Intro and Wheel / Tire questions.

I own a 1963 Mercury Meteor Custom Wagon, it's light blue (repainted a little more turquoise) 289 4bbl, 4speed AOD (from mid 80's crown vic) 15" wheels Chrome smoothies- that are starting to rust and
I need new tires. I am thinking of going to a more 'sleeper' look, or a little to the rat rod look. What color wheels (I am putting 15 inch steel wheels on it) do ya'll think I should put on?
and tires?
black walls
white walls
white letter
wide white walls

I think if price weren't a consideration (it is!!) I'd go with the wide white walls, but they seem to double the cost, so I'm thinking black walls on original looking 15" steel wheels.
NOW, what color should I paint the wheels? (the car is a mild turquoise-more light blue than green)
Ivory/off White:banana:
White
Black
Red?(I think that'd look bad with the paint)
Other?

thanks! I'll post pics on the forum? later tonight- don't have any right now, I'm at work!

 

welcome to the madness, i don't know without seeing your color first but ive always have liked red wheels with wide whites like on this 56 chevy wagon. edit: just saw about wide whites i think ivory with black walls would work too. i know what you mean i priced wide whites last month and almost fell over good luck with your wagon

 

go with the wide white walls

 

Welcome there Meteor Man! Sounds like a neat machine. Looking forward to the pics.

 

...thems cool lil wagoons!!

plz...oh plz...do not paint them RED!!!...and never use the words R-tR-d

lets see the car!!first

 

Hey, Rev! Isn't anybody making those add-on white-wall rings anymore? I remember Canadian Tire used to flog those back in the 1960's. Easy on the Meter Man, hey, he's an ex-'Pegger.

 

yah, I am not really thinking of red as an option for the wheels. I would love to see those 'add-on' white wall things. Never heard of them, with the price of those wide white walls, I'm surprised no one is pushing them. I also saw a youtube clip on how to make your own from regular white walls, this guy takes a grinder and grinds the black wall away that covers the white underneath. hmmmmm, sounds dangerous?
I won't make my car into a 'r-t r-d', but I gotta say I love some of the cars out there that are pretty funky. I'd have to give up too much of my car's originality to do that- only the wheels.

Pics, I posted pics of my car on the gallery under Mercury- check me out. I will try to take some more pics of the whole car from further back and add those soon

 

When I was in college, I got onto a plant tour of a Dunlop plant that made the tires for GM's early 70's cars. Anyway the whitewall segment was inserted into the mold before they made the tire, and then they would grind off either narrow bands or the dual narrow bands or the wider bands, depending on the car model. You might check on the Majors like Uniroyal, Dunlop, Firestone, etc. Don't ask, don't know, right? They might tell you which division makes them. Who knows?

 

they were called "flappers" for a reason.. ....
I still sell them...but reluctantly

and ive done the 'tire grind' too..all good...but not reeeely safe

come up for a visit..i'll hook ya up

and the gallery takes to long to find stuff...well for me anyhow

 

So you'd have to use 'toupee' glue to keep them from flappin' in the wind...

Huh, and they still make them? hmmm.

 

my dad worked at sears installing tires in the late 1960's and he called them portawalls. he said they are a bitch to install and they do flap around

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/___W0QQ_nkwZportawallsQQ_newuZ1QQ_sopZ1

 

I may have to think about the flapper thing, seems like the adhesives that are around should be able to stick better than back in the day. I am a bit nervous about the grind, I have a set of old junker tires on some steel rims that I may experiment on.
I will be in Abbottsford in August, maybe we could figure something out, I won't be driving my wagon though! gas and repairs wouldn't make it a very fun trip, and it's got NO air conditioning, except the 4 window version

 

That fresh air 4-window AC? Lots of perfume from the dairy cows, if you go through Linden WA! Just about mating season too for the young bulls.

If anybody can help with that, its the REV. He's the maestro on that vintage.

 

found flappers

found a source for the flappers online, if anyone's interested.

http://www.lucasclassictires.com/