While the V-8-style wire's popularity waned after the war, those wheels made a pretty strong comeback in the late '60s and early '70s when renegades like Bo Jones, Bud Bryan, and Jim "Jake" Jacobs bolted them on their rolling calling cards. Using that era and the prewar period as examples, you could say the early wire wheel defined the early hot rod and street rod periods alike.
Kelsey Hayes' GM Wires
The year 1953 was a watershed year for GM's special-edition car releases. Both Cadillac and Buick finally got their El Dorado and Skylark specials that year. Most importantly, the bespoke spokes that adorned the cars in the Motorama shows appeared on the production models.
The wheels were part of each car's design, but both brands offered them to customers whose taste outpaced their ability to buy the actual cars. At $325 a set in their day (nearly $3,000 in today's dollars), these wheels were precious; however, they were far from rare. While the Eldo's popularity was somewhat limited, the Skylark's wheel appeared on just about everything.
Though the company knew better by the time, Kelsey built these wheels to the old-standard 40-spoke two-cross pattern. While that design made a wheel more than strong enough to support a 2,500-pound car that rarely exceeded 50 mph, it was woefully inadequate on turnpike barges that easily doubled that weight. With hardly a strength margin to speak of, they require thoughtful care and handling.
Motor Wheel Corp.Chrysler/Imperial/Packard/Hudson
With its distinctive dog-bone center cap, nothing looks quite like the wire wheel made for the '53-56 Chrysler Corp. cars. Despite their popularity, they're relatively misunderstood.
First, despite enduring folklore, they were made by Motor Wheel Corp. and not Kelsey Hayes. Second, they weren't exclusive to Chrysler. According to Jimmy at Rally America, Motor Wheel offered no less than 10 different variations of the design to the OEM world for factory options (Packard and Hudson, for one example) and to the aftermarket world as parts-store accessories (early Thunderbird and Corvette for another). Though the wheels differ in several ways, including bolt pattern, width, and wheel offset, the caps are interchangeable due to a universal register.
The Chrysler wire also has a little-known stepbrother of sorts: the wheel made for the Dodge, Plymouth, and later DeSoto and Packard. They have similar hubs and take the same cap, but there's no mistaking the two. Whereas all of the spokes in most wire wheels terminate in the rim's drop center-or well-the construction usually limits wheel-offset options. To give the Dodge's wheel the positive offset it needed to fit under the fenders of the smaller car, Motor Wheel terminated the face spokes in the outermost wheel flange, or felloe as it's often called.
Kelsey Hayes Thunderbird Sports RoadsterWhen Ford tooled up for its special-edition '62 and '63 Thunderbird roadster, it patronized one of its long-standing vendors, Kelsey Hayes. Just as Motor Wheel did for the smaller Dodge, Kelsey lip-laced these wheels to fit them under the narrower T-bird.
Speaking of Motor Wheel, there are a few important things to understand about T-bird wheels. The Kelsey wheels that Ford sold on the Sports Roadster and in its parts departments from 1962 onward were different from those available for the earlier T-birds. According to Jimmy, those earlier wheels were made by Motor Wheel. They were never a factory-authorized Ford part. The official Ford wheels also had a 14-inch diameter.
Vintage Wire Safety And LimitationsWe take wheels for granted nowadays. We can bolt the most exotic ones to a car and pretty much forget about 'em and risk nothing more than aesthetics. A wire isn't quite so forgiving. If neglected, they can actually fail in a fairly short time-hence one of the reasons the OEMs abandoned them nearly a century ago. Imagine what the passing of time has done to most.
 |  Luckily, there's a really...  Luckily, there's a really simple way to mate an early Ford wire to a '40-48 drum. MT Car Products makes these adapter rings that fit between the early wheels and later drums. They approximate the height of those mounting bosses inboard of the wheel studs and therefore support the hub properly. The wheels bolt on directly with these rings. |  There's also another curiosity...  There's also another curiosity among early-Ford wheels. Unlike most other drums, the face of a '32-48 Ford drum isn't flat; it has a raised wheel-mounting surface. That protruding design is referred to as Type 1, and it's quite pronounced on an early Ford. The problem is that just about every other hub, drum, or disc brake other than the early Ford doesn't have that design-at least to that degree. If you try to bolt an early Ford wheel to any flat surface, the hub ring will hit the drum before the wheel and hub mounting surfaces meet. |
 There's actually a remedy...  There's actually a remedy for that, too. Rally America offers these combination adapters/spacers. They fill the gap between a flat drum and the wheel and establish the proper wheel-mounting surface. They're also available in most wheel bolt patterns. Bear in mind that they increase scrub radius, since they alter the wheel offset and may create fender clearance issues on some cars. |  Though the real adjustable-spoke...  Though the real adjustable-spoke Kelsey Hayes wheel is about as rare as hen's teeth, Rally America offers a wheel that will fool all but the sharpest wheel geeks. The company strips, drills, and dimples vintage '32-35 Ford hubs and laces them with either 40 or 52 spokes to new rims of various dimensions. The design naturally maintains the 5x5-1/2 bolt pattern and requires the adapter rings mentioned earlier, but the company offers another wheel series that fits any application. |  Though Cadillac officially...  Though Cadillac officially offered its wires as a factory option from 1953 to 1956, word has it that the company made the wheels available as a dealer option for a number of years after. As a result, they're fairly abundant. You can spot the real deal by its 40-spoke count arranged in a two-cross pattern and a 5/8-inch valve-stem hole. |
 Made by Kelsey Hayes, it's...  Made by Kelsey Hayes, it's no surprise that the dimples in the Caddy wire's hub point inward. It's pretty easy to identify a real Caddy wheel; in contrast to earlier Ford-type wheels or aftermarket Caddy wheels, the original hub has a gentle "bell" to it. According to Jimmy, of the two wheels the Caddy is the most vulnerable to hub cracks and spoke breakage and it's a matter of when, not if, the wheels will need rebuilding. Being a Cadillac wheel, it naturally has a 5x5 bolt pattern. |  Though the hubs on reproduction...  Though the hubs on reproduction Eldo wheels aren't 100 percent faithful, that's not necessarily bad. Based on a combination of several hub designs and laced with a dozen more spokes than stock, Wheel Vintiques' GM-licensed Caddy wires are considerably stronger. Like the originals, they have only the 5x5 pattern. If it's absolutely necessary, Rally America can restore existing Caddy wires or build a set from cores if available. |  Buick made roughly 2,500 Skylarks...  Buick made roughly 2,500 Skylarks in 1953 and 1954, but like Cadillac, the company made more sets of wheels than cars-at least until 1956. Though the Skylarks have the same 40-spoke count as the Caddy wheels, they're better equipped to stand the test of time due in part to longer, more flexible spokes and a more robust hub assembly. Like the Caddy wheels, the original Skylark wheels have a 5/8-inch valve-stem hole. |