Deuce wheels on a late '31 Coupe

jim galli

jim galli

Senior Member
Don't need a good reason, I just like 'em. Wonder if anyone ever had the Ford dealer trade wheels on a '31 that was still on the lot when the '32's hit town. Tell the dealer, I'll buy it but you've gotta swap out the wheels :D

I restored this set to the pinstripe color. Straw on a green/green coupe. Happy with how it looks.

Photo done on the shakedown cruise in Belmont, NV. a ghost town deep in the outback of my home state.
 

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Supposedly the previous (original) owner of our car swapped on the 1930 wheels right away. I have since swapped to 16" wheels.
 
I like it! Sure makes a '31 look like a '32! The '32 Fords were a nice Model A style carryover.

These rims look 100 percent better than '35 rims on a Model A.
 
I agree the 18 inch 1932 wheels and the 17 inch 33-34 look better than the 1935 wheels in my opinion because you see more spoke .
 
Jim,
That's a real nice look with those wheels. It's subtle but still a big improvement and I like it very much. Thank you for sharing.
 
Thanks guys. There was a black coupe with cream wheels on Ebay a while ago that got me hooked. I just thought it looked really understated and classy.
 
I usually don't like non stock wheels on Model As but those are pretty nice. How about a 32 radiator shell, bumpers, etc. etc.
 
jim galli said:
Don't need a good reason, I just like 'em. Wonder if anyone ever had the Ford dealer trade wheels on a '31 that was still on the lot when the '32's hit town. Tell the dealer, I'll buy it but you've gotta swap out the wheels :D

I restored this set to the pinstripe color. Straw on a green/green coupe. Happy with how it looks.

Photo done on the shakedown cruise in Belmont, NV. a ghost town deep in the outback of my home state.
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Very nice photos (esp. like the black and white look)
 
Because I drove a lot of 1932 cars, I developed a 'kinship' with the 18" wheels. And growing up in the '50's, there were lots of V-8 wheels on Model A's - including 18" wheels. I liked the look then, so I bought a set (six) at a swap meet, about 1963 or so. I bought six because I also liked the sporty look of dual side-mounted fender spares - all my other cars had them - '29 Hubmobile, '32 Pontiac, '29 Reo, '28 Chandler, etc.
The 18" wheel looks 'right' on the Model A, and 'period correct' as well, whereas the more common 16" (while 'riding' better) does not.
My primary car (since 1963) has always been my 1928 Phaeton. The 18" wheels would NOT look either 'right', nor period 'correct' on this car. But I kept my 18" Motor-Wheel Corp. (accessory) wheels, knowing that someday I would get a '31 Dlx Coupe - and then I would install them. Well, it's been fifty years, but now I do have the '31 Dlx Coupe (built in February 1932) that I have always wanted. And now I have the fitting place for my 18" K-H wheels. Like you, I painted the wheels to match the pin-stripe - (the car is Ford Maroon - so the stripping is red), mounted double-sided white-wall tires on them and now have what I have always wanted. - 18" wheels on my '31 Coupe ! (P.S. - I did keep my set of six 19" Kelsey-Hayes wheels - I kept them painted black.) So now I can change the look of the car with ease, just by swapping out the wheels. I do the same thing with my '28 Phaeton - I sometimes swap my stock 21" Ford 'Steel Spoke' wheels, for my accessory MotoWheel Corp. artillery wood-spoked wheels. It changes the whole look of the car.

So, YES, Jim, I certainly do like the '32 18" wheels you have put on your car ! Congratulations ! ! !
 
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jim galli said:
Thanks. My other expensive bad habit. Those were done with a rather high end 4X5 film camera with a classic Goerz lens. Good old Kodak Tri-X
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Where do you get Tri-X anymore. I can hardly find color film let alone B&W these days. I still have my enlarger, developing reels, etc. but have not done any developing or printing in a few years. Everything seems to be digital now (which has its own advantages), but would be nice to shoot film sometimes. Sometimes film looks better than digital color Photoshoped to B&W.

I would like to take some B&W shots of my Coupe. I think it would be a cool, vintage look.
 
I like the look also, I am putting a set on my Roadster, have the wheels saving up for the
tires.
 
I surprised myself and like the look. I usually like what the cars came with but that does look good. What tires are you running on the rims?
 
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