Re: M/T-RADER rims wanted
 

only the billet repros. My, My we have good memories.... https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/beers.gif

The current wheels are CRAP compared to the originals. It would be like buying a plastic Sun pedestal tach for your Yenko. Do you want it to APPEAR like it has period equipment on it, or do you want it to HAVE period equipment on it?

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...ns/scholar.gif

Re: M/T-RADER rims wanted
 

Thanks for the info Verne.
I have been checking around to find someone to redo them.
So far everyone seems afraid to touch them.
I'm going to check with Terry Rowe once I get a full set.

Not to be disagreeable Verne, but mine have M/T RADER cast in the back of one of the spokes. I'll post a few pics.
So are these repops or originals?

Re: M/T-RADER rims wanted
 

Here's #2.

Re: M/T-RADER rims wanted
 

Last one.

Re: M/T-RADER rims wanted
 

Well, now I know more than I did before, so that's a good thing. I've always heard those single rib styles referred to as M/T Raders, but this is the first I've actually seen it on the wheel as proof. Obviously, Mickey made a deal with Rader. I'm guessing he bought a mold and later (by '65) modified it for the 3 ribs, like my set. Mine are merely cast "M/T 1965" inside the rear of one spoke. No more mention of Rader. (sorry, no picture) Wish I had a digital camera.

Good luck finding someone who is comfortable tackling the restoration of those. I'm guessing those are more of a '62-'63 vintage.

Verne https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/beers.gif

Re: M/T-RADER rims wanted
 

We have some of the 'real" Rader mags hanging around and they are very cool, but I also have a set of the so called 'crap" wheels on my 64 Galaxie. Not one person ever called them crap before. You can't please everyone right?...BKH

Re: M/T-RADER rims wanted
 

Hey, just so everyone knows, it's not personal. I just don't like the wheels. I look at them the same as most people would view an inaccurate reproduction part. They have the style and they have the name, but they just aren't true to history or the originals. I met those guys just before they went into business making them, and they TOLD me their's would be TRUE to the originals - chrome plated steel rim and aluminum centers. Well, they lied. That left an impression!
IT'S NOT PERSONAL!!!!!!!!!!!!! (except towards the guys making them - - I think they're dirt bags).

SORRY!

Re: M/T-RADER rims wanted
 

Hey Verne,
I'm guessing that production realities pushed the Radir guys into their decisions. The steel/aluminum hybrid construction basically doubles or triples the amount of production steps and vendor/labor/handling issues. They had to be worried about cost, since with NOS ones around for only$200 a pop, how much demand could they expect? While very interesting and a symbol of the '63/'65 era, I don't think you can call them an iconic design or anything.

Its a lot like the arguments about remixed and remastered music from that era. To those who know the material intimately and grew up with it, the changes are off-putting and upsetting. But to those who have only vague knowledge or are just discovering it, the changes aren't an issue, and may even be preferable.

Of course we all have our focuses and perceptions. Your picture of that black 409 car sporting "real" wheels is a case in point. I'm sure when you look at that picture, you immediately see the "right" wheels. The first thing I saw when I looked at the picture was that big doughy-looking radial tire, because in my mind's eye, those types of wheels need narrow bias plys and/or thumbprint cheater slicks to make "the look". Obviously, it could be argued that the radial is a much better performing, cheaper alternative, which is ironically the same argument that could be made for constructing the wheels out of cast or billet aluminum. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...ins/tongue.gif

Sometimes we're just a little too close to things to be objective and this may be one of those cases. I think sharing your knowledge about how to identify and collect "real" Raders is great, but these brutal diatribes against the new Radirs and the people that choose them don't serve you well as an ambassador for the love and appreciation of authentic Raders.

JMO, which sometimes gets me in trouble, too. (Like right now, perhaps?)

Respectfully,
TOM BRESKE

PS. Thanks, Verne, for looking at that little black Ford for my friend. The car is as nice as you described, and your inspection made the whole deal a lot less worrisome for him.

That type of thing is what makes you a great asset to the hobby, not being potentially infamous as the guy who goes postal when inaccurate reproductions of a semi-obscure custom wheel are displayed in public.. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...mlins/haha.gif

Re: M/T-RADER rims wanted
 

Tom,

I would like to thank you for taking the time to express your thoughts in such an eloquent manner. The most unfortunate result of expressing my feelings regarding those wheels and those who manufacture them, is that right now there is a lot of positive attention being given to a fine young man who has done very well with the restoration of a great car.......and my bias appears to be demeaning to his accomplishments. I can assure you that the statement "brutal diatribes against ......... the people that choose them" is not true. I don't believe I'm guilty of that. Believe me, I do know how wonderful and important it is to share one's hobby with a fine son. I'm lucky that I was able to enjoy a relationship like that myself. That focus should not be blurred by anyone's personal judgement of a component on the car. If I have offended anyone, it was not intentional, and I'm sorry.

As for the radials on that black car, I believe they are a justified concession away from nostalgia and toward modern technology and safety. Granted, if that car was sitting still it would look much more period-authentic with a set of red line bias Firestones (like it had in the late '60s), but that car has been driven on separate trips to North Carolina (twice), Ohio (three times), Michigan, Chicago (twice), Kansas City, Georgia, Alabama, Tennesee, and Toronto. All on those Goodyear PolySteel Radials.

Thank you again for your comments.
Best regards,
Verne

PS: I owe your friend with the little black Ford a call. He sent me a very nice package of photos of his "garage". https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/smile.gif

Re: M/T-RADER rims wanted
 

My "eloquent" response would have been even a little more so if I had written "brutal diatribes against these wheels, and, INDIRECTLY, the people who choose them", since that is what I was thinking, and not quite what I wrote.

That "garage" is quite a thing. If you ignore the cars, which is tough, the gas pumps and their displays are pretty amazing on their own. Plus the neon, etc. I just had to write appraisals on all the cars in it, so I have some pics I need to post and share in the next month or two.

Regards, TOM