not as glossy as they are.



I guess the current plan is to do everything else I need to do, including buying two more of these wheels, then once I figure out what other wheels I like swap over. At least I'll have an idea what backspacing to use, since I'd already be running it.

For those who are curious: Cragar 397s, 17x9.5, 5" backspace, 275/40-17s seem to fit on the front without rubbing (but I haven't dropped the front yet or changed spindles so that may change)

Opinions (on anything other than my photoshop skills, please)?

[zbugger]

Well, the series 398 is the chrome version of those. Do you think she'd like them? I think it looks good. I like that sinister look. I do think the sidepipes have to go though. Then again, I'm already in enough trouble with you, so I'm gonna leave it to everyone else.....

[dennis68]

Derek, ditch the sidepipes and wheel well chrome, then drop it and see what she thinks. I think it will be much more easy on the eyes that way.

BTW, 275's are no problem on the front.

[colt zantop]

I also like the sinister look and think the black rims look GOOD! but as far as the sidepipes go...I dont really care for them.....maybe if they were a little smaller....

[vanzuuk1]

lower it and keep the black wheels . those wheels seem to rust where the rim meets the hub , maybe a very thin bead of black silicone in the crack would prevent that ?

[homerneedspeed]

i love it but like previously stated get rid of the wheel well chrome

[Fawkes]

I dig the wheels. Steel wheels are heavy, but for those of us on extreme budgets, we have to do what we can.

[DarkBuddha]

I couldn't get a good sense of the whole picture with the harsh angle, so I did a photochop of my own. After doing it, I don't think the wheels are a bad choice, but you might wanna start working on her for airbags and some body work:



Hope this helps...

[Ralph LoGrasso]

I'm liking the black wheels. I agree with the others though, drop her down, lose the sidepipes, and wheel well chrome. DarkBuddha's chop looks mean.

[USAZR1]

I guess I have to go against the grain here. Without the wheelwell trim,the whole side of the car looks like a big black slab. The trim gives everything some contrast. Normally,I'm not a big fan of shiny wheelwell trim but this case could be an exception.
DarkBuddha,can you add the well trim back,just for grins?

[DarkBuddha]

I guess I have to go against the grain here. Without the wheelwell trim,the whole side of the car looks like a big black slab. The trim gives everything some contrast. Normally,I'm not a big fan of shiny wheelwell trim but this case could be an exception.
DarkBuddha,can you add the well trim back,just for grins?

I can't remember how I did it, but I'll check when I get home.

[DarkBuddha]

I had to redo it a bit, but only took 5 minutes... here ya go, with wheel well molding:

[bnickel]

no moldings, or at least not chrome, maybe if they were painted a charcoal gray or somthing like that to break up the lines a bit but not be overpowering. hey DB can you chop that in for grins?

[DarkBuddha]

no moldings, or at least not chrome, maybe if they were painted a charcoal gray or somthing like that to break up the lines a bit but not be overpowering. hey DB can you chop that in for grins?

Like so?



I'm not sure the wheel well molding is the thing to look at here... maybe the car needs a bit of a graphic or stripe to add some flavor and break up the "slap sided" look.

[Boyd]

hey derek, check your pm's......

what backspacing did you order the wheels in? What about getting the chrome version and powdercoating the centers black? Photo-chop one like that.....

forget the backspace question...missed it the first time.

[jeffandre]

The black on black theme looks great. Sidepipes that do not have the header tubes showing look weak, so you're better off without them. I work with a guy that has an all-original big block 69 Vette, dark green, black 5 spoke mags, and black headers/sidepipes: looks outrageously awesome!!! I love the look of the header pipes twisting into the sidepipe.

[DarkBuddha]

I mentioned stripes, but then again, maybe not:

[derekf]

Thanks, y'all.

Sidepipes have got to go regardless of looks anyway - if I'm lowering the car, I'd be scraping them on even small bumps. These pipes never looked "right" anyway. It had pipes on it when I got it, and they looked pretty good (or I was young or stupid).

Stripe - I've thought about going with the '69 SS stripe in red, but I don't know that I want to go flashier than that. Carpet is red anyway so it'd tie it all together.

Maybe the way to go to break up the 'big black slab' look would be to add the El Camino lower trim (with black on both sides)?