A Little Wheel Ranting

[tallhair]

And you can search for Road Runner instead of roadrunner and limit it even more but when I search CL I search it both ways. The latter brings up a bunch of Toyota stuff and other things in addition to Road Runner cars and parts

 

[WP29440SE]

guess I am a dinosaur,dont like the custom new style wheels on the old muscle cars.

that's pretty much myself as well , that's why I have sets of steels/dishes , centerlines , slots , rallyes and cragar S/S . I have choices and the best part is they are all of the 15" variety

 

[747mopar]

I hear ya. And I've learned to do a more selective search on eBay for precisely the 'wheel problem'. Just add a minus sign. For example, put up a search for "roadrunner" right now, and you'll get about 33,700 listings. Then search for "roadrunner -wheels" and it deletes all the 'wheels' ads, and the number drops to 14,000.

Really, you can put minus whatever and it narrows it? I myself get so sick of the 20,000 items popping up.

 

[A383Wing]

when you guys do a search on ebay, if ya wanna get rid of the "junk" ads...type in what car you are looking for and then use a space and put -fits at the end

example --> 1966 Dodge Charger -fits

 

[1971 plymouth roadrunner]

Going back to the ricers, in this area there are a group of guys who hang up at advanced automotiv. When I had my dart I would drive up to get parts and would take one look at their cars (differently painted cheap wheels, mazda miata, plastic air foil) and they would act like I was begging to race. I talked to one of them once (one time), while pointing outthe mods on his car he sounded so enthusiastic. I remind you that these upgrades included plastic vents and portholes, a large mufflerhanging off the car with bungee coards, and a spoiler that was screwed onto the car with wood screws. I was a little frazzled but went away with a lesson about learning how to work on the mechanical elemements, then worry about aesthetics

 

[WP29440SE]

when you guys do a search on ebay, if ya wanna get rid of the "junk" ads...type in what car you are looking for and then use a space and put -fits at the end

example --> 1966 Dodge Charger -fits

that is awesome thank you , it friggin works great !

 

[747mopar]

when you guys do a search on ebay, if ya wanna get rid of the "junk" ads...type in what car you are looking for and then use a space and put -fits at the end

example --> 1966 Dodge Charger -fits

Now that's some very useful info, wish I would have known this long ago. Thanks

 

[Deleted member 214]

I wanted something different on my 70 and thought late 70s Mirada wheels were cool. Found some in a boneyard, paid to have them machined/painted/clear coated. I have 15x7 aluminum rims that are real Mopar! Gave a set to my brother for his 71 and he runs them too. My point - your car, your money, do what you want.

 

[Ryguytoodry]

Wheels I got for the Belvedere are from a '90s Grand Marquis. 16x7, perfect offset, mesh style. Got them for free from school because they were scrapping the car. Tuner scene sell used everything like crazy, cars, wheels, engines, racing seats, women.....

 

['67Satellite]

when you guys do a search on ebay, if ya wanna get rid of the "junk" ads...type in what car you are looking for and then use a space and put -fits at the end

example --> 1966 Dodge Charger -fits

Precisely what i was going to say.

Search "whatever car and year" -fits:

As for the wheels, nothing over 17 on these cars for me, the bodies just weren't designed to look right with big wheels, period.

 

[Propwash]

Heck, it's all relative..... Some think it's ridiculous folks spend 10, 20, 30K + on a 40-50 year old car, when buying something newer would get you better handling, better braking, more fuel efficient, more comfort, more safety and quite possibly a faster car. So if you look at it from the outside in, us guys driving these expensive toys could also be considered "fools and their money". Like mentioned....People really want something, they'll spend the money. Can't really hold it against them because it don't meet our own line of thinking.

 

[YY1]

I use "-fits" all the time, but there is a caveat-

I'm looking for a fender for my 66 Coronet...

Lots of folks like to say that a Coronet fender also "fits" a Charger, so I have to do two searches one for "Coronet -fits" and one for "Coronet fender".

 

[TheRX7Project]

Just wait til Bru finds out there are actually RENT TO OWN wheel dealers. That's right. Can't afford those rims? That's cool, just rent them for a monthly fee, and after only 48 payments of $295, they're all yours!

 

[roadrunnerman]

Call me "OLD SCHOOL" but I like the cragars, slots, and even the chrome reverse w/baby moons (I even have a set). If someone wants to spend $$$$$$$$$$$ on whatever wheel they want, more power to them. It's there money not mine. I agree, all these other "ads" for something you're not even looking for is ridiculous.

 

[Bruzilla]

Heck, it's all relative..... Some think it's ridiculous folks spend 10, 20, 30K + on a 40-50 year old car, when buying something newer would get you better handling, better braking, more fuel efficient, more comfort, more safety and quite possibly a faster car. So if you look at it from the outside in, us guys driving these expensive toys could also be considered "fools and their money". Like mentioned....People really want something, they'll spend the money. Can't really hold it against them because it don't meet our own line of thinking.

Very valid point, but how many of the folks paying $10k to $30k+ on an old car today do so with the full understanding their car will be worth about $500 to $1,500 if they decide to sell it tomorrow? Maybe it shouldn't bother me, but back in the old days, we had a finite number of options. If you ponied up the unheard of sum of say $100 for a new set of Cragars, you knew that if you changed your mind at some point and wanted slots, there would be a couple dozen guys you knew who would snap those Cragars up from you, and there's a good chance you would buy your slots from a guy who was wanting to change to something else. That's totally different from the situation today.

Now, you can go on wheel seller websites, and see 30-40 different wheel makers, with from ten to 30 or 40 different models each. And... now they're offering specially painted and coated wheels, different back spacings, different finishes, etc., and to 747's point, all these options do allow an owner to order a set of wheels that exactly meet 100% of his/her wants and needs, but that's a double-edged sword. Anyone who's ordered anything custom to them knows that what they like probably isn't what anyone else wants or needs, which is why these guys are having such a hard time unloading these wheels and losing most all of the money they put into them.

Speaking for myself, I have no problem whatsoever dropping lots of bucks on something I really want for my car, but I also know, as does my wife (I think), that what I buy enhances the value or usefulness of the car. For example, back in 1984, I took a large ration of crap from the wife for blowing $75 on a single-four STR intake for my 72 Road Runner, but I told her I could resell that intake tomorrow for $75 and I was going to get a real performance boost, and since we used the car for street racing, there was a value there. And just like every other guy or gal I ran with, I would drop lots of money into performance upgrades to make the car faster, handle better, etc. But the concept of spending $1,000 (in 1984 bucks) on wheels??? That would have had a LOT of folks shaking their heads.

 

[rocky61201]

Even worse is the manly hobby of cars and cruising has now become the equivalent of women's shoes and purses

LOL, that line might very well be the funniest thing I read today. Good one!!!

 

[747mopar]

I'll be honest, the thought of spending that much makes me about sick but what do ya do :icon_puke_l:"I envy you guys that can find what you like for under $200.00 ea". For me I just did allot of research as to what I wanted the end product to look like and it's 18"s & 19"s.