It's for those reasons that wheel builders like Mike Stallings and Jimmy McLean emphasize a high level of scrutiny when shopping for vintage wire wheels. "Thirty years ago when these things were all over the place, it wasn't so bad, but you should see the stuff they're dragging out of wrecking yards and riverbeds lately-it's scary," Mike observed.
For example, the slightest corrosion can spell doom to a wire wheel if it's in the right place. "Pay attention to the dimpled area of the rim," Mike instructed. "If it's bad, spokes can pull right through." Jimmy said to check the area immediately around the lug holes on the Ford V-8-style wheels and their accessory counterparts; if the wheels have been run without the registration lugs or adapter rings, the holes are likely worn or cracked. He also instructed us to pay attention to hubs on the '53 Cadillac wheels, as the transition from the wheel mounting face and the hub itself is very sharp and often cracks.
There's also this enduring notion that radial tires are a bad idea on wheels intended for bias-ply tires. While he didn't categorically dismiss it, Mike did caution against it for one main reason: driving style.
"Nowadays, we're used to putting a 6,000-pound car into a corner at 80 miles per hour," he noted. Whereas a bias-ply tire will slide, a radial "will transfer a lot more lateral load, and an early wheel might not be able to handle that."
On the other hand, the gentler rim radiuses and safety beads, among other things on modern rims, have made wheels stronger, Mike said. How much stronger? In 1955, when these wheels were new and strong, they were expected to handle a 900- to 1,000-pound side load; however, "Today we're building wheels to make sure they'll handle 1,400 to 1,500."
 Cost aside, there is one thing...  Cost aside, there is one thing that makes a genuine Skylark wire tough to own. Like the early Fords, the '56-and-earler Buick drums have a Type 1 wheel-mounting surface. Similarly, the hub on the early Buick wheels will interfere with later flat drums, including Buick's '57-and-later aluminum drums. Technically, spacers make non-ordained combinations possible, but at the cost of increased scrub radius and reduced fender clearance. |  When Wheel Vintiques created...  When Wheel Vintiques created its GM-licensed Skyark-style wheels, it changed the hub's wheel-mounting surface so the wheels will work on just about any flat hub, drum, or rotor. Otherwise, the wheel is very faithful to the design. Though the 40-spoke count is technically insufficient, Mike Stallings noted that the highly alloyed spokes the company employs today greatly increase the wheel strength. Still, he noted that a stronger 60-spoke wheel is in the cards. |  According to Jimmy McLean...  According to Jimmy McLean and Chrysler devotee John Lazenbee, the wheels for junior-series fullsize cars (earlier DeSoto, New Yorker, and most letter cars) featured a 5x4-1/2 wheel-bolt pattern, 48 spokes, and a 5-1/2-inch-wide rim. Senior-series cars (DeSoto and Chrysler wagons, Imperials, and allegedly the first-year letter car) had a 5x5-1/2-inch pattern, 52 spokes, and a 6-1/2-inch-wide rim. The early Packard is identical to the senior-series Chrysler, except it has the 5x5 pattern and larger hub register. The real Motor Wheel Corp. wheels have slightly longer spokes and a slight "trough" where the hub transitions from its smaller to larger diameter. |
 Several manufacturers, including...  Several manufacturers, including Wheel Vintiques, offer all three patterns in a variety of finishes, diameters, widths, and spoke counts (this one being a 52-spoke model). Though it is very faithful to the original design, it is pretty easy to spot: The area where the hub flares from its small diameter to the large one has a flat face. That area on an original wheel has a little trough immediately surrounding the smaller part of a hub. That also makes the larger part of the original hub appear more pronounced. |  Motor Wheel Corp. wheels for...  Motor Wheel Corp. wheels for Dodge, Plymouth, and late Packards and DeSotos have the same overall hub shape, wheel-bolt pattern, and 48-spoke count as the bigger Chrysler; however, the outer spokes meet the outer lip, or felloe. Depending on the application, these wheels have several hub diameters and may be 5, 5 1/2, or 6 inches wide. While Motor Wheel offered a variant of this wheel for early Thunderbirds, understand that the only true Ford-ordained T-bird wheel came from Kelsey Hayes, had a 14-inch diameter, and went on the '62 and '63 models. |  Though they're not exceedingly...  Though they're not exceedingly rare, T-bird wheels are just scarce enough to elude our cameras. Still, they have a few hallmarks. First, the genuine Kelsey wire that appeared on Sports Roadsters and sold through the Ford parts department measured 14x5. Today, several companies, including Wheel Vintiques (pictured) and Rally America, offer very faithful U.S.-made reproductions of this wheel in both original and non-stock dimensions. |
 You could use a rusty wheel...  You could use a rusty wheel like this as a hose reel, door stop, or yard art, but don't think of bolting it to a car-even as a roller. | | |